If you care about the White Mountains National Recreation Area, your comment is needed in support of calls for more snowmobile tours and helicopter rides in the area.
Borealis Basecamp, a tourism company north of Fairbanks specializing in the Northern Lights, has submitted a proposal to increase its snowmobile tours from 14 to 28 per day and to add helicopter tours (up to five per day). For more information about the proposal and how to comment, visit on.doi.gov/4dA7qDb. Comments must be submitted by August 28.
In the light of the proposal, I find it difficult to see how support for the tourism industry can be reconciled with the rights of the average citizen.
I use the recreation area regularly, cycling or skiing in the winter, hiking or running in the summer and autumn. I love the wilderness experience there, especially the peace and quiet.
I initially looked at the proposal, thought about its implications, and wrote a blog post saying I was not opposed but asking for comments (see my blog post here, bit.ly/TrailsLetter). I received many good comments on my post, in the Fairbanks Trail and Waterway Users Facebook group, and via email.
I haven’t completely changed my mind, but I have changed it.
I have had a lot of contact with snowmobiles in the White Mountains. (I may have even come across one of the Borealis tours.) I have a good idea of how the proposed increase might affect me. Almost all of my encounters have been positive. People are almost always friendly and polite. And I love the way the machines fill the slopes. Unfortunately, when there is no wind, the smell of exhaust fumes can linger for a long time. Fortunately, there is usually at least a light breeze.
I was not originally opposed to the additional 14 snowmobiles, but after more thought I am leaning towards supporting an increase of 10 snowmobiles. I think that is a more reasonable number considering how large groups affect others. I would feel differently if the tours were less frequent, but they are asking for a daily increase. I will also ask that the current permit be reduced to 10 per day when it is renewed.
I will also ask the BLM to require tours to display clear identification. If they violate the permit or behave badly, other trail users should be able to identify them. And if the tours behave reasonably and courteously, other trail users should know.
I will also ask that the permit be conditioned on the use of four-stroke snowmobiles without paddle tracks. That’s a big ask since new snowmobiles are expensive, but four-stroke snowmobiles are quieter and smell less than two-stroke engines. I saw them in Yellowstone National Park and was impressed by the difference. (Electric snowmobiles would be fine too.) I doubt the company is interested in the use of paddle tracks. I mention them because unfortunately they leave a poor trail surface for other trail users.
Commenting on the helicopter tours is more difficult. I don’t have regular enough contact with helicopters to know what impact they might have on me. Or what impact they might have on the wildlife in the area. The proposal has a flight path that seems reasonable. It does a good job of avoiding the public access cabins in the area and the busiest hiking trails.
The proposal states that the company will provide quarterly “flight route logs” for evaluation. I assume these logs will be based on GPS information, but will request this in my comments.
However, the proposal would require the helicopters to fly at least 1,500 feet above the ground during flights. I occasionally see helicopters flying overhead, but I don’t know exactly how high they are.
Planes are already flying over the recreation area, usually quite high. But how high? I just don’t know. I prefer the quiet, but the planes don’t usually bother me. How would the helicopters compare?
Since I don’t have enough personal knowledge of this, I tend to require a minimum altitude of 2,000 feet rather than 1,500 feet, based on this recommendation from the Federal Aviation Administration, bit.ly/FAAsays.
I want to support outdoor recreation tourism in Alaska. It helps diversify our economy. Locals can benefit in a variety of ways, including jobs and selling goods and services to businesses. A healthy outdoor recreation tourism industry also provides more incentive to invest in infrastructure, such as trails, docks, trailheads, and signs. However, this must be balanced with appropriate regulation so we are not pushed out of the public lands and trails near us.
Whether you support or oppose this proposal, please comment if you care about the White Mountains National Recreation Area. And if you have words of wisdom for me, please comment on my blog post, bit.ly/TrailsLetter.
