Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve 1 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

GLACIER PARK BAYNATIONAL AND PRESERVE ® A R esource Assessment

September 2008 ®

Center for State of the Parks

More than a century ago, Congress established Yellowstone as the CONTENTS world’s first national park. That single act was the beginning of a remarkable and ongoing effort to protect this nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage. Today, Americans are learning that national park designation REPORT SUMMARY 1 alone cannot provide full resource protection. Many parks are compromised by development of adjacent lands, air and water pollu- KEY FINDINGS 10 tion, invasive plants and animals, and rapid increases in motorized recreation. Park officials often lack adequate information on the THE GLACIER BAY status of and trends in conditions of critical resources. NATIONAL PARK AND The National Parks Conservation Association initiated the State of the Parks® program in 2000 to assess the condition of natural and PRESERVE ASSESSMENT 13 cultural resources in the parks, and determine how well equipped the NATURAL RESOURCES— National Park Service is to protect the parks—its stewardship capac- HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS ity. The goal is to provide information that will help policymakers, the public, and the National Park Service improve conditions in FACE FEW THREATS 13 national parks, celebrate successes as models for other parks, and CULTURAL RESOURCES— ensure a lasting legacy for future generations. IMPROVING RELATIONS For more information about the methodology and research used in preparing this report and to learn more about the Center for State WITH THE TLINGIT of the Parks®, visit www.npca.org/stateoftheparks or contact: NPCA, ENRICHES PARK’S LEGACY 35 Center for State of the Parks®, P.O. Box 737, Fort Collins, CO 80522; STEWARDSHIP CAPACITY 49 Phone: 970.493.2545; E-mail: [email protected].

Since 1919, the National Parks Conservation Association has been APPENDIX: METHODOLOGY 56 the leading voice of the American people in protecting and enhanc- ing our National Park System. NPCA, its members, and partners work together to protect the park system and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for generations to come.

* More than 340,000 members * 23 regional and field offices * More than 120,000 activists

A special note of appreciation goes to those whose generous grants and donations made this report possible: MSST Foundation, Dorothy Canter, Ben and Ruth Hammett, and anonymous donors.

COVER: THE PARK’S TALLEST MOUNTAIN, MOUNT FAIRWEATHER / NATIONAL PARK SERVICE magnificent saltw inside passagetotheAlsekRiver, encirclinga ness thatstretchesnorthward fromAlaska’s commands aglacier-cro Glacier Bay NationalPark andPreserve marine andterrestrial life. To theeastand water glaciersandauniqueassemblage of this greatbay, whichharborsspectaculartide- its biologicalandcultural significance from million-acre parkderives itsnameandmuchof ater ba wned, maritimewilder y. Thenearly3.3 REPORT SUMMARY - Columbia, Canada.T Wilderness Provincial Park inBritish tional boundarywithTatshenshini-Alsek the park.T northeast, theTongass NationalForest borders marine waters andglacialice. GlacierBay itself acterize GlacierBay NationalPark andPreserve: while theopenPacific Oceanliestothewest. Cross SoundandIcyStrait border thepark, As itsnamesuggests, two mainfeatureschar- o thenorth,itsharesaninterna o thesouth,w aters of - the park. about 27percent of Today it covers the last250years. receding forabout glacial icehasbeen and Pr Bay NationalPark features ofGlacier Glaciers ar eser e primar ve, though y

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve 1 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

2 e ark and Preserv y National P Glacier Ba

Vegetation such as is a large marine fjord, with two main arms that human activities. President Calvin Coolidge horsetails (Equisetum wind more than 60 miles into the heart of the officially recognized the significance of this spp.), club mosses park. Glacial ice covers about 27 percent of the rapid glacial retreat when he created the 1.16 (Lycopodium spp.), and true mosses park’s area today, though the ice has dramati- million-acre Glacier Bay National Monument in (Bryophyta) carpet the cally receded over the past 250 years. The retreat 1925. His proclamation establishing the monu- ground in much of the of the glaciers is striking. When Captain George ment specifically identified the key importance park’s dense conifer- Vancouver charted adjacent waters of Icy Strait of scientific research. In 1939, President ous forests. in 1794, he described what we now call Glacier Franklin D. Roosevelt further recognized the Bay as just a small indent in a gigantic glacier significance of the area when he more than that stretched off to the horizon. Since that doubled the size of the national monument. time, the bay has undergone one of the fastest With the passage of the Alaska National large-scale glacial retreats ever recorded, and the Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in face of the closest tidewater glacier is now more 1980, the national monument was redesignated than 50 miles from where Vancouver first saw it. as Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, and Few places on Earth provide the opportunity the protected area was expanded to its present to study glacial retreat and associated ecological size of 3,283,246 acres. About 57,000 acres of responses in a setting virtually unaltered by this comprises the preserve portion, which lies to the northwest along the Pacific coast at Dry (Fratercula corniculata), moose (Alces alces), Bay and is managed differently from Glacier Bay wolves (Canis lupus), and king salmon National Park. In the preserve, ANILCA allows (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). subsistence and sport hunting, trapping, In recent decades, the park has worked to commercial fishing, and limited off-road strengthen ties with the Tlingit for whom vehicle use. In addition, commercial fishermen Glacier Bay is their sacred homeland. Innovative are allowed to maintain camps during the park programs take Tlingit schoolchildren on fishing season, and there are three permitted field trips into the park, which helps foster their lodges that provide opportunities for guided connection to tribal elders and their cultural sport fishing and hunting. heritage. Members of the Tlingit community are The park’s clean waters, ample shorelines, also welcomed into the park to harvest berries, steep mountains, and tidewater glaciers a variety of seafoods, and traditional use items 3

combine to create a diversity of habitat types, such as spruce roots and mountain goat hair e from estuarine wetland to dense coniferous (for weaving traditional blankets). To further forest to alpine tundra. These different ecologi- recognize Tlingit culture, support its interpreta- cal communities support myriad wildlife tion, and provide a place for cultural events, the species, including bald eagles (Haliaeetus leuco- park plans to build a Tlingit longhouse near ark and Preserv cephalus), brown bears (Ursus arctos), humpback park headquarters. whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), horned puffins

Diverse ecosystems at y National P Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, including the estuarine wetlands shown Glacier Ba NATIONAL PARK SERVICE here, host a wide variety of plants and wildlife. Note: When interpreting the scores for natural and cultural resource conditions, recognize that critical information upon which the ratings are based is not always available. This limits data interpretation to some extent. For Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, 87 percent of the natural resource information required by the methodology was available, and 100 percent of the cultural resource information was available.

RESOURCE CATEGORY CURRENT

NATURAL RESOURCES

Overall conditions 89 GOOD 4 Environmental and Biotic Measures 88 Biotic Impacts and Stressors 87

e Air 85 Water 93 Soils 83 Ecosystems Measures 89 Species Composition and Condition 88 ark and Preserv Ecosystem Extent and Function 91

RATINGS SCALE

CRITICAL POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT y National P

CULTURAL RESOURCES

Glacier Ba Overall conditions 66 FAIR Archaeology 60 Cultural Landscapes 55 Ethnography (Peoples and Cultures) 83 Historic Structures 59 History 63 Museum Collection and Archives 74

RATINGS SCALE

CRITICAL POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT

The findings in this report do not necessarily reflect past or current park management. Many factors that affect resource conditions are a result of both human and natural influences over long periods of time, in many cases before a park was established. The intent of the Center for State of the Parks is to document the present status of park resources and determine which actions can be taken to protect them into the future. RATINGS Current overall conditions of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve’s natural resources rated a “good” score of 89 out of 100. Ratings NATIONAL PARK SERVICE were assigned through an evaluation of park research and monitoring data using NPCA’s Center for State of the Parks comprehensive assessment methodology (see “Appendix” on page 56). Glacier Bay received one of the highest scores for natural resources of the 44 parks NPCA has assessed to date. 5 Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is

comprised largely of untouched wilderness and e is relatively pristine compared to other national parks. But there are some natural resource concerns, including the threat of overharvest of halibut, air pollution from Asia, and a few prob- ark and Preserv lematic invasive plants that may gain a foothold in the park. Little information is available to comprehensively understand the condition of

the park’s soils; currently, minor impacts from y National P camping and impacts from off-road vehicle use in limited areas shape the soils rating. Other than these issues, the park faces relatively few Glacier Ba known threats to the integrity of its ecosystems. To round out understandings of natural resources, however, the park needs baseline data on land mammals and invertebrates, animal harvests from hunting, and soil quality. Overall conditions of Glacier Bay’s cultural resources rated a “fair” score of 66 out of 100. The scores for cultural resources are based on the results of indicator questions that reflect the National Park Service’s own Cultural Resource Management Guideline and other policies related to cultural and historical resources. Cultural resource programs receive only 2 percent of the park’s budget and are managed primarily by one staff member. More staff are needed to catalog the museum collection and landscapes remain undiscovered because the Glacier Bay National archives and to develop interpretive programs park does not have any staff to complete Park and Preserve is one of the few places about historic structures, archaeological surveys. One highlight of the cultural resources on Earth that provides resources, and cultural landscapes, which program is the recent improvement in relations the opportunity to currently receive no interpretation. Potentially between the park and the Tlingit whose ances- study ecological significant archaeological resources and cultural tors once lived in the area. responses to glacial retreat. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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Glacier Bay National RESOURCE MANAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTS ark and Preserv Park and Preserve is comprised of largely • Virtually all the land in the park and about • In 1999 the Park Service, at the direction untouched wilderness that is a haven for 15 percent of the marine waters in Glacier of Congress, immediately halted all

y National P wildlife and adventur- Bay itself are designated wilderness. With commercial fishing within the park’s ous visitors. the exception of the single road from designated wilderness waters and began Gustavus to park headquarters in Bartlett to phase out commercial fishing in

Glacier Ba Cove, the park is unmarred by roads, and Glacier Bay proper. The only people still humans rarely visit vast areas. An off-road allowed to fish commercially in Glacier vehicle trail network in Glacier Bay Bay proper are those who have qualified National Preserve has the only other for lifetime nontransferable access vehicle activity outside of Bartlett Cove. permits by demonstrating a sufficient fishing history in the bay. When the last of • As most visitors arrive by water, regulat- these fishermen retires or is no longer ing vessel traffic in Glacier Bay is the key able to continue fishing, commercial resource management strategy to fishing will be completely phased out of prevent impacts to the park’s marine envi- Glacier Bay proper. This is estimated to ronment. Temporary regulations govern- occur around 2050, though it could ing boat traffic were first promulgated in happen as soon as 2025. When it occurs, 1980, followed by permanent regulations the park will contain one of the world’s in 1985 and a major planning effort culmi- largest high-latitude marine reserve nating in a vessel management plan in complexes where commercial fishing is 1995. A lawsuit brought by NPCA and not allowed. The U.S. Geological Survey acts of legislation in the late 1990s led the is collecting information on the effects of National Park Service to publish new these closures that could apply to other regulations for vessel management in marine reserves around the world. 2003. These regulations govern boat traffic today (see “Visitors by the Boatful” • Glacier Bay staff work closely with local on page 24). schools to take Huna and Yakutat Tlingit

schoolchildren on annual field trips into GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK AND the park to participate in traditional song, PRESERVE AT A GLANCE dance, and storytelling with tribal elders. Glacier Bay and the Dry Bay area are an inextricable part of Huna and Yakutat • Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is located in southeast Tlingit culture; these trips help foster Alaska and protects nearly 3.3 million acres of high mountains, connections between the Tlingit and their coniferous forest, and tidewater glaciers as well as more than history, identity, and heritage. 600,000 acres of marine waters. It is part of a World Heritage Site that also includes Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and • Providing opportunities for research is Preserve in Alaska and Kluane National Park and Tatshenshini- central to Glacier Bay’s mission. The park Alsek Provincial Park in Canada. This sprawling network of serves as an outstanding natural labora- protected lands and waters covers more than 24 million acres 7 tory for academic scientists involved in

and ranks as one of the largest tracts of contiguous protected e more than 50 current studies, some of area anywhere in the world. The United Nations Man and the which have been passed down through Biosphere Program also designated Glacier Bay as part of a generations of researchers. Many studies the Glacier Bay-Admiralty Island biosphere reserve. have focused on changes in the land-

scape and ecosystems related to the • Glacier Bay National Park is the spiritual homeland of the Huna ark and Preserv glacial retreat that has been occurring for Tlingit, and Glacier Bay National Preserve is the homeland of the last two centuries. A number of recent the Ghunaaxhoo Kwaan unit of the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe. The studies, such as the underwater acoustic park has programs in place to connect the Tlingit to their monitoring program conducted in coop- homelands and is working on programs to restore access to y National P eration with the U.S. Navy, have produced plants and animals for traditional uses. Cultural interpretation findings applicable well beyond the is increasingly a part of the park’s visitor program. Glacier Ba park’s boundaries. • The park boasts clean air and water, huge tracts of untouched • Researchers have monitored the park’s habitat, and the full complement of animal species that were humpback whale populations for 23 present before the arrival of Europeans. The National Park consecutive years. The humpback whale Service has instituted many regulatory measures to protect is currently listed as endangered under habitats and wildlife, such as rules regarding the movement of the Endangered Species Act, and the boats to minimize impacts on marine mammals. Research Park Service is an active participant in its programs gather information used to protect this marine mandated recovery plan. Long-term data wilderness. gathered through this program help • Each year more than 400,000 people visit Glacier Bay to admire guide vessel management activities. the stunning mountains and coastline as well as to pursue • The park’s website is informative and well activities such as boating, whale watching, and kayaking. designed, providing information on both Ninety-five percent of visitors arrive by water, and most of cultural and natural resources. The website these on large cruise ships. Rangers board the cruise ships to is a critical resource because most visitors present park information and answer questions. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE see the park from the deck of a cruise ship, never setting foot on park land. The website provides information on scientific research, park wildlife, the marine environment, and other topics of interest.

