The Tongass National Forest has proposed shelving long-discussed plans to build a public use cabin near Herbert Glacier. The decision is instead to reroute a deteriorating section of trail and construct a scenic overlook for visitors.
In a Jan. 24 draft decision, the U.S. Forest Service said it would not move forward with constructing the Herbert Glacier cabin due to “the complexity of the cabin location and ongoing capacity challenges.”
Though the area where the cabin is proposed is under federal mining claims, the Forest Service says that those claims did not influence the decision not to move forward with the cabin.
The agency said it will instead focus resources on other cabin projects already underway in Juneau and across the Southeast.
Herbert Glacier was originally identified in 2022 as the public’s top choice for a new recreation cabin under the Alaska Cabins Project, based on letters of support received during early planning. The proposal envisioned a public-use cabin accessible by helicopter, bicycle or a 4.4-mile hike along the Herbert Glacier Trail, along with a vault outhouse, gathering area, helicopter landing zone and access trails.
But after environmental review and further analysis, the Forest Service determined that logistical challenges made construction difficult.
Laura Buchheit, deputy district ranger for the Juneau Ranger District, said several factors influenced the decision, including the cabin site’s distance from both the road and trail, steep elevation, complicated design requirements and the need to transport construction materials through difficult terrain.
Instead of building a cabin, the Forest Service proposes rerouting the Herbert Glacier Trail at approximately mile 4.4 to bypass a section of the trail eroded by the Herbert River. They also anticipated authorizing construction of a scenic overlook featuring a bench, fire ring and a short trail to a nearby water source.
The new cabin at Mendenhall Glacier Campground is nearing completion and is expected to open for reservations this summer, Buchheit said. Other cabins across the Tongass, include projects in Wrangell, Petersburg, Hoonah, Ketchikan, Sitka and Yakutat.
When the Forest Service collected public comment during the planning process, several letters cited concerns about building a cabin where there are existing mining claims.
The proposed cabin site lies within an area containing active federal mining claims, and mineral exploration has occurred periodically in the broader Herbert River area since 2010.
Grande Portage Resources Ltd., which holds claims in the area and recently received federal approval for its 2026 drilling plan at the nearby New Amalga Gold property, was consulted during the environmental assessment process.
However, Buchheit said the presence of mining claims did not drive the draft decision. The Forest Service draft decision said there is an approved plan of operations for exploration activities east of the proposed cabin site, but there are no approved mining activities in the immediate vicinity of the proposed cabin site.
Buchheit emphasized that the Tongass is managed as a multiple-use forest where recreation, mining and other uses are considered together.
“It’s a multiple-use agency that responds to and encompasses many uses of the forest, and that includes mining. It includes recreation,” she said. “All of those are in consideration.”
The Juneau Ranger District is seeking comments on the proposed Herbert Glacier Cabin project. Release of the draft decision also initiates a 45-day objection period, which ends March 9.
Herbert Glacier Trail follows Herbert River, as pictured on Nov. 16, 2025. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)
