ALASKAíS MARINE HIGHWAY CORRIDOR PARTNERSHIP PLAN Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Nation’s Most Scenic Byway. Prepared for The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, as part of the submission materials required for the designation under the National Scenic Byways Program of the Federal Highway Administration Prepared by Jensen Yorba Lott, Inc. February 2002 With Whiteman and Taintor Christianson Communications, Inc. Assistance from Walsh Services Southeast Strategies The McDowell Group Gateway Technologies Alaskaís Marine Highway Corridor Partnership Plan January 22, 2002 Dear Reader, It is with great pleasure I endorse the proposal to Southcentral Alaska, as well as along the far-flung chain connections will be improved, allowing designate Alaska’s Marine Highway as a National of Aleutian Islands. It is a story about people who have recreational enthusiasts to go directly from ships Scenic Byway. One travel writer summed up the thrived for generations upon the richest landscape— to footpaths, to port communities, to hiking great power of Alaska’s Marine Highway this way: Native Alaskans, Russian settlers, Scandinavian trails, to other scenic byways, and beyond. “one of the world’s most scenic highways requires no fishermen, soldiers, miners, and timber harvesters. It is driving, no road maps, no expensive stops at the gas a story about marine and upland wildlife—humpback In 2003, Alaska’s Marine Highway turns 40 years station, and no automobile.” and killer whales, seals and sea lions, sea otters, salmon old. In honor of this milestone, the State of and a myriad of exotic fish, teeming colonies of Alaska is nominating the Marine Highway for As a water-based highway, Alaska’s Marine Highway seabirds, bears, deer, moose and wolves. It is a story designation as a National Scenic Byway. We may be an unusual nominee for National Scenic about geology, archaeology, Alaska’s past, and our believe it has all the qualities recognized by the Byway this year. But, for many coastal communities future. byway program, and much more. that are completely bounded by water with no interconnecting paved roads, the Alaska Marine For over 30 years, Alaska has enjoyed a unique Sincerely, Highway is the only way to “drive” from one town to partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, which the next. Coastal Alaska’s historic dependence on provides trained interpreters on board our ships to help ferry travel has woven Alaska’s Marine Highway into summer travelers fully understand and enjoy the the fabric of Alaska culture. Simply put, travel on Marine Highway experience. In the fall and spring, Tony Knowles Alaska’s Marine Highway is as a much a part of life these interpreters provide tour guidance for our Governor in coastal Alaska as mist on a summer morning. Elderhostel program. These interpreters help tell the story of Alaska’s Marine Highway. We hope that A typical experience aboard one of our ships starts National Scenic Byway designation will help us expand with parking the car down below, locating a suitable on board interpretation to a year-round service. seat for the ride, and securing a warm cup of coffee from the on board cafeteria. Then, relaxed travelers Alaska’s Marine Highway is an important conduit for sit back, relinquish all concerns to the captain, and recreational activity. Generations of basketball players, watch the spectacular scenery unfold. swimmers, runners, and other sports enthusiasts have used the Marine Highway to travel to high school The Alaska Marine Highway story takes place in tournaments and other competitions. Many travelers America’s two largest national forests, the Tongass, bring along their bicycles, kayaks, and other alternative along the Inside Passage, and the Chugach, in modes of transportation. In the future, intermodal Alaskaís Marine Highway Corridor Partnership Plan CONTENTS 1 Introduction 2 Byway Organizational Plan 3 Intrinsic Quality Assessment and Management 4 Transportation 5 Tourism and Marketing 6 Interpretation 7 Implementation 8 Conclusion 9 Resources ALASKA Fairbanks YUKON Whitehorse Anchorage Valdez Juneau BRITISH COLUMBIA Kodiak 0f Alaska ulf G Unalaska Prince Rupert Vancouver Bellingham PacificOcean Marine Highway Corridor Partnership Plan Alaskaís 100 300 0 Miles N Alaska’s Marine Highway Map courtesy of ADOT & PF. byway, in itself, makes the route unique. There are, however, a wide range of other aspects that also 11 make it significant. The byway provides travelers with the chance to see a rugged, beautiful landscape from the water and to explore communities and Introduction places that have no roadway links to the outside world. It also offers travelers a chance to participate Alaska’s Marine Highway is the only route in America in an ancient Alaskan transportation tradition. offering views of fjords, mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, icebergs, islands, whales, volcanoes, fishing The byway reaches across national and state vessels and a variety of other magnificent scenes - all boundaries by linking Alaska to Canada, via British from the water. Once travelers arrive at one of the 33 Columbia, and to the United States via Washington. port terminals along the route, they can explore the beauty and wonder of coastal Alaska aboard a This byway is also significant because it gives the leisurely cruise to their next point of adventure. average traveler an in-depth experience of the multifaceted quality of Alaskan life. Byway travelers Alaska’s Marine Highway has the potential to be the not only see and meet Alaskans, one-on-one, as they travel aboard the Marine Highway ships, but The M/V Malaspina in Lynn Canal, a steep most unique byway in America’s Byways system. walled fjord. This byway is evidence that Alaska is one of the most through interpretation and their own experiences, unusual places in North America. Designation of our visitors see and learn about Alaska’s diverse resource- marine route as a National Scenic Byway will help based economy and the way of life our economy generate more visitors to our communities. It will supports. help our economies without interfering with or damaging the resource-based industries upon which This byway is also significant because it winds we depend. A Scenic Byway designation provides an around and through Native lands, which hold excellent opportunity to increase awareness about the cultures that are unique to the Pacific Coast of important role of Alaska in our visitors’ lives. North America. No other U.S. byway provides such a comprehensive window of understanding to these cultures. Alaskaís Marine Highway is Special Finally, this byway already exists as an agency within The key features of this byway that lend it national the Alaska Department of Transportation and significance are as follows: Public Facilities. Although not created as a grassroots entity, its nomination and hopefully Alaska’s Marine Highway is perhaps the most designation as a National Scenic Byway, provides scenic road in the world and someone else does consensus opportunity for grassroots support and all the driving! The ship-based nature of this advisement. Chapter 1 - Introduction 1-1 A Note on this Plan and its Structure As we proceed with our byway work and planning, we feel it will be most useful to focus our efforts on This Corridor Partnership Plan is a written specific issues that may arise in the coming years. document outlining goals and objectives intended to Each of these issues will be the topic of a separate enhance the experience of passengers on Alaska’s analysis to be performed as needed. We wish to avoid Marine Highway and meet the goals of the National the production of a weighty, awkward planning Scenic Byway Program. These goals and objectives document, but instead keep ourselves focused on focus soley on the Alaska Marine Highway System specific problems and opportunities we can pursue facilities and carries with it NO regulations for the within the framework offered by this plan. communities or lands the Marine Highway travels through. This plan is the first step to making improvements to the Alaska Marine Highway A Two Corridor Approach System while being a user-friendly, flexible tool that encourages implementation of the strategies. We An important aspect to the plan’s organization is the also see this effort as a beginning for this byway. concept of two types of corridors: Due to the route’s length and complexity, it will take years for it to fully evolve. We have designed this The Management Corridor: The management plan in a manner that will convey the significance of corridor refers to the terminal land owned by the the entire 8,834 mile-long byway, while leaving the Alaska Marine Highway System and the ships on door open for communities, businesses and property which passengers travel. This will be the only land owners along the route to participate at a time and and infrastructure affected by this byway program, in a manner they see as appropriate. The key to unless our neighbors in communities along the route success for this Partnership Plan will be the vital choose to participate in some way. We, of course, partnerships between the communities and the would welcome their participation. Alaska Marine Highway System working cooperatively on related projects. The Experience Corridor: This term refers to the lands and communities lying along the route into Each chapter in this plan is organized with a similar which passengers will venture. These lands lay structure. First, basic issues and facts are presented, outside the jurisdiction of this plan, but they provide followed by a summary of the challenges and much of the experience that draws people to our opportunities that arise from those issues. The goals state. Land owners, tribal corporations, businesses and objectives are stated to provide a positive, clear and government entities that choose to participate in direction when addressing the challenges and the byway effort may become Byway Partners, and as Alaskaís Marine Highway vessels opportunities.