Kayaking is a favorite way to explore park waters. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

8 e ark and Preserv y National P Glacier Ba CATHERINE NORRIS 9 e ark and Preserv y National P Glacier Ba KEY FINDINGS harvested populations of wildlife, inverte- brate communities, and soil quality. Gathering this information is critical, Natural Resources particularly as global climate change • Natural forces shaped the landscape of affects park ecosystems at an accelerat- Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, ing rate. with little human influence. Only limited • Local halibut depletion may be one of the resource extraction occurred historically larger resource extraction threats facing on park lands given their remote location Glacier Bay, as halibut play an important and recent ice cover. Threats from devel- role in the food chain and having healthy opment are at a minimum, and while the populations of halibut of all ages is 10 park has not yet felt extensive impacts ecologically important. Although

e from invasive species or pollution, future commercial fishing in the bay proper is risks from these stressors are real and being phased out (lifetime access permit should be addressed before they holders will continue fishing until they become pervasive. retire—estimated by ca. 2050), commer-

ark and Preserv • Natural ecosystems at Glacier Bay cial harvests have recently increased to National Park and Preserve are intact and 500,000 pounds annually. Additionally, functional, and they could serve as a recreational halibut fishing in Glacier Bay benchmark for ecosystems within other and throughout southeast Alaska is on y National P national parks. But despite a history of the rise. Park managers must ensure that productive long-term research programs the sport fishery does not grow to in the park, baseline data are conspicu- supplant the commercial harvest as the Glacier Ba ously missing on key parameters such as latter wanes.

Most of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve’s visitors enter park waters on cruise ships and view NATIONAL PARK SERVICE the park from on board these vessels. The park regulates ship traffic to minimize threats to wildlife.

• Hunting and off-road vehicle use are surveys have reported up to 2,400 individ- allowed in the preserve portion of Glacier uals. At the same time, populations of Bay National Park and Preserve. The Park harbor seals declined significantly Service faces substantial challenges between 1992 and 2002 for unknown managing these activities. For example, reasons. Harbor seals are important not NATIONAL PARK SERVICE little information is known about baseline only to the park ecosystem but also to the populations of harvested wildlife culture of the Huna Tlingit. Historically, the species—important data that should be Tlingit harvested seals from areas within used to inform hunting regulations. The the park. This is no longer permitted, but extent of off-road vehicle trails has signif- some Huna Tlingit have expressed a icantly increased since 1980, to the detri- desire to renew the harvest of a small 11 ment of natural resources. The park’s plan number of seals for ceremonial purposes.

to close some trails and actively manage e • Continued commercial fishing in Icy the remainder will help mitigate damage. Strait/Cross Sound and along the Pacific • Seafaring vessels of all sizes and coast, within the boundaries of the park, Off-road vehicle use is shapes—ranging from commercial fuel could significantly affect the long-term allowed in the preserve. barges and cruise ships to tour boats and population health of various marine Trail networks have ark and Preserv private vessels—travel the waters in and species. Although this fishing is permit- expanded significantly around Glacier Bay National Park and ted, park managers are concerned about over the last three Preserve, and they present various threats the effects of potential overharvest of decades, and park

resources are being y National P to marine life and visitor experience. certain vulnerable species such as rock- damaged. The park is These threats include: vessels striking and fish and lingcod. Similarly, bottom trawl- preparing a plan to possibly killing whales and other marine ing for scallops may damage important address these problems. Glacier Ba organisms; noise from vessels affecting benthic habitats. Working with the state marine mammals and other organisms and other fisheries management agen- that rely on acoustical input to survive; cies to ensure sustainable harvest levels is fuel spills from both large and small critical, yet the park’s fisheries funding vessels; and air pollution from vessel and number of staff are very limited. In emissions. The Park Service works to 1999, Congress mandated a cooperative minimize these threats by limiting the fishery management plan between the number and type of vessels, implement- State of Alaska and the U.S. Department ing vessel course and speed restrictions of the Interior, but funding for this plan in some areas to protect whales, and has yet to be received. generally limiting vessel behavior, such as approach distances to sensitive resources (e.g., seabird colonies, pinniped haulouts, Cultural Resources etc.). Fuel spills from vessels in park • The park’s cultural resource program waters are a particular concern because receives just 2 percent of the overall park there are no known, effective methods to budget and is primarily managed by a clean up oil from the ice-filled waters of single staff member. Additional employ- the park’s upper fjords. ees, such as a full-time cultural resources • After initially recolonizing Glacier Bay in manager, historian, ethnographer, and the early 1990s, sea otters continue to archaeologist, are needed to assist with rapidly establish themselves. Aerial cultural resources management. • Important ethnological, archaeological, quate, and some documents have not and historical information is at risk of been cataloged and are difficult to access. being lost as Tlingit elders and longtime, Moreover, the park does not have any non-Tlingit local residents pass away space to accommodate additions to its before sharing their knowledge and library or archives. memories with younger generations. The park needs funds to hire staff to record, transcribe, and translate these oral tradi- Stewardship Capacity tions before the opportunities are lost. • Staffing and funding shortages make it • Staffing is needed to further develop difficult for the park to provide resources 12 interpretive and outreach projects that with the level of care they deserve. For focus on Tlingit culture. One example is example, the Park Service does not have e the Talking Map, an interactive exhibit the resources to patrol outer coastal that allows the public to scroll over a map regions of the national park, leading to of the park to see modern and historic concerns about the possibility of poach- photos of sites, hear place names in ing, resource damage, and unreported

ark and Preserv Tlingit, and learn about the Tlingit wildlife mortality in acts of defense of life culture. Further development would or property. Positions that need to be make this resource more broadly accessi- filled on a permanent basis include a ble online. Funds are also needed to cultural resource manager, ethnographer, y National P build a traditional Tlingit longhouse near technical communications specialist, bear park headquarters to provide space for biologist, second whale biologist, fish cultural events, cultural education, and biologist, seal biologist, and research Glacier Ba interpretive exhibits. vessel captain.

• The park maintains an important archival • To guide interpretation of natural and collection that includes such items as first- cultural resources, the park needs to hand accounts from 18th-century explor- complete a comprehensive interpretive ers Jean François Galaup de La Perouse, plan. A new plan will articulate the vision James Cook, and George Vancouver. The for the park’s interpretive future and park also has an invaluable collection of recommend the media and programs historical documents that pertain to the best suited for meeting visitor needs, administrative history of the park. Storage achieving management goals, and telling space for the archives is woefully inade- the park’s stories.

The park needs funds to patrol its outer coastal regions to guard against poaching and NATIONAL PARK SERVICE resource damage. THE GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE ASSESSMENT NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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NATURAL RESOURCES— tems and naturally functioning ecological Visitors to Glacier HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS FACE FEW processes, which have not been disrupted by Bay often see marine mammals IMMEDIATE THREATS historical human activities such as resource such as orcas (shown extraction. Many populations of wildlife here), porpoises, The assessment rated the overall condition of appear to be thriving with several exceptions— seals, and sea lions. natural resources at Glacier Bay National Park harbor seals, Kittlitz’s murrelets, and marbled and Preserve a score of 89 out of 100, which murrelets. Threats from development are at a ranks park resources at the very high end of minimum, and while the park has not yet felt “good” condition. Prominent factors influenc- extensive impacts from invasive species or ing the rating include the intact park ecosys- pollution, future risks from these stressors are but current hunting policies are developed by state agencies without the benefit of comprehensive data on populations of harvested wildlife species. More information is needed to NATIONAL PARK SERVICE guide these policies. Overall, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is considered by many to be a crown jewel within the National Park System. It is large, remote, and relatively free of some of the threats facing other national parks. As a result of this status, park managers are challenged to 14 maintain Glacier Bay as one of our nation’s best

e examples of a healthy, intact natural system.

GLACIERS AND BAYS— AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LAY OF THE LAND ark and Preserv Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is comprised of open ocean, protected bays, rugged mountains, tidewater and valley glaciers,

y National P and coniferous forest in varying stages of ecological succession. It extends from the Pacific coast in the west to the Takhinsha and Chilkat

Glacier Ba Glacier Bay National real and should be addressed before they Mountains in the east, crossing the Fairweather Park and Preserve become pervasive. Mountain Range and encompassing the entire extends from the Concerns within Glacier Bay National Park watershed of Glacier Bay. Many of the park’s Pacific coast to the Takhinsha and Chilkat and Preserve include the status of halibut, rock- mountains exceed 10,000 feet in height, and the Mountains, crossing fish, and lingcod fisheries (which are under tallest, Mount Fairweather, peaks at 15,300 feet, the Fairweather harvest pressure from both commercial and less than 20 miles from the sea. Mountain Range and recreational fishing); brown and black bears The marine environment strongly influences encompassing the (which continue to absorb losses from defense- the park’s climate and keeps the area cooler in the entire Glacier Bay watershed. of-life-and-property kills outside the park); summer, warmer in the winter, and generally western toads (strong anecdotal evidence of wetter than inland Alaska. Storms from the Gulf regional declines); some Neotropical migrant of Alaska bring plentiful moisture to the park, songbirds (which may be declining throughout especially on the outer coast and southern the region due to conditions in their winter Glacier Bay/Icy Strait. Given the large size of the habitats far away from the park); and yellow park and its topographic diversity, weather cedar (regional declines are thought to be patterns vary quite a bit from site to site. At sea related to cold winter temperatures combined level, high temperatures in July usually range with thinning covers of root-insulating snow— between 50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, while lows possibly attributable to climate change). A lack in January dip below zero at times but are of baseline data for these and other natural frequently in the 10 to 30 degree range. The prox- resources hampers the ability of park staff to imity of the sea creates the cool, moist climate detect changes in resource conditions over time. with abundant precipitation that enhances For example, hunting is allowed in the preserve, glaciation and largely defines the park’s biota. HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY LAND In contrast to the relatively undisturbed state USE—PARK LARGELY UNMARRED BY of the lands bordering Glacier Bay, the waters PAST USES; CURRENT THREATS ARE both within and just outside park jurisdiction LIMITED are subject to intense uses such as commercial Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is and sport fishing. Parts of Glacier Bay have been surrounded by more undeveloped land than closed to commercial fishing in recent years. any other park in the National Park System. The rest of the bay is being closed gradually (see Nearby protected areas include Wrangell-St. the “Fisheries” section on page 26), which will Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska and in time establish it as one of the world’s largest Kluane National Park and Tatshenshini-Alsek temperate marine reserves where commercial Wilderness Provincial Park in Canada. This fish harvest does not occur. 15 sprawling network of protected lands encom- Because so much of the area in and around

