The Haines Borough Assembly will consider at its Tuesday meeting an Alaska Mountain Guide permit application to operate winter tours around 26 Mile Haines Highway.
The assembly delayed a vote on the permit in order to take more public comment after residents and a winter tour operator objected to certain aspects of AMG owner Sean Gaffney’s proposed backcountry ski, snowmachine and snowcat tour areas.
Gaffney agreed to not operate on terrain near the Little Salmon Road from the Tsirku River to Devil’s Elbow after some residents cited concerns about motorized tours in the area.
“I’m sensitive to issues of motorized and non-motorized use and conflicts between them,” Gaffney told the assembly during a committee meeting. “Both of those things are critical to my business. We’re deeply involved in both of those areas and understand the conflicts that are inherent in them.”
Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures owner Scott Sundberg takes clients skiing in the cat-skiing area. He told the assembly that between his business and private users, adding another commercial tour would crowd the area. He asked the assembly to disallow Gaffney from operating in the cat skiing area.
“Commercial helicopters come down, snowcats come up, people are being picked up, dropped off and you also have the public interacting,” Sundberg said.
Gaffney said that terrain was important to his operation.
“We do have the state permit for the cat-skiing on the cat hill and they didn’t have an issue with competition and they felt that safe operating plans addressed any considerations of that kind more than adequately,” Gaffney said.
According to Gaffney’s permit application, the tours would be limited to 10 individuals around Flower Mountain, and 20 in other areas. The tour plans to allow up to eight snowmachines and four ATVs at any given time.