U.S. Surveys along the Tanana River

This 1990 BLM survey project consisted of U.S. Surveys scattered along 50 miles of the Tanana River, in central Alaska. Ms. Hartel was assigned Chief of Parties for this project, which included seven survey crews and all remote survey camp logistics. No towns or native villages were close enough to the project site to be used as an efficient base of operations. Therefore, two barges were leased in Nenana from the Yutana Barge Lines. One barge was outfitted as living quarters with sleeping cabins, a galley, an office area, a tool room and maintenance area. The second barge was used to transport and store fuel and generators and to serve as a staging area for boat operations. These two barges were pushed by a Yutana Barge Linestugboat from Nenana to a safe mooring on the riverAn electrical generator was set up on shore to provide power to the barge and a landing zone was cut out of the alders to allow for a safe approach, landing, and take-off for the helicopter. A bladder of potable water was set up on the barge and plumbed directly to the galley on a demand system. In addition a rain gutter system was set up, to collect rain water from the roof and fill two designated holds on the barge with fresh drinking water. (This became the primary supply after beavers had chewed through the PVC plumbing of the water bladder.) Subsistence supplies and mail was brought in by float plane every two weeks.  Survey crews, conducting the work from both helicopter and small boats, began their surveys downriver and worked their way easterly past the barge until travel distance to the survey sites became to long to be safe or efficient. At that time, a Yutana Barge Lines tugboat was called in to push the two barges up river to another convenient mooring. The survey crews then continued until another move was necessary. With winter closing in and the Tanana River showing signs of freezing, it was decided to have the barges pushed into Nenana and pulled out of the water. Dry docking the barges had no effect on surveying production or camp operations. This project was successfully completed and the camp demobilized on the first snow fall of the season.