Tundra remains closed for off-road travel

Petroleum News

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Mining, Land and Water said Nov. 30 that all tundra opening areas are closed.

A soil temperature of 5 degrees C at 30 centimeters is required for opening, along with snow covering which varies by area.

The division said all monitoring stations in the eastern coastal area reported the required 6-inch snow depth, but none have met the soil temperature criteria; the same is true for the western coastal area, which also has a 6-inch snow depth requirement.

In the lower foothills area, only one monitoring station had met the required 9-inch snow depth and none had met the temperature criteria.

No monitoring was conducted in the upper foothills area, the division said.

The areas were sampled between Nov. 29 and Nov. 30, and the division said DNR staff will return to the North Slope Dec. 5 to continue monitoring, with the next status report expected out around Dec. 8.

--Petroleum News