“Outlast” is an survival show in which contestants are taken to an Alaskan wilderness to take on cash prizes which is like an Hunger Games for adults. The show has only had one season thus far it was shot at Chichagof Island, and the contest was fierce. There were many acts of sabotage among contestants. This included famously, setting other camps on burning.
The U.S. Forest Service authorized Netflix as well as the BBC to film Outlast for the 2nd season. Outlast at Little Duncan Bay, a well-known fishing, hunting, and recreation spot that lies about 20 miles southwest of Petersburg.
Ray Born is Petersburg’s District Ranger. He claimed that a handful of charter pilots and caterers, boat captains and even Borough officials have said that this could bring economic benefits to Petersburg.
“They’re getting around 1 million dollars to the community to fund this initiative,” said Born. “So there’s an economic benefit this way, if we see it. Our mission is to take care of the people in our community.”
However, not everyone in the community is satisfied — not least those who are subsistence users.
“[Itappears to be] misguided,”” stated Lee Gilpin, a Petersburg subsistence hunter. “There’s bound to be a bit of grumbling.”
Gilpin was talking from the exact spot Outlast is scheduled to be held. He was hunting moose late in September when he saw the film crew taking stakes on the coastline. He expressed his displeasure about the idea of setting up shop in the middle of Sitka Blacktail hunting season. He noted that it’s a major demand hunting area — particularly for local children.
“My daughter hunted in this region,” said Gilpin. “Every deer she’s ever killed was in the same area being debated here. This isn’t the only case. There are a lot of children in Petersburg who believe that this is the place the place where they can hunt deer at first since access to the area is extremely easy.”
The federal government typically prefers the interests of subsistence consumers over commercial in rural areas, but not in this instance.
In its memo confirming the decision, the Forest Service stated that the filming would affect the subsistence resource access within the proposed zone. However, the extent of the effect on subsistence resources isn’t important in the overall usage area.
Bob Lynn sits on the Petersburg Borough Assembly, and his home is situated over Little Duncan. For the past few weeks, he’s watched the film crew’s planes and charter boats come and go out of the area. In a meeting of the assembly in the latter part of September, he admitted that he was worried for the local hunters as well as for the safety of contestants.
“I could see a situation fast here, where one is shot not necessarily in an attempt to kill however, it can occur,” said Lynn. “I believe you should to look at an alternative moment in the year. We’re probably trying to solve some problems that we don’t really need.”
Bret Uppencamp is the supervisor of special permits for use in The Petersburg Ranger District. He explained that the Outlast crew must follow an extensive set of rules for the use of the district.
“Essentially that means, for example cutting the trees, or can set fires, what are they going to do get rid of the human garbage,” said Uppencamp. “And in the case of wildlife interactions such as — they must ensure that they’re not inflicting unnecessary harm on wildlife.”
Uppencamp stated that the federal regulations refer to the basic “leave the footprint” principles However, there’s nothing in the list that specifically is related to safety.
The Forest Service opened up a seven-day comment period to collect feedback about the permit. They informed about the 450 people interested via an email chain and then addressed to Petersburg’s Borough Assembly and the local tribe, the Petersburg Indian Association. Around 50 people contacted them, and feedback was somewhat varied.
Subsistence users weren’t the only ones who took an issue with the plan. One commenter said that the site is considered sacred by Indigenous people. Uppencamp has said that the district is investigating the issue, but the two of them Ranger Born believe the filming activities won’t affect the physical integrity of the area.
Overall, Born said it was an extremely difficult decision to make The land doesn’t belong only to Petersburg residents.
“This is a very frequented area,” said Born. “A majority of people pass through it however, there’s no closed area. Forest Service land belongs to everyone in the American people. Therefore, everyone is entitled to use the land.”
Gilpin admitted that the whole thing feels to be a bit exploitative and even if the Outlast team “leaves no footprints” on the ground and leaves an unfinished season.
“If you grew up […] living in Petersburg in the state of Florida, there’s one season of deer hunting isn’t available at the time of your senior year of high school.” Gilpin said. Gilpin. “That’s one quarter of the easy access hunting territory that’s gone. One quarter of time that you are able to hunt is now unused for someone to earn a couple of dollars.”
This isn’t the first encounter Petersburg residents have encountered with reality shows filmed within their backyards. Recently, some have opposed the Discovery series, Alaskan Bush People, that they claim portrays the area in negative way.
The Outlast crew and cast will be filming around Little Duncan until mid-November. When they finish, one dedicated contestant is likely to win the million dollar prize however, some locals may be left out of the chance to win a in the form of a buck.
