DNR partially opens lower foothills area

In what it refers to as a “conditional opening,” the Alaska Department of Natural Resources has opened part of the lower foothills area of state land north of the Brooks Range for off-road tundra travel. While part of the area now meets the opening criteria of a snow depth of at least nine inches and ground temperatures below minus 5 C at a 30-centimeter depth, a recent blizzard scoured the snow pack along a 20-mile swath from milepost 400 of the Dalton Highway to the Franklin Bluffs well pad. That scoured area remains off-limits to tundra travel and only the section of the lower foothills south of the Franklin Bluffs pad is now open, the department said.

The department said that it is continuing to monitor the situation and will issue further updates as needed. Operators wishing to use vehicles off the road system in areas that have been opened require off-road travel permits from the department. And operators should avoid any areas where snow cover is thin, or alternatively take measures to protect the tundra surface in these areas, the department said.

The eastern and western coastal areas of state land opened on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. The upper foothills area remains closed.

—Alan Bailey