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Canada-Alaska Border Outreach

In June 2005, the Consulate of Canada in Anchorage visited several border ports of entry along the Canada-Alaska border, including to the northernmost crossing between the two countries called Little Gold/Poker Creek. Located at more than 4,000 feet above sea level and at a latitude of 64° 05' north, the border station is a shared facility for United States and Canadian border officials, where blue tape on the office floor divides the two nations.

Border officials from both countries gave the Consulate an overview of the one-of-a-kind post that can see up to 50,000 travelers a year, mostly tourists traveling between Dawson City, Yukon, and the next closest settlement in Alaska, called Chicken. The facility is open to seasonal traffic from May through October only, though a unique snowmobile race with about 250 participants, called Trek Over the Top (www.trekoverthetop.com/index.html), crosses here once a winter.

The Consulate of Canada in Anchorage learned about the unique challenges in overseeing the out-of-the-way post, where officials from both countries live onsite. For its part, the Consulate explained its communications efforts in Alaska to educate U.S. stakeholders and citizens about joint border management and security issues and entry requirements impacting some U.S. citizens.