After adding two heli-ski map terrain locations last month, the Haines Borough Assembly reversed part of that decision Tuesday and removed one of the areas.

Assembly member Stephanie Scott moved to reconsider a vote made last month that added an area north of Rainbow Glacier and another near Flower Mountain. Every three years the assembly considers changes to heli-ski map terrain.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game labeled the terrain near Rainbow Glacier, along with other regions, as especially concerning for wildlife habitat based on the results of a decade-long study that tracked goat and bear locations. Based on GPS locations and denning sites the study overlaid probable mountain goat and bear habitat over current and proposed heli-ski terrain. The department follows guidelines set by the Northwest Wild Sheep and Goat Council that advises helicopters stay 1,500 feet away from goats and bears.

Scott also wanted to add three additional proposals that Fish and Game considered less concerning than 11 other terrain proposals they labeled as highly concerning.

“It’s not that they weren’t of concern, but they were not of high concern,” Scott told the assembly. “Since the committees approved of these, the manager approved of these I feel like we need to go along with that.”

Assembly member Sean Maidy disputed that degree of concern.

“All of the zones are of high concern for ADF&G,” Maidy said. “Those four, as they have repeatedly said, are just the least damning of all of them and gun to their head those would be the ones they would have to choose.”

Data shows 57 percent of the area near the Rainbow Glacier was probable mountain goat and brown bear habitat.

At December’s meeting, assembly member Tom Morphet said he wanted to add that area because Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures owner Scott Sundberg said the expansion would be safer for guests, and that both proposals added very little terrain and just extended ski runs.

The assembly complicated the issue by not voting on the terrain expansion during its time on the agenda when Fish and Game biologists were present by phone. Instead, the assembly let the motion die due to a lack of a second and took the issue up again during assembly comments at the end of the meeting. Biologists and most of the public had left by that time.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the assembly voted 5-1 to eliminate the Rainbow Glacier area. When it came time to add the three other areas Scott recommended, the vote failed 4-2. Only Scott and assembly member Brenda Josephson voted in favor of adding the areas.

Sundberg said he applauded Scott for “trying to make logical, delineated decisions based on the proposed scientific information provided by Fish and Game.”

“Her efforts to reconsider the decision made Dec.12 by the assembly that would have increased safety for heliski companies, was attacked and in turn backfired on her,” Sundberg said. “Instead the assembly was justified in their reduction of areas to the ski map based on scientific rhetoric, specifically the scientific and over use of ‘likely’ and ‘probably’ in ADF&G report, political assimilation, and operator shortcomings.”