Out with the old, in with the new: Forest Service replaces mountaintop communications shelters

Rocket-like cones seen recently at Juneau’s airport were decommissioned equipment being replaced

Four decommissioned radio communications shelters temporarily await disposal at the Juneau International Airport on Sept. 2, 2025, after being flown by TEMSCO Helicopters, Inc. from area peaks, including nearby Auke Mountain, where they have served U.S. Forest Service communications for 30-40 years. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Independent)

By Laurie Craig

Juneau Independent

Four tree-shaped green structures standing on the tarmac at the east end of the Juneau International Airport for several days in August and September looked like rockets ready to launch.

In reality they were decommissioned VHF radio equipment shelters at the end of their useful lives, according to Brandon Thomas, a U.S. Forest Service supervisory radio technician based in Petersburg. The radios are used by the Forest Service for communications with field crews performing work for recreation sites, timber, law enforcement and firefighting.

The green cones were removed by helicopter from peaks near Sitka, Hoonah and Juneau during the area’s ideal clear weather in late August. New pre-assembled units in box-like structures house and protect new communications equipment for an easy swap via helicopter.

TEMSCO Helicopters lead pilot Tristan Buhler, in a Sept. 4 interview, said he flew the green cone-shaped shelters from four Forest Service radio communications sites to the airport for agency contractor Ahtna Native Corp., which was in charge of the operation. The contractor was responsible for removal and disposal. The green conical towers are no longer at the airport site.

A new shelter for U.S. Forest Service antennae and radio equipment on the Tongass National Forest sits atop a mountain near Juneau. The new shelters are a welded steel and aluminum box, equipped with 20-foot tipping mast towers and mounting surfaces for the solar panels required to power modern equipment, according to officials.  (Photo courtesy Brad Tomko, U.S. Forest Service.)

The tallest green shelter came from Auke Mountain, a 1,870-foot peak in the vicinity of the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal 14 miles from downtown Juneau. Another location is on Admiralty Island. 

According to an article published in the Wrangell Sentinel on July 30, 2024, similar equipment activity replaced five antennas in the Wrangell and Petersburg ranger districts last year.

The new radio equipment shelters are made by Pepro and designed for efficient fly-in installation. The new shelter has a more suitable surface for mounting solar panels, according to Thomas. The panels power the equipment protected inside the unit.

In June, the Forest Service decommissioned the green 30- to 40-year-old shelters, set up temporary portable shelters and, when the weather provided a recent workable window, the new pre-assembled units were flown to the sites and old green cones removed.

• Contact Laurie Craig at lauriec@juneauindependent.com.