passes more than 24 million acres and is one of Glacier Bay is remote, roadless, and was covered e the largest tracts of contiguous protected land by ice until relatively recently, it has little history anywhere in the world. It comprises a massive of large-scale resource extraction. (The excep- World Heritage Site designated by the United tion to this is the commercial fishing, which has Though the lands within and surround- Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural occurred in the region for about 100 years.) ing the park are rela- ark and Preserv Organization (UNESCO), the principal interna- When Captain George Vancouver charted the tively undisturbed by tional recognition given to natural and cultural area in 1794, the wall of ice that covered nearly resource extraction, areas of global significance. all of what is now Glacier Bay gave no indica- waters within and around the park are To the northwest of Glacier Bay is the north- tion of what would emerge when the ice y National P subject to intense ern extension of the Tongass National Forest. melted. Although the Tlingits followed the uses such as commer- Although some timber harvest and other retreating ice front into the bay, their footprint cial fishing. However, resource extraction occur in this part of the on the land was minimal. It was not until 1879 some commercial Glacier Ba forest, the Yakutat Ranger District adjacent to the that John Muir announced the “discovery” of fisheries in Glacier Bay proper have park’s border is largely designated as roadless. Glacier Bay to the wider world. In the short been closed in recent period between Muir’s announcement and the In the few areas surrounding Glacier Bay that years, and the are not conservation units, human population designation of the area as a national monument remainder are being is relatively sparse. Gustavus, the closest town, in 1925, tourists and scientists visited and a few phased out gradually. has only 452 residents and is just a few miles from the park. It is the only town connected by road to the park (but to no other highway system). Other towns in the region include Hoonah, Skagway, Yakutat, Haines, Elfin Cove, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE and Pelican; all have fewer than 2,000 residents and all are separated from Glacier Bay by water or roadless wilderness. Most of these towns are accessible only by boat or airplane, having no roads to connect them to each other or (with the exception of Haines and Skagway) to the outside world. Juneau, the state capital and the largest city in the region, has a population of about 31,000. Although only 60 miles from Glacier Bay, travel between Juneau and the park also requires a boat or an airplane. settlers arrived, but no extensive logging or that it could be developed as Gustavus’s port. mining operations were established. This would significantly alter the nature of Glacier Bay’s history contrasts with many Bartlett Cove by essentially creating an indus- other national parks, which include areas previ- trial-use zone in the park’s primary visitor use ously exploited (often heavily) for resource area. The Gustavus city government is working extraction prior to their protection. For to build the new dock in Gustavus, however, example, throughout California’s desert parks— rather than in Bartlett Cove. Joshua Tree, Mojave, and Death Valley—there Other development could occur on the nine are numerous abandoned mines, some of privately held parcels within the boundaries of which present safety risks to visitors. At Hawai'i the park. Five of the nine parcels contain valu- Volcanoes National Park, staff battle the effects able salmon runs that could be harmed by 16 of non-native animals such as goats, hogs, and development. Of particular concern to the park

e cattle that were introduced by settlers for agri- is development on a 140-acre private plot in cultural and ranching purposes. These animals Hugh Miller Inlet, one of the park’s five desig- have wreaked havoc on native ecosystems that nated Wilderness Waters, where there has been include federally listed endangered species. In ongoing discussion about developing a lodge. addition, land clearing for cattle ranching, Motorized traffic is not allowed in Hugh Miller ark and Preserv logging, agriculture, and forestry (cultivation of Inlet from May 1 to September 15, but a lodge non-native species) contributed to the loss of could seek year-round motorized access. Any large forest tracts. At Big Thicket National development of a lodge or other tourist facility

y National P Preserve in Texas, old-growth forests were on a remote parcel in Glacier Bay would logged and oil was extracted in large quantities. increase vessel traffic as guests come and go and In contrast, Glacier Bay National Park and recreate while they are there. This increased

Glacier Ba Preserve harbors forests that have gone through activity could result in negative effects on natural successional processes uninfluenced by marine mammals and nesting and molting human disturbances and thus provides an birds, increased pressure on sport fisheries, important case study for scientists. introduction of invasive species, and disruption In addition to limited historical extractive of the quiet solitude that surrounds areas that use, there is very little development within the are devoid of human habitation. In addition to The park’s forests park, unlike some other national parks with development on the nine privately held parcels, have gone through extensive visitor facilities. Most of the develop- there is a 400-acre patented mining claim under natural successional ment is around Bartlett Cove, which contains the Brady Ice Field that could potentially be processes, so they two docks, a lodge, and Park Service offices, staff mined in the future. But given that it is currently provide an important case study for housing, and maintenance buildings. A road covered by ice, the threat is remote. With finan- scientists. extends from Gustavus to Bartlett Cove and, in cial support from the congressionally funded the park, connects the lodge, main dock, and Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Park Park Service buildings. Within the preserve, Service is attempting to purchase inholdings there are three small private lodges used by visi- from willing sellers. tors, some commercial fishing facilities, and off-

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE road vehicle trails. PLANT COMMUNITIES—NATURAL Today the park faces only minor develop- CONDITIONS DETERMINE DISTRIBUTION, ment pressure. The economy in Gustavus is tied STRUCTURE, AND FUNCTION intimately to Glacier Bay National Park and Plant communities within Glacier Bay National Preserve. Some town residents would like to Park and Preserve vary based on elevation, soil somehow excise Bartlett Cove from the park so character (including drainage and nutrient Subalpine meadows are lush with some of the 333 vascular plant species that have been docu- NATIONAL PARK SERVICE mented in the park.

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availability), and successional stage. Generally, Ice Age is typical of similarly sited forests else- Glacier Ba the areas nearest the mouth of the bay have where in southeast Alaska—dominated by been free of ice for 250 to 300 years, with western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), Sitka increasingly younger soils as one approaches spruce (Picea sitchensis), and locally in some today’s glacial termini. This general pattern, areas (e.g., Dundas Bay and the outer coast) along with the well-documented history of yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis). glacial retreat, makes Glacier Bay an outstand- Many of these forests have a lush understory of ing natural laboratory to study plant succession. moss, ferns, and shrubs. Mountain hemlock The Alaska Natural Heritage Program vascu- (Tsuga mertensiana) dominates the higher lar plant inventories of 2001 and 2003 docu- elevation forest where the western hemlock is mented 333 species within the park. General limited by snow and wind. At high-elevation types of plant communities within the park sites in areas free of glaciers, the forest gives include lowland forest, upland forest, subalpine way to subapline meadows at first, and then to meadow, alpine tundra, bog and shrub areas, alpine tundra at the highest elevations where salt marsh, and beach meadow. grasses, sedges, herbs, mosses, lichens, and Although the park’s wet climate encourages small shrubs are common. trees to grow fairly quickly, most forests of the Scattered throughout the landscape are bay proper are still in relatively early stages of patches where the forest has been disturbed succession, having been established since the by avalanches, windthrow (trees blown down retreat of glaciers within the last 250 years. The by winds), and other natural occurrences. In coastal lowland rainforest of the park outside these areas shrubs such as alder (Alnus spp.) the bay that escaped the glaciation of the Little and salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) dominate The melting of glaciers allowed moose to migrate to the park about 50 years ago, and NATIONAL PARK SERVICE their populations have grown steadily since then.

18 e ark and Preserv y National P

Glacier Ba until disturbances or natural succession lead (Ursus arctos), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), to other plant communities. Willows (Salix coyote (Canis latrans), gray wolf (Canis lupus), spp.) and alder cover areas of river valleys red fox (Vulpes vulpes), wolverine (Gulo gulo, one prone to periodic flooding, and bogs exist in of the rarest mammals in North America), and areas that are too wet for trees. Other plant several other members of the weasel family. communities include salt marshes with Herbivores include Sitka black-tailed deer grasses, sedges, and herbs tolerant of salt (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis), mountain goats water, as well as beach meadows dominated (Oreamnos americanus), porcupines (Erethizon by native grasses, wildflowers, mosses, and dorsatum), beavers (Castor canadensis), marmots cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum). (Marmota caligata), and a variety of small mammals. Moose (Alces alces) arrived in the ANIMAL COMMUNITIES—PARK RETAINS park about 50 years ago when the glaciers that INTACT ASSEMBLAGE OF had been a barrier to the area melted sufficiently VERTEBRATES to provide passage. Since then, they have Unlike parks in the rest of the United States, enjoyed steady population growth. Wolf popu- parks in Alaska still support the full comple- lations may be on the rise, too, likely as a result ment of mammal species present before the of the increase in their prey base. arrival of Europeans. Glacier Bay National Park Marine mammal sightings are a regular high- and Preserve is no exception. It hosts 30 of the light for visitors to Glacier Bay. Park waters host 40 or so land mammals that occur in Alaska. a number of marine mammals, including five Mammalian predators within the park include whale species, the most common of which are black bear (Ursus americanus), brown bear humpback, killer (Orcinus orca), and minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata). Gray (Eschrichtius underlying the declines are not known. The robustus) and sperm (Physeter macrocephalus) Kittlitz’s murrelet was recently listed as a candi- whales may be found in the park waters in the date species for protection under the Gulf of Alaska. Other marine mammals include Endangered Species Act. Species such as rock Dall’s and harbor porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) and gray-crowned and Phocoena phocoena, respectively), northern rosy-finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis) are adapted to sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni), harbor seals the alpine tundra, while a host of other birds (Phoca vitulina richardsi), and Steller and such as the Canada goose (Branta canadensis), California sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus and varied thrush (Ixoreus naevius), and several Zalophus californianus, respectively). Two marine warblers (e.g., Vermivora spp., Dendroica spp.) mammals—the humpback whale and the migrate to the park in summer months to breed Steller sea lion—are currently protected under in a wide variety of habitats. 19

the Endangered Species Act. Overall, marine Alaska is not known for its amphibian and e mammal populations in the park are stable or reptile diversity. In fact, only six species of increasing, with one exception—the harbor amphibians are native to the state. Of those, seal. Harbor seals, while common and increas- three have been found in or near Glacier Bay ing in other parts of their range, are decreasing National Park and Preserve: western toad (Bufo ark and Preserv in Glacier Bay for reasons still unknown. boreas), wood frog (Rana sylvatica), and north- Scientists are studying this issue extensively. western salamander (Ambystoma gracile). The For 23 consecutive years, scientists have park’s most common amphibian, the western

monitored humpback whale populations in toad, has been the subject of recent study and is y National P park waters, gathering long-term population thought to be declining regionally. In general, and behavioral information that helps to guide little is known about amphibian populations in

management decisions dealing mostly with the area. With the exception of the rare passing Glacier Ba vessel numbers and operating restrictions. sea turtle, no reptile species are known to occur Annual counts have totaled between 15 and 111 in the park. individual humpback whales in Glacier Bay The northern sea otter proper. Each summer, vessel course and speed WATER RESOURCES—DIVERSITY is one of a variety of restrictions are based on the distributions and RANGING FROM RICH INTERTIDAL marine mammal species inhabiting concentrations of these individual whales. ZONES TO NEWBORN GLACIAL park waters. Beyond mammals, Glacier Bay National Park STREAMS and Preserve supports about 240 species of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve encom- birds. Many of them are resident forest species passes an array of marine and freshwater such as the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), systems, each with its own special features. The northern goshawk (Accipiter gentiles), and three- park and preserve’s marine waters include the NATIONAL PARK SERVICE toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus). Some are sheltered Glacier Bay proper, Dundas Bay, addi- colonial seabirds such as the tufted puffin tional small bays and coves, the “semipro- (Fratercula cirrhata) and black-legged kittiwake tected” Cross Sound and Icy Strait, and the (Rissa tridactyla). Open ocean species include completely open ocean of the park’s exposed several species of shearwaters (Puffinus spp.) outer coast. Exceptionally large tides and high and storm-petrels (Oceanodroma spp.), marbled productivity characterize the park’s marine murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus), and waters. Tides within the park, which can range Kittlitz’s murrelets (Brachyramphus brevirostris). vertically up to 25 feet and rank among the Both of the latter have declined by more than 75 highest in the world, contribute to the amazing percent in Glacier Bay since 1991; cause(s) productivity of its marine ecosystem. Other Images of the park’s outer coast, collected by the ShoreZone program, will be used to document coastline NATIONAL PARK SERVICE changes that could result from global warming, oil spills, or other natural or human-caused events.

