Upper foothills open for off-road travel

Petroleum News

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Mining, Land and Water said Jan. 21 that the upper foothills area has met required soil temperatures and snow cover for off-road tundra travel.

The last time the upper foothills met the required 9 inches of snow and colder than minus 5 degrees C at a depth of 30 centimeters was in March 2017, the division said.

The opening applies only to operators with valid off-road vehicle travel permits for operation on state-owned North Slope lands.

The division noted that while overall snow cover is good, it may be thin in some areas and those areas should be avoided or special construction methods used to protect the tundra surface.

The division’s stipulations for winter off-road vehicle travel require adequate frost and snow cover and approval of individual routes of travel.

Periodic site inspections will be conducted by state personnel to ensure compliance, the division said.

The upper foothills is the third of the Slope’s four areas to open this season.

The western coastal area opened for winter season tundra travel Dec. 17 and the eastern coastal area opened Jan. 5. Those areas require 6 inches of snow and the same minus 5 degrees C temperature at 30 centimeters depth.

Questions should be directed to the division’s Northern Region Land Section in Fairbanks at 907-451-2740.

- Petroleum News