Upper Foothills off-road travel closed

On April 30 the Alaska Department of Natural Resources closed the state’s Upper Foothills Area for off-road tundra travel.

“Temperatures in the Upper Foothills Area have been above freezing during the day,” the agency said. “Varying levels of snow deterioration have already been observed in this area and the Division of Mining, Land and Water, Northern Region Office, finds that conditions are no longer adequate for general off-road travel.”

Summer off-road travel may commence on July 15 for appropriately certified and permitted vehicles. Meantime DNR will consider applications for winter travel extensions on a case-by-case basis if snow conditions are adequate in some areas.

Other areas of state land north of the Brooks Range remain open for tundra travel, although vegetation is starting to emerge in some localities. In the Eastern and Western Coastal Areas, below freezing temperatures, recent snowfall and overcast skies have slowed the snow melt, DNR says.

When areas are closed, DNR will give people 72 hours’ notice to move equipment off the tundra and onto the road system, the agency says.

—Alan Bailey