The Haines Borough’s denial of an Idaho-based heliski company’s permit application is sparking a discussion about increasing the limit on how many heliski companies can operate in Haines and how the industry is regulated in general. Current and former Haines heliski operators say there isn’t enough room for more companies and that the permit applicant is a bad actor. The issue […]

The assembly voted down the heliski map committee’s request to continue work for another year. At a meeting earlier this month, the map committee voted 3-2 to ask for an extension through Sept. 30, 2021 to give members time to come up with map recommendations that balanced heliski industry needs with environmentalists’ concerns about dwindling mountain goat populations. The […]

Another contentious meeting of the heliski map committee ended with a recommendation to the borough manager that members be allowed to continue committee work until Sept. 30, 2021. This is not the first time the committee’s deadline has been extended. Under borough code, the committee meets on a three-year cycle to consider potential changes to the heliski map. For […]

The Haines Borough Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) approved staff-recommended changes to heliski code and administrative policy at an Oct. 8 meeting. Tourism director Steven Auch, the point person for the revisions, said the changes are largely minor tweaks to ensure code and borough administrative policy clearly articulate requirements for heliski operators. “The intent and point of all of this was not […]