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contributing factors are the cool temperature, and sedimentation patterns that result from

Glacier Ba strong currents, high volumes of mineral-rich structures such as docks and gravel roads. freshwater input from melting glaciers and Recognizing both the importance and the heavy inland precipitation, and the topography vulnerability of the intertidal zones, the Park of the ocean’s floor. The end product of these Service and U.S. Geological Survey established a combined factors is a water column with just monitoring program in 1997 that sampled 25 the right amount of stability and stratification intertidal areas four times between 1997 and to maintain nutrients and phytoplankton near 2001. The Park Service also gathered baseline the surface within the influence of sunlight, data on 960 miles of relatively protected coast- where they flourish and feed zooplankton. The line as part of the effort to develop a protocol zooplankton provide a food source for small, for mapping coastal resources in Alaska parks. schooling fishes (e.g., capelin, sand lance, juve- ShoreZone, a separate program sponsored by nile pollock, herring), which comprise the multiple organizations, collected aerial video primary food source for almost all predatory footage of the exposed outer coast of the park in marine vertebrates, from fishes and seabirds to 2005. All of these efforts will enable scientists to pinnipeds and whales. document coastline change in the park, whether The park’s intertidal zones comprise only a gradual as in the case of global warming or small percentage of its total area, but they serve sudden as in the case of an oil spill. as critical habitat for almost all wildlife due to In addition to marine resources, Glacier Bay their high levels of productivity. While intertidal National Park and Preserve hosts numerous habitats are naturally resilient to disturbance, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and wetlands. they can be devastated quickly by oil spills or Combined with the glaciers and groundwater of degraded more slowly by changes in currents the park, these represent an extensive and diverse array of freshwater resources. Of the esti- contaminants in localized areas. Dog Salmon mated 300 streams within the park, about 100 Creek (Dry Bay area, in the preserve) tested of them were created in the last 250 years, positive for fecal coliform and Escherichia coli, during the course of glacial retreat. Lakes also and Bartlett Cove groundwater showed some vary in age, from ten to 10,000 years, and contamination from fuel. A few contaminated number in the thousands. Five lakes are larger areas are associated with historic mining claims. than 1,000 acres. Park wetlands fall into the For example, sampling in 1984 revealed high four categories of estuarine (a mix of marine concentrations of lead and cadmium at the site and fresh water at the coast), riverine (navigable of a former gold mine along Ptarmigan Creek. river), palustrine (inland marsh that lacks But mining was never widespread within the flowing water), and lacustrine (lake). park, so this is a limited concern, and sampling The quality of the park’s waters is assumed to has not been conducted more recently. Small 21

be high, but water quality is not monitored amounts of fuel, oil, and wastewater are e systematically. A few studies have been discharged by all vessels that travel park waters, All vessels that travel park waters discharge conducted at a limited number of sites. The but threats to park ecosystems from this pollu- small amounts of fuel, only area where water quality has been tracked tion are so far considered relatively minor. oil, and wastewater. across time is the Alsek River. One-time meas- Atmospheric deposition of contaminants The harmful effects ark and Preserv urements have been made in other streams. such as mercury, which blows in from Asian from this pollution are considered to be rela- Scientists have noted two main local water- power plants, is also of concern because it tively minor so far; quality concerns in the park: impacts from bioaccumulates in marine fishes, can affect however, planning for marine vessels, in particular the threat of fuel reproductive success, and is passed up the food accidental large-scale y National P spills, and development in and around chain. More research on this topic is needed. fuel spills from marine Gustavus, Bartlett Cove, and Excursion Inlet, Off-road vehicle use is creating water quality vessels is a primary concern because of which has a fish-processing plant. At this time, concerns in the Dry Bay region of Glacier Bay Glacier Ba the potential damage available research shows the only impairments Preserve (see “Special Concerns in the Preserve such spills could cause to water quality are associated with minimal Challenge Resource Managers” on page 33). to park ecosystems. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

PARK PROVIDES A NATURAL LABORATORY

In 1916, just two decades after John Muir document large-scale colonization patterns, described Glacier Bay in The Century maga- they collected water samples, netted zine, an ecologist named Dr. William Skinner insects, picked leaves, recorded streambed Cooper arrived in the area from the composition, counted species of fish, and University of Minnesota to study the plants detailed a host of other parameters. Analysis that first recolonize barren soils after the of the data collected yielded useful informa- retreat of glacial ice. His research so excited tion about the interacting processes that members of the Ecological Society of build stream communities. They found that 22 America that they eventually helped Dr. lakes help structure the community by Cooper convince President Calvin Coolidge providing flow stability that allows plants to

e to establish Glacier Bay National Monument grow in the streambed. The plants enhance in 1925. Considered by many to be the colonization by insects and provide cover to “Father of Glacier Bay National Park,” Dr. the stream. Fish eat the insects and use the Cooper played a critical role in its establish- habitats created by vegetation to hide from ment, and his ecological perspective helped predators. Once salmon establish in the ark and Preserv to create a lasting legacy of scientific stream, they bring a source of nitrogen and research in the park. other nutrients from the sea as they return to Today Glacier Bay National Park and spawn and die. These inputs fertilize plants

y National P Preserve is justifiably proud of its numerous and trees that eventually provide woody and productive collaborations with debris in the stream. Woody debris in turn academic scientists. From the beginning, stabilizes and diversifies the streambed,

Glacier Ba the park’s enabling proclamation explicitly improving the habitat for juvenile salmon recognized the opportunities for research to and for riparian vegetation. document the biological succession that The study, published in 2000 in the occurs in the wake of receding glaciers. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Glaciers in the park proliferated during the Sciences, paints a picture of successional Little Ice Age about 550 years ago but have processes at work, and it provides informa- been receding for the last 250 years or so. tion highly relevant to watershed manage- The glacial retreat has created a unique ment and the restoration of degraded assemblage of ecosystems of varying ages. streams everywhere. It is one example of a For example, the lakes in one Glacier Bay research program that took advantage of study range in age from ten to 10,000 years. the unique opportunities provided by The rare combination of natural laboratory Glacier Bay’s dynamic landscape and by the and park administrative support has resulted park’s commitment to academic study. in a wealth of long-term studies in Glacier Other recent biological studies include Bay, some of which have been handed down an examination of the long-term effects of from professor to student through genera- spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) tions of academic researchers. outbreaks on stands of Sitka spruce. In 1997, a team of scientists led by Another focuses on the effects of the Alexander Milner and Eric Knudsen began increasing populations of moose, which studying the physical and biological charac- arrived in Glacier Bay only within about the teristics of 16 park streams that varied in age last 50 years. from 35 to 1,377 years old. In an effort to Geologists and hydrologists come to the NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

23 e ark and Preserv y National P Glacier Ba

park to study phenomena such as isostatic rates of sedimentation and erosion. Glacier Bay National rebound, which is the process by which the Changes in hydrology result in changes to Park and Preserve provides extensive surface of the Earth uplifts in response to the plant and animal communities within the opportunities for relieved pressure after glaciers recede. park, both on land and in the water. research, and data Because of the stiff consistency of the Earth’s As global climate change comes to the gathered in the park crust, such rebound happens slowly, often forefront of public awareness, Glacier Bay’s contribute to scien- continuing for tens of thousands of years long-term datasets become more relevant tific knowledge of biological succession, after glacial retreat. In Glacier Bay, uplift than ever. Long-term research conducted in ecological responses rates due to isostatic rebound are estimated Glacier Bay continues to contribute signifi- to climate change, at up to 1.2 inches per year. At this rate, the cantly to scientific knowledge of the ways in and a host of other rebound is having significant effects on which landscapes and communities respond topics. groundwater levels, flooding frequency, and to climatic change. VISITORS BY THE BOATFUL— vessel management in 2003. These regulations CRUISE SHIPS, CHARTER BOATS, govern boat traffic today. From June through AND OTHER VESSELS DELIVER August, park regulations do not permit more PEOPLE TO THE PARK than two cruise ships, three tour vessels, six Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is charter boats, and 25 private boats into Glacier unusual in the style of visitation it receives: Bay per day. Although that translates to as many More than 95 percent of park visitors arrive by as 184 cruise ships and 2,300 private vessels cruise ship or other marine vessel and never set touring Glacier Bay waters during the summer foot on park land. Instead, they view the park months, the park limits the number of cruise from the water and listen to rangers who board ships based on current science about the cruise ships or tour boats to provide interpretive impacts of large ships on marine mammals. As 24 programs. Because most boat visitors never a result, summer cruise ship limits are currently

e come ashore, impacts to the park depend more set at 153 ships. And to date, the highest on the number and size of vessels than on the number of private vessels in Glacier Bay during number of visitors. a summer season was 740 in 2007. During the Monitoring and managing vessel impacts is rest of the year, there is no limit on private and an ongoing challenge for staff at Glacier Bay charter boats entering Glacier Bay, but the level ark and Preserv National Park and Preserve. Temporary regula- of visitation is much lower. Entry limits apply Despite challenging tions governing boat traffic were first promul- only to Glacier Bay proper. There are no limits terrain and heavy gated in 1980, followed by permanent regula- on the number of private, charter, tour, and

y National P brush, hiking offers tions in 1985 and a major planning effort cruise vessels visiting other bays and park waters opportunities to culminating in a vessel management plan in (e.g., Dundas Bay, Taylor Bay, Lituya Bay, and explore parts of the 1995. A lawsuit brought by NPCA and acts of the long stretch of outer coastal waters). park that are not

Glacier Ba visible from cruise legislation in the late 1990s led the National While more than 400,000 people visit the ships or other vessels. Park Service to publish new regulations for park every year, only about 1,000 to 1,500 of them obtain permits to camp in the backcountry. Some independent visitors opt to stay in Glacier Bay Lodge in Bartlett Cove or in the nearby town of Gustavus, exploring the park through day tours, charter trips, flightseeing NATIONAL PARK SERVICE trips, kayak trips, and day hikes on the park’s limited trail system. Little data are available on the impacts of kayakers and campers on park wildlife, though resource managers are concerned that concentrated human use on certain shorelines affects ground-nesting marine birds, bears, hauled-out Steller sea lions, and harbor seals. Some studies have documented wildlife disturbance to molting seals, nesting birds, and bears. A 2003 study of backcountry conditions found that despite some localized impacts, the overall magnitude of impacts to park resources (e.g., vegetation) from campers appears to be minimal.

BOAT TRAFFIC—NOISE IMPACTS STILL IN QUESTION; POTENTIAL FOR OIL SPILLS STILL A CONCERN When boats travel through any water, there is always the potential for effects on wildlife and NATIONAL PARK SERVICE their marine habitat. In Glacier Bay, a pregnant humpback whale was struck by a ship and killed in 2001. Additionally, underwater noise from vessels could negatively affect species such as whales that rely on acoustic input. The threat of an oil spill is also ever present as large and small ships continuously move through park waters 25

and nearby areas. e To help minimize the chances of disturbing and possibly killing marine wildlife and to ensure high quality wilderness experiences for visitors, the park has seasonal limits on ark and Preserv numbers of each boat type allowed in the park per day (see “Visitors by the Boatful” on page descriptive data to estimate and quantify the U.S. Navy acousticians 24). Course and speed restrictions in areas acoustic differences between days with different install a hydrophone in Bartlett Cove to where whales are present and buffer zones to numbers of cruise ships. This information is y National P monitor underwater protect seal haul-out areas are some of the important because the park superintendent sound as part of a measures that are intended to reduce the effects conducts an annual review of the number of collaborative project of park visitation on wildlife. Even with these ships and decides whether that number should with the Park Service. Glacier Ba regulations, underwater noise from boats could be changed. Similarly, the park has contracted Understanding the effects of underwater affect the park’s many species of marine life, with outside acousticians to use a model that sound on wildlife, including marine mammals, which are known estimates whales’ exposure to vessel noise under such as whales and to have sensitive hearing and complicated various operating scenarios (i.e., different other marine patterns of vocal communication. Noise from numbers of ships and traveling at various mammals, will help boats could create stress or disrupt their social speeds), because the park regularly uses speed park managers determine how best to functions. The park, in conjunction with the limits to protect whales or other species. protect these animals. U.S. Navy, has been monitoring underwater Judging whether a particular level of acoustic noise in lower Glacier Bay for seven years. exposure or behavioral disturbance will have a While questions about the impacts of boat discernable biological effect on an individual noise on wildlife have fueled study in Glacier whale remains a significant challenge for scien- Bay, the research to date has been descriptive, tists and managers worldwide. rather than addressing specific hypotheses Additionally, a new study is under way in about the effects of noise on whales or other which Park Service observers record the wildlife. The baseline description of underwater distances from the ship at which whales surface, noise in Glacier Bay and the calibrated measure- in an effort to assess the risk of whale-ship colli- ments of noise generated by individual ships sions under various conditions. From all of and smaller vessels are the raw materials for these studies, the park aims to better understand predicting the effects of park management deci- the effects of vessel traffic on whales at both the sions on the acoustic environment. For individual and population levels. example, studies in progress are using these The annual humpback whale monitoring program at the park has observed increasing small creeks, ponds, and wetlands to larger numbers of whales in the Glacier Bay area for rivers, including the lower reach of the Alsek the past several years, suggesting that reproduc- River. Many of Glacier Bay’s streams support tion and recruitment have been favorable for abundant salmon runs, filling with mature this endangered species in the North Pacific in adults in the summer and fall months when recent years. However, the management of they return to their birthplaces to spawn and whale-vessel interactions becomes more chal- die. Species of salmon breeding in the park lenging as the whale population grows. include chinook (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha)— In addition to collisions with wildlife and though populations are likely very small— underwater noise disturbance, fuel spills are sockeye (O. nerka), pink (O. gorbuscha), chum possible from boats traveling both within and (O. keta), and coho (O. kisutch). Steelhead (O. 26 outside park boundaries. In 2000, the park mykiss) and cutthroat trout (O. clarkii), as well as

e commissioned a study to review the different Dolly Varden char (Salvelinus malma), also occur types of vessels using waters in the park’s vicin- in freshwater habitats. ity and to assess the probability of a fuel spill. Commercial fishing is allowed in many areas The study indicated that transit routes and throughout Glacier Bay National Park and prevailing currents minimize the risks of Preserve. Park waters of Icy Strait, Cross Sound, ark and Preserv contamination from oil tankers, but small spills and the park’s outer coast (to three miles from other vessels are possible. There have been offshore) are open to all commercial fishing; several accidents and vessel groundings within Glacier Bay proper is restricted to Pacific halibut

y National P the park, including a tour boat that ran aground longlining, Tanner crab rings and pots, and in 1999 and another one that hit a rock and winter chinook salmon trolling (mid-October almost sank in 1993. Due to the complexities of to the end of April).

