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FAASTeam
FAASTeam Notice
Type: Local Air Safety Information
Notice Date: Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Notice Number: NOTC1966
McNeil River, Alaska overflights
This notice expired on
Monday, September 27, 2021

Staff at the McNeil River field camp has informed the FAA that several aircraft have made low-level flights over the McNeil River and McNeil River lagoon, within the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary in lower Kamishak Bay, Alaska at low altitudes.

 

For your information McNeil River is part of the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and supports one of the largest congregations of brown bear in the world. The State of Alaska operates a bear viewing program at the site where the public is near numerous wild brown bears. The State has established a permit program which regulates human activities in the sanctuary and limits access within the sanctuary, requiring a permit for access and landings. While the overflight does not constitute a violation of State of Alaska sanctuary access regulations; it is an incursion into the flight advisory area that we have jointly developed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to prevent disturbance at the site.

The FAA flight advisory requests pilots to maintain a minimum altitude of 1,000 feet above ground level within a 2-mile radius of McNeil River Falls located 1 mile upstream from the mouth of McNeil River to minimize disturbance to concentrations of brown bears during the period June 15 through September 15. Figure 1 attached illustrates the boundaries of this 2-mile area.

You can access the FAA advisory on this at: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/fs/alaskan/advisories/parks/

Avoiding the area by a wider margin would be appreciated when weather permits. This flight advisory, and the State of Alaska access restrictions are in place to protect these concentrations of brown bears from disturbances. A very important aspect of that is to also avoid the safety issues of bears startled by low flying aircraft running into groups of visitors which could cause serious injury to the public in the viewing group. I would appreciate it if you could take a moment to consider this and make sure that your pilots are aware of and have reviewed the FAA Alaska flight advisories when next transiting the area.

McNeil River State Game Sanctuary is open to public access through a permit system. Access requires an ADF&G Access Permit. You can find information regarding visiting, access and permitting requirements through our website at: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=mcneilriver.main.

If you have any questions on the McNeil River restrictions, visiting the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary or would like to discuss the matter more, please contact:

Department of Fish and Game Alaska

Edward W. Weis, Lands & Refuges Manager

Ed.weiss@alaska.gov

Phone: (907) 267-2257