The Haines Borough Assembly soon will review a four-year-old moratorium on new commercial tour permits in the Chilkoot corridor, a short and narrow section of the Chilkoot River that’s popular for bear-viewing and fishing but infamous for overcrowding.
The borough’s Tourism Advisory Board recommended lifting the ban with a 5-2 vote on June 30. Several board members said they oppose the moratorium because it limits commercial enterprise.
In response to complaints about crowds, heedless behavior and close calls with bears along the river, borough officials for years have debated how to manage traffic in the corridor, one of only a few places in the U.S. where salmon-fishing brown bears can reliably be seen from the road.
The assembly in 2018 established a moratorium on new commercial tour permits in the area, citing failing efforts to maintain safety and preserve the Chilkoot’s status as a top tourist destination.
The assembly’s resolution said the ban would be in place until the borough “is satisfied that management improvements for protocols are in place to protect the scenic, natural and economic values of the Chilkoot corridor, without further degradation.”
Alaska State Parks last summer finished a $2 million Chilkoot corridor reconstruction project aimed in part to reduce congestion on Chilkoot Lake Road.
But questions remain about whether the changes — a paved road with narrower shoulders and steeper banks to the river — will make matters better or worse.
Tourism board member Sean Gaffney, who voted against undoing the ban, predicted overcrowding would be even more of a problem this summer than it was when the assembly adopted the permit ban.
Gaffney, president of Alaska Mountain Guides, which runs permitted Chilkoot tours, said “the nice thing” with the new corridor is that there are fewer potholes but that “everything else about it is more challenging, not less.”
As part of its project, the state paved the pothole-prone road to Chilkoot Lake and raised it to improve drainage. The state added a handful of parking spots but narrowed the road’s shoulders, where people parked to view bears or access the river.
Residents since have complained about limited parking options and impeded river access.
Although overcrowding reportedly has not been a major issue this summer, Gaffney predicted that would change in the coming months, when salmon and bear activity pick up.
“It would seem reasonable to wait 60 days, see what it looks like, and then make an informed decision (about the moratorium),” Gaffney said.
Board member Diana Lapham called the reconstructed corridor “a whole new animal,” but said she wasn’t sure whether congestion would be better or not with the project complete.
She said she wouldn’t expect people to flood the Chilkoot area if the moratorium were lifted.
“The bottom line is: Is the moratorium doing what it was intended to do? Why do we have a moratorium if multi-day users don’t need a permit?” Lapham questioned, referring to the fact that the borough requires permits only for single-day tours and not, for example, a tour that starts in the Yukon Territory and comes to Chilkoot for bear-viewing.
Board chair Barbara Nettleton said she favors letting people apply for permits before denying them. She called the ban redundant because the borough already has in code a public process for the assembly to approve or deny tour permits.
“I feel that if someone has an idea that we don’t even know about, they should at least be afforded the opportunity to present it, and have that public process,” Nettleton said. “I feel like (the moratorium is) not allowing a democratic process for someone who wants to commerce.”
Gaffney said he thinks without the ban the assembly would have a hard time denying applications. The body would have to be consistent with its reasoning if it were to grant one permit but not another.
Borough code states the assembly must find permit applicants “fit, willing, and able” to perform their proposed tours and “to conform to the provisions and purposes set out” in code. The assembly can designate conditions under which it grants a permit.
Haines Borough tourism director Steven Auch said the Chilkoot corridor is most crowded on days when large cruise ships dock in Haines.
“The moratorium is just keeping a Haines person that wants to create a tour on the large cruise ship days … from doing so,” he said.“The only thing that would have a drastic impact – by removing the moratorium – is if somebody applied for a tour that they wanted to sell to cruise ships that brought people to that corridor.”
Auch said he hasn’t heard from any residents interested in developing new tours at Chilkoot. He called the issue a “tricky balance,” saying he understands the reasons for the moratorium but isn’t sure if it’s achieving its goals. He said while it reduces tour bus traffic it might be increasing the number of independent vehicles and bike traffic in the corridor.
In 2018, borough staff estimated about 300 tourists visited the area each day at peak season, not including independent visitors. Neither the state nor the borough collects data on independent travelers there.
The assembly first adopted a moratorium on new tour permits in 2014 but quickly reversed course due to concerns it would be ill-received by cruise companies.
Auch said the borough permits about 10 companies to conduct commercial tours at Chilkoot.
Alaska State Parks did not respond by press time to a question about the number of operators permitted by the state for Chilkoot tours. An operator of a multi-day tour that includes a stop at Chilkoot would need a state permit but not a borough one.
The tourism board’s recommendation is not on the agenda for Tuesday’s assembly meeting – because it had not been submitted in time – but it will be addressed by the assembly at a later date, borough manager Annette Kreitzer said.