Did you hear?… BLM recounts funny land-use permit request

In the spring 2006 publication, “BLM Alaska Frontiers,” the Glennallen Field Office recounted an unusual permit request for a company shooting a TV commercial near an old pipeline camp. The film crew wanted to shoot a high-performance luxury car plowing through the snow at high speed. They picked out a smooth snowfield and BLM issued the use permit, warning the company that the field they had chosen was actually filled with huge boulders and not as smooth as they might think. Sure enough, during the shoot, the crew hit a boulder and ripped the bottom out of the very expensive car requiring the use of a backup expensive car to finish the commercial. More humorous was the ranger recounting, “There was a bear out circling the area and they were all afraid to get out of their cars. They were also dressed very stylishly for L.A. and froze their butts off.”

SNEWS® View: Ahh yes, such a perfect example of the multiuse of our public lands. One minute you’re out for a quiet ski across an unmarked snowfield, and the next minute you’re diving out of the way of a crazed driver behind the wheel of a Lexus followed closely by a film crew. We can only assume that the crew who ripped the bottom out of the vehicle was also required to clean up the subsequent oil and gas leakage — in their stylish Los Angeles clothing?