Glacier Ba the bay, no general water circulation model has Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepus), some been constructed to help devise a plan to of which can exceed several hundred pounds in respond efficiently to spills from these sorts of weight, are among the most commercially valu- vessels, though recent studies are beginning to able of the park’s species. According to a 2001 make sense of circulation patterns, which could publication by the Alaska Science Center of the Park waters contain at lead to better oil spill response. In the mean- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), halibut are least 160 fish species, time, the park has devised response strategies to currently abundant, but commercial and sport including sockeye help protect Bartlett Cove and a few other sensi- fishing may deplete local populations or skew salmon (shown here), tive areas if an oil spill should occur. At this age, size, and sex structure of the local popula- and scientists suspect as many as 160 more time, there is no reliable method to clean up oil tion. These fish have a life span of 40 years or fish species also in the ice-filled waters of the park’s upper bays. more, but most fish harvested in the commer- occur in the park. cial fishery are 11 to 13 years old, on average; FISHERIES—HIGH PRODUCTIVITY IN females do not achieve reproductive maturity PARK WATERS ATTRACTS until they reach an average age of 12 years. As a COMMERCIAL FISHERS result, overexploitation can have severe conse- More than 160 fish species have been docu- quences for halibut populations. mented in park waters, and as many as 160 Other commercially harvested marine NATIONAL PARK SERVICE more are thought to occur there. This relatively animals include several species of rockfish high species diversity is due, in part, to the great (slow-growing, long-lived fish with low repro- diversity of habitats ranging from shallow ductive capacity), lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), marine tide pools to deep benthic habitats three species of king crab (red, Paralithodes (exceeding 230 fathoms or 1,380 feet) and from camtschatica; blue, P. platypus; and golden, While commercial fishing is allowed in many areas throughout Glacier Bay National Park and NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Preserve, it is being phased out in the bay proper.

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Lithodes aequispina), Tanner crab (Chionoecetes their population status, or even, in some cases, Glacier Ba bairdi), weathervane scallop (Patinopecten cauri- their basic biology. This lack of knowledge, nus), Dungeness crab (Cancer magister), and despite the availability of catch and harvest five different species of shrimp (pink, Pandalus statistics, is a concern because park managers do borealis; humpy, P. goniurus; sidestripe, not have the information needed to determine Pandalopsis dispar; spot, P. platyceros; and coon- if these species are being seriously affected by stripe, P. hypsinotus). harvest within park waters. A 2001 report by the USGS’s Alaska Science According to the Alaska Commercial Center indicates that between 1970 and 1995, Fisheries Entry Commission, between 429,000 76,000 to 658,000 pounds of Dungeness crab and 498,000 pounds of halibut and Dungeness were harvested annually from Glacier Bay crab were harvested annually from Glacier Bay proper and Icy Strait (including areas outside proper between 1992 and 1995. Throughout Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve). The the 1990s, the Park Service was embroiled in commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Glacier discussions with the State of Alaska, commer- Bay proper closed in 1999, but commercial cial fishers, and conservation groups about the harvest still occurs outside the bay, and a recre- extent to which commercial fishing should be ational fishery continues within the bay and allowed in Glacier Bay. The discussions were elsewhere. Moreover, Dungeness crab is also an initiated by a 1990 lawsuit challenging the legit- important prey item to sea otters, which are imacy of commercial fishing in park waters. The increasing in abundance. Despite the economic U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska value of these various species and the extent to ruled in 1995 that “there is no statutory ban on which they are harvested, little is known about commercial fishing in Glacier Bay National Park

provided, however, that commercial fishing is tivity and “spillover” effects. Additional pressure prohibited in that portion of Glacier Bay from recreational fishing, however, could affect National Park designated as wilderness area.” this process. The district court decision was subsequently Most sport fishing in the region takes place upheld by a U.S. court of appeals in 1997. outside of park waters, from charter and private In 1999, Congress effectively resolved the boats based out of Gustavus and Elfin Cove as issue by closing wilderness waters to commer- well as Pelican, Hoonah, and Excursion Inlet. cial fishing immediately and instituting a long- Primary target species are halibut, salmon, rock- term phaseout of commercial fishing in Glacier fish, and lingcod. The Alaska Department of Bay proper. The 1999 Commercial Fishing Fish and Game monitors sport fishing through Regulations Final Rule also mandated a cooper- dockside creel surveys in Gustavus and Elfin 28 ative fishery management plan between the Cove. Charter operators are also required to

e State of Alaska and the U.S. Department of the participate in a state logbook program. Interior. However, the mandate was unfunded Recreational harvest (including charter and and a lawsuit regarding jurisdiction over park private anglers) is also assessed using a waters, initiated by the State of Alaska in 1999, statewide sport harvest mail survey of licensed stalled progress on the plan. This question over anglers. The National Park Service, similar to the ark and Preserv jurisdiction was resolved in June 2005 when the state program, requires permitted charter U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal concessions to participate in a self-reported government has jurisdiction over Glacier Bay’s logbook survey of fishing activity and harvest

y National P waters and submerged lands. Over the years, the within park waters. park has repeatedly sought funding for develop- Historically, sport fishing has represented a ing the cooperative fishery management plan, tiny fraction of harvest occurring in park waters

Glacier Ba but has not yet been successful. Management of but has grown significantly within the last commercial fishing is a complex and politically decade. Annual halibut harvest by sport fishers sensitive issue involving agencies with differing in 2005 was more than five times what it was in management mandates, and there is a high 1992. In addition, data from a 2005 report degree of public interest in the outcomes. Going suggest that halibut catch from within the park forward, the Park Service will need to work was underreported by about 19 percent. The together with all affected parties. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is The only people who may continue to fish currently looking at management options for commercially in Glacier Bay proper are those reducing charter angler halibut harvest through- who have qualified for lifetime nontransferable out southeast Alaska with the ultimate goal of access permits by demonstrating a sufficient establishing a specific harvest allocation of the fishing history in the bay. When the last of these halibut resource and a quota share system for fishermen retires or is no longer able to the fishery. Park managers must insure that the continue fishing, commercial fishing will be sport fishery does not grow to supplant the completely phased out of Glacier Bay proper. commercial harvest as the latter wanes. This is estimated to occur around 2050, though Beginning in September 2005, charter opera- it could happen as soon as 2025. At that time, tions shifted the focus of their halibut sport Glacier Bay will become a refuge for previously fishing to Glacier Bay proper, likely in response harvested marine species, providing a baseline to reduced catch rates and the lack of availabil- for comparison with commercially fished areas ity of larger fish in waters they traditionally and the potential to supplement local popula- fished in Icy Strait and Cross Sound. This occurs tions outside the bay through increased produc- outside the vessel quota season (which is June through August) when the Park Service relaxes protecting native Alaskan ecosystems. vessel entry limits. This shift in focus, combined In 2007, invasive plant inventory and control with ongoing and in some locations increasing activities were carried out for the fourth consec- commercial fishing in park waters, causes park utive year throughout Glacier Bay National Park managers to be concerned with local depletion and Preserve. To date, nearly 2,600 acres of land of halibut. that are the most accessible and susceptible to Managers also continue to be concerned invasive species have been surveyed; of these about the sustainability of local commercial lands, nearly 1,100 acres were identified as king crab fisheries, impacts of the outer coast supporting invasive plant species. In total, 51 weathervane scallop dredge fishery on benthic non-native species have been located, nearly 15 habitats and biota, and the effects of recre- acres of infested land have been treated, and ational and commercial harvest on rockfish and some non-native plant populations have been 29

lingcod in the park waters of Cross Sound and eradicated. e along the outer coast. Even basic inventories of Most non-native plants in the park, such as fish distribution (including anadromous pineapple weed (Matricaria discoidea) and salmonids) among freshwater habitats in this forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides), are limited extremely large and diverse park are lacking. in range and warrant little concern. Two excep- ark and Preserv While looming issues regarding the sustainabil- tions are the perennial sowthistle (Sonchus ity of specific fish and invertebrates stocks to arvensis) and oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum commercial and recreational harvest are just valgare). Perennial sowthistle has established beginning to be addressed, park resources— itself in 2.5 acres of the backcountry on Non-native oxeye y National P including staff and funding—are extremely Strawberry Island, on the site of a former fox daisies have invaded limited, which hampers efforts to address these farm. Other parts of southeast Alaska outside parts of the park and are a problem in the complex and politically volatile extractive park boundaries also have heavy infestations of Glacier Ba larger region. They resource uses. the species. Oxeye daisy warrants concern are difficult to control because it, too, is problematic in the larger without the use of INVASIVE SPECIES—A FUTURE region. It has been observed in Bartlett Cove, herbicides. THREAT? Historically, invasive species have not had an easy time establishing themselves in Alaska. The climate is challenging, the landscape is relatively undisturbed and provides few opportuni- NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ties for gaining a foothold, and there are few avenues for introduction. However, Glacier Bay is slightly more vulnerable to invasive species than most of Alaska, given that it is in the most temperate region of the state and its landscape is changing in response to natural disturbance from receding glaciers. In addition, ships are known transporters of marine invasive species. So far, the impact of non-native species has been minimal when compared to areas within the rest of the United States. Targeting non- native species before they have a chance to establish themselves and spread is key to

Dry Bay, Gustavus, and the park’s backcountry. species of tunicate. While these species have yet Both species are difficult to control without the to establish themselves in the waters of Glacier use of herbicides. Bay, they are abundant and problematic along Two other invasive plants with rather wide other parts of the Pacific coast and some are distributions in the park are common dandelion working their way north. (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale), which infests Also of concern are Atlantic salmon farmed coastal meadows and human-disturbed areas in nearby Canadian waters. These fish regularly park-wide, and bigleaf lupine (Lupinus polyphyl- escape their net pens: More than 450,000 lus), which is widespread in Dry Bay. One inva- Atlantic salmon are reported to have escaped sive plant in the park, quackgrass (Elymus their pens from these farms between 1991 and repens), is considered “allelopathic” because it 2002. Atlantic salmon pose a threat to the 30 secretes compounds into the soil that are ecosystem for two reasons: They could transfer

e harmful to other plants. Two other allelopathic disease to Pacific salmon or they could establish species have been found in Gustavus and there- themselves as an invasive competitor. For these fore pose a potential threat to Glacier Bay— reasons, salmon mariculture is banned in Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) and orange Alaska. Canada, on the other hand, had 127 hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum). The Park active salmon farms as of 2005. To date, at least ark and Preserv Service is developing an Alaska regionwide one Atlantic salmon has been reported in Invasive Plant Management Plan Environmental Glacier Bay. Assessment to address non-native plants. AIR QUALITY—TWO THREATS LOOM y National P There has been no documentation of threats by any invasive terrestrial animals, though some ON THE HORIZON non-natives such as European starlings (Sturnis Air quality is considered high in Glacier Bay, but

Glacier Ba vulgaris) and Eurasian collared doves there is a lack of on-site data to support that (Streptopelia decaocto) do frequent the park. assumption. The Park Service conducts wide- Other animals not found in the park historically spread air quality monitoring programs focus- are native to other parts of Alaska or North ing on visibility, gaseous pollutants, and wet America and are undergoing range expansions and dry deposition throughout much of the for one reason or another. A few examples are National Park System, but Park Service monitor- barred owls (Strix varia), which were historically ing stations were only recently installed at limited to the eastern United States, Sitka black- Glacier Bay and no data are yet available. As part tailed deer, a long-time resident of southeast of the work of the Park Service’s Inventory and Alaska, and moose, also native to other parts of Monitoring Program, samplers that measure Alaska but new to Glacier Bay. Invasive terres- pollutants in the air and in precipitation are trial invertebrates, such as slugs, earthworms, now located in several places throughout the and insects, also may be posing an unknown park. These samplers will collect data during level of threat to park ecosystems. parts of 2008 and 2009; follow-up measure- Invasive marine species pose a greater threat ments will be taken every five to ten years after than their terrestrial counterparts, partly the initial measurements are collected. A station because non-native marine species may be that samples mercury in precipitation will be carried to the park in the ballast water or on the permanently installed at Glacier Bay. hulls of boats. Marine species of particular Precipitation collected at this station will be concern are the green crab (Carcinus maenas), analyzed weekly year-round. Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis), smooth Two potential threats to the park’s air quality cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), and several have been identified. The first is the possibility Marine vessels traveling park waters release hundreds of tons of air pollutants that include nitrogen NATIONAL PARK SERVICE oxides and sulfur dioxide. Sometimes, haze from cruise ship stack emissions is visible.

