Upper Foothills open for tundra travel

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land and Water, said Feb. 9 that state lands in the Upper Foothills area of the North Slope are open for winter off-road tundra travel.

The division said soil temperatures and snow cover have met the criteria, 9 inches of snow and colder than minus 5 degrees C soil temperature at 30 centimeters depth.

The eastern and western coastal areas of state land on the North Slope were opened for off-road tundra travel in early January - the eastern area on Jan. 4 and the western area on Jan. 5. The criteria for coastal areas are 6 inches of snow and the same requirement for a minus 5 degrees C temperatures at a depth of 30 centimeters.

In all the opening notifications the division said the opening applies only to those operators with valid off-road vehicle travel permits, and noted that although 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 Lower Foothills remains closed to off-road travel.

- Petroleum News