The Alaska Department of Fish and Game cited concern with 11 of the 15 heli-ski map proposals the Haines Borough Assembly will soon consider adding to an updated heli-ski terrain map. The map defines zones where commercial heli-ski tours are allowed.
The assembly met with Fish and Game biologists Monday evening to discuss new data that identifies probable mountain goat and bear denning habitat in current and proposed heli-ski terrain.
Based on a Northwest Sheep and Goat Council study on the negative effects of helicopter noise disturbance to goats and bears, Fish and Game recommends a 1,500-meter buffer between the animals and helicopters.
“You have these long-term effects where reproduction and survival are decreased,” Fish and Game biologist Anthony Crupi told the assembly.
There are 369 square miles of commercial heli-ski terrain in the Haines Borough. The 2016 amendments included about 36 additional square miles of terrain that Fish and Game described as concerning. That leaves about one square mile of proposed terrain with little habitat overlap.
Fish and Game created habitat models based on observing 89 bear dens and 190,000 mountain goat GPS locations from 73 animals. Researchers noted den selection terrain features such as elevation, slope and topographic position to extrapolate probable habitat across the Chilkat Valley.
According to Fish and Game data, 24 percent of the current land area available for heli-skiing is winter mountain goat habitat. Different regions have higher or lower concentrations of habitat. The proposed map amendments would add an additional 3 percent of goat habitat to heli-ski terrain, although some areas include a higher concentration of habitat than others.
“For example if you include and approve all of the proposed areas in the Porcupine area, the amount of winter goat habitat within approved heli-skiing areas in that Porcupine area would go from 40 percent to 67 percent.”
Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures owner Scott Sundberg took issue with the overall habitat map and said he’d like to see concrete locations where animals winter, not probable locations.
“I would love to see the big bubbles of real time GPS goat clusters on a map,” Sundberg said. “This doesn’t do anything for me. I know where these big clusters generally are every winter and we stay away from them. Yes, there’s probability there might be a goat in that patch over there or they’re down in the trees but where’s the key habitat, critical winter goat habitat and can we draw a bubble around those because that’s going to preserve these specific herds per mountain range.”
Alaska Mountain Guides owner Sean Gaffney also took issue with the lack of specific data on wintering sites.
“Granted it may be what’s high probability terrain but when you look at the maps of the valley…it’s everything,” Gaffney said. “To be able to address this in the most effective way we need to know the specifics of where those animals are.”
By state law, Fish and Game must keep GPS collar data and observed bear den locations confidential.
Crupi said the areas where Fish and Game cited concerns are a “slam dunk” in terms of highest habitat percentages.
“When you talk about probabilities and potential, the entire landscape is designed with some sort of probability,” Crupi said. “These are the highest, like the most prime habitats that are available. All the other ones you don’t see, they have a probability associated with them.”
The assembly considers heli-ski map changes every three years and local operators submitted proposals in May 2016. An advisory committee reviewed the proposals during the fall of that year to make recommendations to the assembly. Last December the assembly postponed approving the committee’s amendments to the map to wait for Fish and Game’s data.
The assembly can’t use the data to create new areas until the next cycle in 2019. The borough assembly is in the process of updating borough code, which includes new Fish and Game comments in making map changes.
When that time comes, borough planner Holly Smith said she hopes both the industry and Fish and Game can share more information when coming up with new proposals.
Sundberg said he’s willing to share proprietary information such as slope use frequency, but he’s worried the data will further restrict the industry.
“I guarantee in three years there’s going to be people coming with proposals that want to remove about 50 percent of this terrain because of a probability not because (winter habitation is) actually happening,” Sundberg said. “That’s what I’m really worried about.”
The assembly will vote on the 2016 map proposals on Dec. 12