Fairbanks trails panel wants tour operators permitted and paying 15% into a trail fund

Commercial tour operators on Fairbanks North Star Borough trails would need a permit, accept limits on route, hours, group size and vehicle weight, and pay 15 percent of proceeds into a trail maintenance fund the borough has not created yet. Each application would go to public comment before the commission, with the mayor approving or denying it.

The borough's Trails Advisory Commission approved those recommendations in April, in a letter to Mayor Grier Hopkins and the Assembly signed by Vice-Chair Richard Shideler. The commission takes the subject up again with parks staff at 6 pm Monday, for discussion only.

The work began with an Assembly resolution from member David Guttenberg, adopted 9-0 last November, which said commercial use of neighborhood trails "impact trails, create safety issues, and increases noise and traffic in residential areas."

Borough code already keeps unauthorized motorized vehicles off non-motorized trails, and casual users skiing, snowmachining or picking berries need no permit. But across more than 1,000 miles of trails, the borough sets no standards at all for commercial operators. The closest model is the parks department's agreement for tour operators at Chena Lake and Tanana Lakes, which takes 10 percent of gross revenue and requires a weekly manifest every Friday.

Ten months on, the commission's minutes name the problem: "Difficulty of setting standards without data on current commercial use." Whatever it settles on goes to the mayor and Assembly as a recommendation, not a rule. Monday's session takes no public comment; the commission's next regular meeting, which opens with citizen comments, is Oct. 26.