31 e ark and Preserv y National P

that emissions from rapidly developing coun- compound concentrations at Glacier Bay ranked Glacier Ba tries in Asia will deposit pollutants across all of very low compared to those at other parks that Alaska, including Glacier Bay. There is evidence were sampled. Mercury was not measured in air that levels of mercury and persistent organic at any park, and lichens sampled from Glacier pollutants may be high at several remote Bay were not tested for mercury. However, bioac- Alaskan sites, despite the fact that there are no cumulation of mercury and persistent organic significant local sources of these pollutants. pollutants in the food chain is a concern Models of global patterns of atmospheric throughout the world. Consuming fish or other mercury transport suggest that emissions from animals containing high levels of these pollu- China may collect in Alaska. The new mercury tants in their tissues has been shown to lead to monitoring station will help Glacier Bay scien- human health problems. tists begin to assess this potential problem. The second threat to Glacier Bay National A recent study on airborne contaminants in a Park and Preserve’s air quality comes from number of western national parks, including marine vessels visiting park waters. The total Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, meas- emissions from all motor vessels in Glacier Bay ured more than 100 different semivolatile in 2001 was estimated at 401 tons of nitrogen organic compounds (e.g., pesticides, polychlori- oxides (240 tons came from cruise ships) and nated biphenyls or PCBs, etc.) and found low to 278 tons of sulfur dioxide (252 tons came from moderate concentrations of three historically cruise ships). Cruise, charter, tour, and private used pesticides and low concentrations of two boats also visit other bays in the park and travel currently used pesticides during air sampling at along the park’s outer coast. No emissions data Glacier Bay. Overall, semivolatile organic are available for these areas so the total emissions within the park for any one year are prob- in precipitation, as discussed in the “Water ably higher. Private, charter, and some other Resources” and “Air Quality” sections on pages small vessels are not inspected by the U.S. Coast 19 and 30. Other minor issues involve soil Guard, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, compaction in very limited areas of visitor use. or other entities to check compliance with state or federal air quality standards. They may be CLIMATE CHANGE—THREATS ARE contributing to the park’s air quality concern DIFFICULT TO CALCULATE more than is currently understood. No place on Earth can escape the inevitable Haze from cruise ship stack emissions is consequences of global climate change. In visible in the park under some weather condi- Glacier Bay, global climate change will likely tions. The frequency, persistence, and composi- accelerate processes that have already been at 32 tion of stack emission haze has not been play for centuries and melt the last vestiges of

e studied, although park rangers take stack emis- the Little Ice Age. Invasive species may also find sion opacity readings from each ship at least it easier to establish themselves. Because of the once a year to determine if state emissions stan- unique natural processes at work in the park, dards are being exceeded. Some cruise line there is no simple way to separate human- companies report their stack emission composi- caused changes from natural ones. Surprisingly, ark and Preserv tions to the park voluntarily. There is some hope the retreat of tidewater glaciers is not necessarily the situation may improve with pressure on the a good indicator of climate change; many other cruise industry to reduce emissions. The West factors are involved and some of the glaciers in

y National P Coast Collaborative, a public-private partner- the park have advanced slightly over the last ship working to reduce diesel emissions along decades. All that the Park Service can do is the Pacific coast, recently selected a Holland monitor the changes while focusing on poten-

Glacier Ba America cruise ship, the ms Zaandam (which tial anthropogenic effects, protect the park’s visits Glacier Bay), to demonstrate a new seawa- natural resiliency, and prepare to adapt to some ter scrubbing project aimed at reducing emis- eventual surprises. sions of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and The preliminary results of a relatively recent particulate matter. If successful, this technology long-term climate monitoring program in could be adopted broadly by companies eager Glacier Bay indicate that average air tempera- to reduce their emissions. Though this technol- tures increased 3 degrees Fahrenheit from ogy prevents these pollutants from entering the 1999 to 2006. Park waters are currently about air, it injects them into seawater. Further study is 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than when needed to determine what impacts this could measurements were first taken in the 1960s. It have on the marine environment. is much too early to attribute these increases to climate change with any certainty, but if PARK SOILS—LITTLE IS KNOWN, BUT temperatures continue to rise, such will CAUSES FOR CONCERN APPEAR MINOR undoubtedly impact ecosystems. That, in turn, Glacier Bay’s soil quality has not been the will affect the Tlingit cultures that are so subject of any comprehensive study or monitor- closely intertwined with those ecosystems, but ing. The park lacks a history of military opera- the changes they initiate will be difficult to tions, industry, agriculture, grazing, and predict. The results of this climate monitoring resource extraction that has degraded soil qual- program further underscore the need for ities in other parts of the country. The primary quality baseline data on park resources. potential concern is mercury contamination related to emissions from Asia being deposited NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

33 e ark and Preserv y National P Glacier Ba

SPECIAL CONCERNS IN THE PRESERVE CHALLENGE Park managers are concerned because RESOURCE MANAGERS ORV trails have expanded significantly since 1979. A 2007 The Alaska National Interest Lands conform to certain rules and regulations. environmental assess- Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA) Recreational off-trail ORV riding is not ment indicates that expanded Glacier Bay National Monument, permitted. While ANILCA permits certain this expansion has designated the park’s wilderness area, and ORV use, it prohibits “significant expan- degraded habitats. redesignated the entire area as Glacier Bay sion” of a trail system on park lands from National Park and Preserve. Within the that present in 1979. The Park Service iden- 57,000-acre national preserve, activities tified a 25 percent increase over 1979 use such as commercial fishing, subsistence and levels as “significant.” recreational hunting and fishing, operation There is concern because current ORV of concession lodges, and fur trapping are trails have expanded beyond this 25 percent authorized. Off-road vehicles (ORVs) and increase level in the 28 years since passage other motor vehicles are also permitted in of ANILCA. The Park Service estimates that support of these uses as long as drivers 61.1 miles of trails existed in the early 1980s, 34 Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE information. without thiscritical ar hunting regulations species. Currently, other wildlife status ofbearsand the population need more dataon Resource managers e oftendeveloped most ofAlaska,ar hunting andtrappinginthepreserve, asin affects GlacierBayNationalPreserve. Sport been finalizedyet. and othernativefish.TheOR trafficmitigate impactsofORV onsalmon hunting andtrappingar Department ofFishandGame.Subsistence trails, andstabilizestwostr miles ofOR native inthepark’s plancloses20.6 ORV trails andatcampsites.Thepreferred alter- found severalinvasiveplantsalongORV invade thepreserve. TheParkServicehas opportunities fornon-nativeplantsto trails andthevehiclesthemselvespr and alteringhydr incr compacting soils,tramplingvegetation, the trailnetworkhas“degradedhabitatsby published inMarch 2007, theexpansionof Vehicle UsePlanEnvironmental Assessment Glacier BayNationalPreserve Off-Road with specialregulations. According tothe prepared trailsmanagementplan anORV use,theParkService expanding ORV preserve today. are operatedbypermitteeswithinthe highway vehicles,andeightheavyvehicles increase). About55all-terrain vehicles,12 and there are 83.5milestoday(a37percent Federal SubsistenceBoar and wolvesinthepark pr numbers andtrends inpopulationsofbears species. Forexample, the population good populationdataforharvested wildlife often developedwithoutthebenefitof better informhuntingregulation decisions. those speciesthatare huntedisneededto better populationbaselineinformationfor Park Serviceisamember. Inbothinstances, unknown. Resource managersare onlyable Hunting isthesecondissuethatprimarily To address theissuesassociatedwith Hunting regulations andbaglimitsare easing er V trails,pr osion, degradingwaterquality e r ological r egulated bytheAlaska ohibits cr e managedbythe d, ofwhichthe eam cr egimes.” ORV V planhasnot eation ofnew eserve are ossings to ovide , significant threat inthefuture. predator populationscouldbecomea present, theState’s desire tomanipulate itself inGlacierBayNationalPreserve at pr with ParkSer programs. Onparklandsthiswouldconflict extended huntingseasons,andincentive bears through increased baglimits, by controlling predators suchaswolvesand hopes tosupporthighermoosepopulations under ParkSer its landsandinwaters.Inotherar healthypopulationsofwildlifeon occurring Ser intensive management,whilethePark harvested speciesunderalegalconceptof manages formaximumsustainedyieldof Alaska DepartmentofFishandGame management ofharvestedspecies.The the StateofAlaskaandParkServiceover management policiestopr these speciesanddevelopingef the ParkServicefrom fullyunderstanding Alaska DepartmentofFishandGame mated. Thislackofdataprevents boththe defense oflifeorproperty cannotbeesti- within theparkandunreported shootingin the preserve boundary.poaching Wildlife patrol outercoastalpark landsadjacentto does nothaveenoughfundingorstaff to waterfowl harvestexists.TheParkService preserve eachseason.Nodataontheactual and perhapsasinglewolfare takenfrom the one totwoblackbears,fiveorsixmoose, reports thataboutsixtotenbrown bears, to estimatefrom hunter andtrappertag oblem doesnotseemtobemanifesting Ther vice ischar e isalsoaninherent conflictbetween ged withmaintainingnaturally vice mandates.Whilethis vice jurisdiction,theState otect them. eas not fective NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

35 e ark and Preserv y National P Glacier Ba

CULTURAL RESOURCES— is allocated for cultural resource programs, yet There is a profound IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH THE these programs comprise 25 percent of the connection between the Huna Tlinglit and TLINGIT ENRICH PARK’S LEGACY park’s performance goals. the lands and waters One highlight is Glacier Bay National Park of Glacier Bay, which Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve scored an and Preserve’s ethnography program, which they consider sacred. overall 66 out of 100 for the condition of fosters good relationships with the Tlingit. Other cultural resources that include history, historic cultural resources programs suffer—archaeology, structures, archaeology, museum collection and historic structures, and cultural landscapes archives, cultural landscapes, and ethnography. receive little study or interpretation—as a result This score indicates that the resources are in of staffing and funding shortfalls. Of a total staff “fair” condition. of 107 employees, the park has just one senior The park’s priority is to maintain its spectac- staff member who is only partially devoted to ular natural resources, and funding is allocated cultural resources. This is not sufficient to accordingly. Just 2 percent of the park’s budget provide resources with the care they deserve. Berry-picking field trips are one way that the park fosters relationships with Huna Tlingits who have NATIONAL PARK SERVICE cultural connections with park resources.

36 e ark and Preserv y National P ETHNOGRAPHY—STRONG TIES They used meat and hides from bears, deer, CONNECT THE TLINGIT TO mountain goats, seals, sea lions, sea otters, and

Glacier Ba GLACIER BAY occasionally porpoises. Seaweeds, clams, In recent years, Glacier Bay’s ethnography chitons, octopus, squid, crab, beach greens, program has become the top cultural resource eight species of berry, tree bark, salmon, priority in the park. Four indigenous groups halibut, and other fish species also contributed have historic ties with Glacier Bay: Huna Tlingit, to the traditional diet. Today, subsistence Yakutat Tlingit, Chilkat/Chilkoot Tlingit, and hunting and gathering is a still a way of life for Champaigne and Aishinhik First Nation (from many Huna Tlingit. Yukon, Canada). But park lands are primarily There is a profound connection between the the traditional homelands of just two groups, Tlinglit and the lands and waters of Glacier Bay, the Huna Tlingit and the Ghunaaxhoo Kwaan which they consider sacred. According to Tlingit unit of the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe. The oral tradition, a young Huna Tlingit woman Ghunaaxhoo Kwaan are connected to the lands commonly referred to as “Woman in the Ice” in the national preserve at Dry Bay and on to was left behind to appease the spirits when a Lituya Bay. Four clans of Huna Tlingit claim glacial advance forced the tribe out of Glacier traditional homelands in and around Glacier Bay. Through this sacrifice, Glacier Bay was Bay and the outer coast of the park up to the purchased with Tlingit blood and made sacred boundary with Ghunaaxhoo Kwaan, but also in perpetuity. Tlingits believe that the souls of including Lituya Bay. Many Huna Tlingit reside their ancestors still reside in Glacier Bay. The in the town of Hoonah, about 25 miles outside physical place is inextricable from their culture, the park, and also in Juneau. history, identity, and social structure in a way The Huna Tlingit traditionally relied on a that also makes it inextricable from their future. wide range of terrestrial and marine resources. The first decades of Glacier Bay National Monument’s existence were marked by discord fishing boats into Bartlett Cove and performed between the Tlingit and federal administrators. a peaceful demonstration on the beach. Park boundaries encompass much of the tradi- Significant change happened in 1995 when tional Huna Tlingit homelands, and with the the Park Service and the Hoonah Indian establishment of the national monument in Association signed a memorandum of under- 1925, federal regulations technically restricted standing that established a government-to- many traditional Tlingit activities in these terri- government relationship, and with increased tories, although the lack of rangers limited the communication there soon followed a series of effect. One landmark confrontation involved positive interactions: a repatriation of human the 1946 arrest of three Huna men who were fur remains under the terms of the Native American trapping in the monument. Graves and Protection Act, regular semiannual In the 1950s a territorial bounty was placed meetings, berry-picking trips, and other outings. 37

