Thousands of visitors visit the Davidson Glacier at Glacier Point in the Chilkat Inlet each summer. (Berett Wilber.)

Haines Borough Manager Debra Schnabel approved a permit this month for a canoe tour operated by Alaska Excursions. The tour became a source of controversy last year when a client drowned after a canoe capsized at Glacier Point, a scenic and remote area of the Haines Borough.

The Haines Borough previously denied Alaska Excursions’ application to renew its permit because the canoes used for the tour had not been registered with the state.

Earlier this month, Alaska Excursions owner Robert Murphy appealed the decision. During a public hearing on the permit, Murphy told Borough Manager Debra Schnabel that he registered the canoes as soon as he was notified that it was a requirement.  

In her decision, Schnabel wrote that the application was approved because the tour operation complied with Coast Guard regulations and all codified requirements of the Haines Borough. No conditions were set on the permit. However, Schnabel requested that the company notify her of changes to upper management personnel during the operating season.

The Glacier Point tour came under scrutiny last year when several former canoe guides criticized Alaska Excursions’ safety practices in letters and testimony to the Haines Borough Assembly.

Murphy has suggested criticism from former employees was the result of a toxic work environment that developed during the 2017 season. He said that none of the Glacier Point guides from that season were invited back to work for Alaska Excursions.

In response to the drowning, Murphy said he overhauled the company’s safety practices, installed a cork line above the river where the client drowned and hired a Director of Safety & Risk Management.  

Murphy was unavailable for comment by the time of broadcast.