The Haines Borough Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the borough assembly fund the Haines Avalanche Center’s forecasting efforts.
The recommendation comes after PRAC chair Scott Sundberg’s creation of an avalanche awareness subcommittee. Sundberg was looking for ideas to promote winter safety awareness for winter recreationists after two Haines youths died in an avalanche in early January. The committee met last month when HAC director Erik Stevens requested that PRAC make such a recommendation.
“What we need right now is funding,” Stevens said at the subcommittee’s January meeting. “This year that dropped off. We’re going to be asking the borough assembly to find money for the avalanche center. We believe it is appropriate to find borough money to fund avalanche safety.”
Stevens said the center is unable to provide regular forecasts with current funding levels. The assembly denied the center’s $20,000 request in December. Previous borough assemblies have provided between $1,500 to $5,000 to HAC since 2015.
“We can reach far more people with forecasting. When I say forecasting, it’s not just about telling you where to go or what to do,” Stevens said at the subcommittee meeting last month. “We tell people places to avoid and specific dangers they should watch out for.”
Last week, Sundberg supported the funding request at Thursday’s PRAC meeting. “I think it’s an easy one to pass and put in the assembly’s court,” Sundberg said.
PRAC members Lori Smith, Garrett Montgomery, John Nettleton and Sundberg all voted to support the recommendation.
Meanwhile, the Haines Borough school board is discussing making avalanche safety part of the school’s permanent curriculum. Principal Rene Martin said the school is adding winter safety to its health curriculum for sixth through ninth grades.
“We will work with the Haines Avalanche Center for content and assistance in instructing,” Martin said. “It won’t be an official adoption to the curriculum until health comes up again in the curriculum rotation but we will still be teaching the class.”
She said when the school polled high school students whether they had interest in a basic avalanche awareness certification paid for by the school, only two students expressed interest.
“That concerns me but I haven’t had a chance to see if it is because they’ve already taken it or we just don’t have the interest with this particular group,” Martin said.