on harbor seals in an attempt to bolster the In 1997 the Hoonah Indian Association was e faltering salmon fisheries (seals eat salmon). intimately involved in producing the Bartlett There was also a robust seal hide market at the Cove Comprehensive Design Plan, a develop- time. Bounty and hide hunting, although not ment plan to guide future growth in Bartlett truly “traditional” in the realm of Tlingit subsis- Cove. The plan calls for the construction of a ark and Preserv tence practices (the skinless, noseless [bounty] replica Huna tribal house and a “spirit camp” to carcasses were routinely discarded), and obvi- teach tribal traditions to Huna children. ously counter to the Park Service mission, were Although construction has not begun on the Some Huna Tlingits hunted seals in allowed to continue in the national monument longhouse, the plan still remains a park priority y National P Glacier Bay National because of their economic importance to the and has been put forward in the Centennial Monument until the Huna Tlingits. As the practices continued Challenge Program. The tribal house concept is 1960s, when the Park through the 1960s, it became obvious that they also being concurrently developed as part of a Service discontinued Glacier Ba were not appropriate in the context of a larger Hoonah Heritage Center planning the practice. Seal national monument. Harvest levels were so process now under way throughout the Tlingit populations were in jeopardy, largely due high as to threaten the seal population, which community. to a territorial prompted more legal prohibitions on harvests, In the late 1990s, the park made important bounty on them set and by 1974 hunting was prohibited. Although progress in improving relations with the Tlingit in the 1950s. many Huna Tlingits continued to come into Glacier Bay to fish commercially, termination of seal hunting significantly reduced their interac- tion with their homelands. In the 1960s and 1970s, outside the context of seal hunting, many park staff had positive NATIONAL PARK SERVICE interactions with individual Huna Tlingits. But with staff departures those ties diminished. A substantial effort by the Park Service to reconcile with the Huna Tlingit came in 1987 when Huna elders and carvers were asked to help create a traditional sea otter hunting canoe for display near park headquarters (it is still on display). By 1992, however, the Tlingit had become frus- trated that more outreach from the Park Service had not occurred, so they brought a flotilla of community. Now park managers run innova- make the map accessible to the broader public tive programs to foster Tlingit ties to Glacier by hosting it online. Bay and to facilitate the transfer of knowledge Another park success is the production of A stored in oral tradition from Tlingit elders to Time of Gathering: Tlingit Berry Picking in Glacier younger generations. They also consult with Bay National Park. Park staff, Huna elders, and elders in park decisionmaking. One reason for members of the University of Alaska Southeast the high priority given to re-establishing ties community collaborated on the documentary. between the Tlingit and the lands of Glacier In the film, Huna elders convey messages about Bay is that available ethnographic information, the importance of subsistence foods to the which may not always be passed down to native community and about their spiritual ties younger generations, dwindles further with the to the lands of Glacier Bay. Prior to the produc- 38 passing of each Tlingit elder. tion of the documentary, Huna members did

e One recent success for Glacier Bay’s ethnog- not feel welcome to pick berries in the park, raphy program is the development of a despite the formal legality of such activity. Now computer-based education tool called the Glacier Bay staff organize annual field trips to “Talking Map.” This interactive, multimedia bring Huna berry pickers into the park each database includes Tlingit names for more than summer (sometimes several times within a ark and Preserv 250 places in the park, accompanied by histori- single season). Field trips also provide access for cal and current photographs and explanations the Huna participants to gather plant and of the importance of each place to the Tlingit. animal foods from the intertidal zone.

y National P Users can access all this information by scrolling Efforts are also under way to explore ways for over a map of the park and clicking on the Huna Tlingits to regain access to harvest glau- featured locations. While currently in draft cous-winged gull eggs (Larus glaucescens) in the

Glacier Ba form, the park hopes to soon make its Talking tradition of previous generations. Toward this Map available on compact disk to members of end, Park Service staff, staff from the University the Huna community and park visitors. of Washington, and Tlingit elders collaborated Eventually, Glacier Bay will work with the on a 200l report titled The Hoonah Tlingit’s Hoonah Indian Association to explore ways to Traditional Use of Gull Eggs and the Establishment of Glacier Bay National Park. The report repre- The eggs of glau- sents the most thorough study of historic Tlingit cous-winged gulls food-gathering practices within park bound- are a traditional aries to date, and it is also a powerful statement food source for Huna Tlingits. The of the cultural importance of egg harvest to the NATIONAL PARK SERVICE park is exploring the Huna Tlingit. The ethnographic report was used possibility of restor- to inform a companion biological study that ing the harvest of replicated the effects of the traditional practice eggs, as shown in this picture taken on a modern gull colony population, and using outside the park. those data generated a computer model to predict the effects the practice might have on gull populations if it were allowed to resume in the park. During the course of these studies, Congress became apprised of them and passed legislation directing the Park Service to conduct its ongoing studies and to report back with recommendations if it was determined that the SCHOOL PROGRAMS REINFORCE TLINGIT CULTURAL HERITAGE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

There was a time when the transfer of traditional knowledge from Tlingit elders to subsequent generations came as a matter of course—through storytelling while gathering or preparing food, around fires at night, or through traditional song and dance. Now that the Tlingit have transitioned to a cash- 39

based economy, and younger generations e have access to television, movies, and video games, avenues of traditional knowledge transfer are few and far between. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is working to ark and Preserv re-establish the oral tradition by developing a series of field trip programs with Hoonah and Yakutat schools, the respective tribal

governments, and the Hoonah Heritage y National P Foundation. The various programs take schoolkids students with history and culture lessons Excursions for Tlingit into the park to experience traditional from elders. Because many participants had elders and school- Glacier Ba children offer oppor- stories in their spiritual homeland. They are never camped before, the groups spent tunities for traditional designed to reach all schoolchildren at least several months learning outdoor skills, and songs, dances, and once during the year so that the youngest the students also planned their menus and ceremonies. Tlingit generations can become the culture fundraised to cover the cost of supplies and bearers of the future. transportation to the site. Twice a year, charter vessels take 100 The above are examples of some of the Tlingit elders and schoolchildren on daylong programs that have given students a sense tours of Glacier Bay, stopping at important of identity and pride in their heritage in historic sites. Young and old participate in recent years. Sometimes an appetite for traditional songs and dances, and they traditional knowledge is created where none break up into clans to tell clan origin stories. existed before. Many kids return from the These trips provide a rare opportunity for field trips much more grounded. Some intergenerational clan interactions. The boat students who struggled before participating trips culminate at Margerie Glacier, a sacred in the kayaking trip returned to school with Tlingit site, where elders lead the group in renewed focus and changed their plans to making offerings to the ancestors. include college. Program administrators High school students have been chosen hope that the schoolchildren who partici- to participate in longer field trips such as pate in these programs will pass along their two-night stays at ancient village or burial cultural heritage to their own children, and sites or multinight kayak trips in the spring. that the Tlingit connections with Glacier Bay Class schedules were designed to provide will live on for generations to come. practice could resume without affecting the gull work is time sensitive, as opportunities to record population in the park. Currently the Park this information are lost forever with the Service is conducting a Legislative passing of tribal elders. With limited staff and Environmental Impact Statement. funding—the park lacks a historian—the park The significance of Glacier Bay’s ethnography has not been able to devote equal attention to program has increased in the last decade, not the other historical themes, and the park risks just for park staff but also for members of the losing information from non-Tlingit elders who Tlingit community. Transition to a cash-based have ties to the area. Currently, interpretive economy has resulted in changes to the materials focusing on Glacier Bay’s historical lifestyles of the modern Tlingit that limit the period are either limited in scope, noticeably traditional avenues of knowledge transfer. Many outdated, or lacking altogether. 40 Tlingit see in the new park programs some On a positive note, the library at Glacier Bay

e potential to counteract this erosion of the tradi- National Park and Preserve contains a wealth of tional knowledge base. In some cases, Glacier texts that record much of the park’s historical Bay National Park and Preserve provides Tlingit period (though the history of the park itself is cultural opportunities unavailable elsewhere in not as well documented), often as firsthand the modern world. accounts. Highlights of the collection include ark and Preserv To better interpret cultural connections with journals describing French exploration in 1786, Tlingit groups, to preserve culturally important Russian accounts of the fur trade, logs of British park resources, and to reverse the trend toward explorers, and the adventures of a former fron-

y National P a diminishing Tlingit presence in the park, tier soldier who explored Glacier Bay with Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve needs Tlingit hunters in 1877. John Muir’s writings are both additional staff and facilities. The park’s also represented. His “Discovery of Glacier Bay,”

Glacier Ba ethnography program could be better served published in 1895, is credited with revealing through the addition of Tlingit to the park’s staff Glacier Bay to the world. That article and his and through employing a staff ethnographer. 1915 “Travels in Alaska” prompted tourists, fur Also, the park should move forward with plans trappers, prospectors, commercial fishers, for a traditional tribal house, which would traders, lumbermen, and a stream of scientists provide a venue for Tlingit interpretation as well to explore the area by steamship. Many of these as traditional ceremonies, dancing, storytelling, explorers played a role in the park’s subsequent and Tlingit language lessons. Funds are needed history. While access to library materials needs to support both additional staff and construc- to be improved (see the “Museum Collection tion of the Tlingit cultural building. and Archives” section on page 46), these materials will provide future researchers with a rich HISTORY—INTERESTING STORIES body of material from which to draw. WAITING TO BE TOLD Documentation of Glacier Bay National Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve has a Park and Preserve’s history has been sporadic. rich human history that includes contemporary William S. Cooper was the primary advocate connections to Tlingit groups as well as the long for the creation of the park. His brief account and varied use of regional resources by explor- titled A Contribution to the History of Glacier Bay ers, fishermen, miners, fur hunters, fox farmers, National Monument (1956) is the first on a very homesteaders, and scientists. Within the last short list of historical works about the park. It decade or so, the Park Service has intensified was not until the mid-1990s that historical efforts to document the relationship between studies of the park itself were taken up in the lands of Glacier Bay and the Tlingit. This earnest. Rick S. Krutz’s Glacier Bay National Park interpreters present programs on both the park’s natural features and its cultural connec- NATIONAL PARK SERVICE tions, but historical interpretation would be bolstered by new reference materials and educational publications, exhibits, films, and online materials. 41 e ark and Preserv y National P

Park and Preserve Historic Resource Study (1995) but also in order to access the memories and

begins with a brief discussion of the Tlingit documents of people involved. An administra- Glacier Ba presence in the park and ends with the tive history of the relationship between the construction of a military airfield in Gustavus Park Service and the Tlingit is also needed and during World War II. should be completed soon to draw from Tlingit In 1995, Theodore Catton completed a elders and retired Park Service personnel before report titled Land Reborn: A History of the opportunity is lost. The time sensitivity of Administration and Visitor Use in Glacier Bay these projects should be taken into account National Park and Preserve, which includes when prioritizing research needs. among other themes discussion of relations Glacier Bay’s interpretation program focuses between the Tlingit and the Park Service from on four primary themes relating to the dynamic the park’s inception. Though this report change, cultural connections, scientific study, contributes valuable historical information, it and wildness of the park’s dramatic glacial land- does not adequately address the pivotal issue of scape. Most park visitors are struck immediately commercial fishing in park waters, a controver- by the splendors of the landscape—the tidewater sial component of park history that will affect glaciers, glacially shaped landforms, and impres- the park into the future. The park has hired sive biota—and would likely miss the human another outside contractor to produce an history if the park did not interpret these stories. administrative history of commercial fishing in Historical interpretation could be strengthened the park, which will serve as an addendum to by the production of better reference materials the 1995 Catton report. Compiling the history for interpretive park rangers, and publications, of commercial fishing in Glacier Bay is pressing exhibits, films, and online material highlighting not only because of its current legal relevance, human history for visitors. The park soon will be distributing a new brochure that includes a focus through cultural landscape inventories— on the park as the Tlingit homeland, but without Bartlett Cove and Dundas Bay. additional staff such as a cultural resources Huna oral tradition relates stories of human manager, archaeologist, or historian, the park habitation in Bartlett Cove pre-dating the Little will be unable to move forward with additional Ice Age that occurred between 1450 and 1750. steps to improve history programs. And the first Europeans and Americans to arrive in Glacier Bay, beginning in 1794 and CULTURAL LANDSCAPES—FUNDS for more than a century thereafter, encoun- NEEDED FOR TIME-SENSITIVE tered Tlingits going about their daily lives. BASELINE RESEARCH European-American uses of Bartlett Cove and Cultural landscapes illustrate how humans lower Glacier Bay prior to the establishment of 42 shape and are shaped by their surroundings. the park included commercial fishing opera-

e The significance of Glacier Bay National Park tions and homesteading. Abundant salmon and Preserve’s cultural landscapes is based streams supported a fish saltery, cannery, and largely upon the spiritual connection of the trading post in Bartlett Cove. Fox farming Huna Tlingit to various locations in the park became established in the early 1920s on and the use of the park by Tlingits for food gath- several of the islands in lower Glacier Bay, but ark and Preserv ering and other subsistence activities. Park these were all terminated with expansion of managers have gradually identified geological the national monument in 1939. The broad formations and food-gathering places that hold forelands at the mouth of Glacier Bay became

