Effects of All-Terrain Vehicle Traffic on Tundra Terrain Near Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska

• Main Authors: Racine, Charles H., Johnson, Lawrence A.
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1988
• Subjects: Ecology; Geography; *TUNDRA; *OFFROAD TRAFFIC; *DAMAGE; *ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT; SOILS; PROFILES; FREEZING; LIGHTWEIGHT; VEHICLES; VEGETATION; MOISTURE; SUMMER; TERRAIN; ALASKA; SITES; LAYERS; EXPOSURE(GENERAL); *ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES; ALASKA NORTH SLOPE; Alaska North Slope; Brooks Range; north slope; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA199969; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA199969

Six-and eight-wheel, light-weight all terrain vehicles (ATVs) (mainly the Argo with low-pressure, low-ribbed tires) are currently used in the Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska, area for summer subsistence travel from the village into several Brooks Range valleys. The environmental effects of summer ATV use are poorly understood. During the summers of 1985 and 1986, terrain disturbance at 31 sites representing trails over dry, moist and wet tundra was evaluated by rating the levels of soil exposure, Vegetation destruction and microtopographic depression(ruts). Surface and frozen layer profiles across selected trail sites were also obtained, and trail visibility from the air and ground was rated. The levels of trail disturbance vary between valleys and generally decrease with distance from the village of Anaktuvuk Pass. Trails over dry tundra showed low to moderate terrain disturbance. Terrain disturbance on trails over moist tundra varied from low to high.