I was very surprised and disappointed to see in the Chilkat Valley News the location selected by the Haines Huts group for their Tukga-Hut. It would sit in the large southeast facing bowl below Tukgahgo Mountain and Chilly Ridge. This area is important late spring and summer habitat for mountain goats, in particular for nannies and kids. On the several hikes I have taken up there each summer for 30 years, I have always seen goats, often 30-40, and always a number of kids.
Mountain goats are very sensitive to human disturbance and such stress is an energetic drain on an animal. The noise of a helicopter slinging construction materials in or waste out, the actual noise and human presence related to construction, and then the disturbance created by the humans, possibly with dogs, using the hut and the area could easily cause the goats to be displaced.
I would expect a backcountry user group to be respectful of the native wildlife users of an area and choose a hut location that will not result in stress and potential displacement of them. I hope that Haines Huts will consider a different location that will not impact the native wildlife.
Katey Palmer