y National P enormous significance to the local Huna Tlingit a popular place to homestead during the early The park has docu- and have come to recognize the importance of decades of the 20th century, and the commu- mented Dundas Bay, human activities at Glacier Bay. Park managers nity of Strawberry Point—later renamed considered a “Tlingit Glacier Ba Homeland,” through have identified several areas known as “Tlingit Gustavus—was born. With the advent of a cultural landscape Homelands,” but because of funding World War II the military built a large airstrip inventory. constraints only two have been documented in Gustavus, and following the war the incom- patibility of the large airstrip and homesteads prompted removal of Gustavus from the monument by presidential action in 1955. The Park Service established Bartlett Cove as headquarters for its administrative activities and NATIONAL PARK SERVICE concessions in the early 1950s. Like Bartlett Cove, Dundas Bay is important for its history of native and European-American habitation. Archaeological remains of two Tlingit villages are situated along the shoreline of the bay, both important for the role they play in modern Huna oral tradition. Stone cairns sit atop White Cap Mountain and Point Dundas, two of the highest points in the area. The cairns are believed to be Tlingit shrines. The remains of the Dundas Bay Cannery and some historic cabins represent European-American presence in the park. Staff estimate there could be as many as 13 The caretaker’s cabin still stands at the site of the Dundas Bay Cannery, which ceased operation in NATIONAL PARK SERVICE the 1930s. In accordance with its general management plan, the park allows buildings within designated wilderness to deteriorate. 43 e ark and Preserv y National P

separate Tlingit traditional cultural properties ARCHAEOLOGY—LIMITED RESEARCH Glacier Ba within the park. Completing an ethnographic COMPLETED overview and assessment, left unfinished during Any archaeologist hoping to document sites of the mid-1990s, could help identify these and cultural significance within Glacier Bay National possibly other cultural landscapes within Park and Preserve quickly encounters consider- Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. able obstacles. Repeated glacial advance and The park risks losing its most important retreat have scoured parts of the park’s land- source of information by postponing further scape, destroying most physical evidence of cultural landscape inventories. Though there is human habitation. Sites that escaped damage by a collection of taped oral histories of several the moving glaciers in some areas instead may pioneer Gustavus settlers and early park staff have been ravaged by the earthquakes of 1899 or and researchers, additional information avail- 1959, or by their resultant tsunami waves. In able from both Tlingit and non-Tlingit elders addition, the coast is in a continuous state of dwindles as aging tribal elders and local “old- isostatic rebound, rising in delayed response to timers” pass away without sharing their knowl- pressure relieved by melting surface glaciers. As a edge with younger generations. Managers are result, many older beaches now lie many feet aware of this threat and do what they can to above and many hundreds of feet inland from document local history, but there is a limit to current sea level, and are covered with “a thick what can be accomplished without further matting of moss, the litter of the forest floor, and funding and personnel. in many cases an almost impossible tangle of alder, blueberry, salmonberry and devil’s club,” according to Robert E. Ackerman. Ackerman, a professor of archaeology at managers allow documented archaeological Washington State University, and several of his sites to weather away naturally without signs or graduate students conducted two archaeologi- interpretation, a decision made as part of the cal surveys of the park in the 1960s. park’s general management planning process. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Ackerman’s publications represent the first and Given the formidable landscape, the inconspic- only broad-scale archaeological surveys uous appearance of the sites, and the dearth of conducted within the boundaries of Glacier visitors to Glacier Bay’s backcountry, archaeo- Bay National Park and Preserve. The only logical resources are at little risk of poaching or archaeological work produced in recent years vandalism. is Charles Mobley’s Culturally Modified Trees in Archaeological resources are not high profile, Bartlett Cove, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska largely because they are difficult for visitors to 44 (1995), a study of the Tlingit use of spruce see, and archaeological sites and artifacts are not

e trees within the park and the signs of that use incorporated into interpretive materials. These still visible in trees today. A survey conducted resources do contribute to other facets of the A spruce tree shows in 1995 by the Smithsonian Institution’s Arctic park’s cultural resources program, however, and a healed scar indicat- Studies Center on the outer coast and in they could provide important information to ing it was cut into for Dundas Bay still has not been published, but ethnographic projects and to identification of ark and Preserv its pitch in years past. when it is completed, it will provide a better cultural landscapes. Culturally modified trees are one of the understanding of the relationship of archaeo- The park does not employ a staff archaeolo- few remaining physi- logical resources and landscape dynamics. gist, though its acting cultural resources

y National P cal signs of past habi- Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ackerman found manager is trained in this discipline. Other tation by the Huna more evidence of pre-Little Ice Age human activ- duties limit the amount of time he can spend Tlingit. ity in the oral tradition of the Tlingit than he did on archaeology. Recent cuts in regional archae-

Glacier Ba in any physical remains within Glacier Bay. For ological staff have further limited the park’s example, the Huna Tlingit have many clan ability to conduct research. Funds are needed to origin stories that describe the tribe’s occupa- hire additional permanent park staff, including tion of the Bartlett Cove area before the dawn of a full-time cultural resource manager and possi- the Little Ice Age. Ackerman’s recommendation bly an assistant archaeologist. Having addi- to future archaeologists is a “merging of ethnol- tional permanent staff would enable the park to ogy and archaeology” to improve understand- move forward on completing its draft archaeo- ing of human history in the area. logical overview and assessment, a document Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve that gathers together all known information on manages 75 archaeological sites; of these sites, archaeological resources and helps prioritize 22 are reported in good condition, four are in future archaeological work. Archaeological fair condition, two are in poor condition, and information should also be added to the the conditions of the remaining 47 sites are Talking Map (see page 38 of the “Ethnography” unknown. Most of the park’s archaeological section). Another worthwhile project would be sites date to the historic period rather than to an archaeological survey of the park’s outer prehistoric times. They include one known coast. Such a survey might identify post- prehistoric village site and four other possible Pleistocene landforms that could contain prehistoric sites, as well as historic cabins, archaeological evidence of the process by which camps, canneries, salmon traps, cemetery sites, the Americas were first peopled. houses and other features from World War II activities, fox farms, a lighthouse, a sawmill, and Tlingit settlements. For the most part, park HISTORIC STRUCTURES— cottages, built at the end of World War II, served INTERPRETATION WOULD ENRICH a civilian staff at the Gustavus airfield that was VISITOR EXPERIENCE built as part of the war effort. The Park Service Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve harbors recently renovated all three buildings, improv- 34 historic structures; 11 are categorized as ing their condition from fair to good. “backcountry” and are subject to a management Interpretation of the buildings could be made policy of “benign neglect” or “passive protec- available at the Gustavus airport as part of an tion” as outlined in the park’s 1984 general exhibit that interprets regional World War II-era management plan. This means they are activities, but this remains to be done. A fourth photographed, recorded, and marked as neces- building in this compound, the old boiler sary, then left to the elements without mainte- building, is slated for demolition but that stance nance or stabilization. No on-site interpretation is being re-evaluated. 45

is provided for backcountry structures. The An additional structure is located within e rationale for this management policy is that park boundaries but is not actively managed by preservation and interpretation of backcountry the park, the Cape Spencer Lighthouse. The historic structures is “not in the best public lighthouse, built in 1924 and listed in the interest because of the expense involved and the National Register of Historic Places, is owned Glacier Bay Lodge, ark and Preserv limited significance of the resources, their dete- and used by the U.S. Coast Guard, though in tucked among trees riorated condition, and their inaccessibility.” recent years that agency has approached the on the shore of Bartlett Cove, was Instead, historic sites are managed as “discovery Park Service with a request to assume owner- built in 1966 and is sites,” which allows park visitors who encounter ship and active management. The difficulty with one of the park’s 34 y National P them to decipher history on their own. this proposal is that the lighthouse is remote historic structures. The 23 historic structures designated as

“frontcountry” include 20 buildings in the Glacier Ba Glacier Bay Lodge Complex and three Federal Aviation Administration cottages. Glacier Bay Lodge itself was built in 1966 as part of the NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Park Service’s Mission 66 program. Mission 66 was the largest improvement program ever undertaken by the Park Service. It introduced visitor centers to national parks and incorporated a bolder, more modern architectural style than the rustic lodges constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s. Glacier Bay Lodge was cited for an award by the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architecture, and it has been determined eligi- ble for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Today it is one of the only buildings in the park providing accommoda- tions for park visitors (there are also three small hunting lodges in the preserve). The park’s small visitor center is located on its second floor. The three Federal Aviation Administration The Cape Spencer Lighthouse was built in 1924 and is in the National Register of Historic Places. The NATIONAL PARK SERVICE U.S. Coast Guard has asked the Park Service to own and manage the structure, but the logistics of reaching the remote structure and the costs associated with 46 maintaining it have deterred the Park e Service from assum- ing this role. ark and Preserv y National P and accessible only by helicopter, so the Park that discusses their management. Historic struc- Service has not acted on this request, and for all ture reports are needed to help guide manage-

Glacier Ba intents the Cape Spencer Lighthouse is not ment of these resources. actively maintained. The park has an opportunity to further Glacier Bay’s historic structures face few engage the Tlingit and better interpret their threats. Although backcountry sites are deterio- history to visitors by building a replica of a rating, they are not vandalized or looted, and traditional Tlingit longhouse near park head- their gradual decay is in accordance with quarters, as first outlined in the 1997 Bartlett management policies. Glacier Bay Lodge is Cove Comprehensive Design Plan. Funds have maintained largely through funds brought in by not yet been acquired for this project. the park’s contract with its concessionaire, who provides visitor amenities at the lodge. Glacier MUSEUM COLLECTION AND Bay has a historic preservation specialist on staff ARCHIVES—MANY ITEMS NEED TO BE with a small portion of his time dedicated to CATALOGED historic structures, and the park consults regu- Glacier Bay’s museum collection and archives larly with the historical architect from the Park contain more than 35,000 cataloged items, Service’s Alaska Regional Office. 30,000 of which are archives such as historical The Park Service does not interpret any of its documents, research and wildlife sightings historic structures for visitors, which results in a field notes, and photographs. The museum missed opportunity to showcase important collection includes biological specimens, cultural resources and enrich visitor experience. geological samples, and archaeological arti- Additionally, the park does not have any formal facts. Archaeological artifacts make up only a management plans that specifically address small fraction of the museum collection, and historic structures, though there is a loose plan they are mostly comprised of objects from the IMMERSION PROGRAM HELPS SUSTAIN DISAPPEARING LANGUAGE

In September 2003, 30 people assembled at ing logistical support, helping to construct a Glacier Bay Lodge with an ambitious goal: sweat lodge, and leading food-gathering speak and listen to only Tlingit for ten days. trips on park beaches. Tlingit is an endangered language, spoken Most of the program’s participants are fluently by fewer than 200 people, and now among the 16,000 living descendants of considered to be moribund. People inter- Tlingit who populated the area hundreds of ested in keeping the Tlingit language alive years ago. Prior to their experience at have a hard time getting real-world practice. Glacier Bay, most had never been in a situa- 47 As Roy Mitchell, the immersion program’s tion where they could speak and hear only e coordinator, explained, “Unfortunately, Tlingit for even a single day. Some knew there’s not a Tlingit-speaking world for us to only a few words of Tlingit when they go to. We’re trying to do the next best thing, arrived and relied on cards bearing simple which is make one ourselves.” phrases to help them communicate with The Tlingit language immersion retreat at other participants. ark and Preserv Glacier Bay was the first of its kind, funded In addition to language classes and by the federal Administration for Native casual conversation, students engaged in traditional basket weaving, carving, and

Americans through a grant to the Sealaska y National P Heritage Institute. When Wayne Howell, beadwork. They also cooked chitons and Glacier Bay’s cultural resource manager, other foods gathered from park beaches

read about the grant in the newspaper, he and sang, drummed, and danced in the Glacier Ba worked with the institute to make Glacier evenings. The park would like to participate Bay Lodge the best possible place to hold in additional language and culture programs such a retreat. The Park Service subse- in the future, but funds are needed to quently partnered in the project by provid- support these kinds of activities.

Tlingit language and cultural programs help foster the transfer of knowledge from elders to youth. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE The park would like to continue to participate in such programs but needs funds to do so. historical period such as buttons, nails, and Access to the archival collection for research cooking spoons. purposes is complicated by the serious backlog The park’s library contains many important of items that have not been cataloged and those primary source documents such as the expedi- that have been cataloged without finding aids. tion journals of Jean-François Galaup de La On a positive note, park staff are in the process Perouse, who visited the area in 1785. Other of converting existing library records to an elec- important texts include early Russian accounts tronic format to make it easier to search for of the fur trade in southeast Alaska and the jour- items. Although stored in a restricted access nals of James Cook and George Vancouver, who facility, historical photographs are available to described the outer coast and the mouth of staff and to the public by request. Glacier Bay in 1794, which was then full of Exhibit space for Glacier Bay’s natural 48 glacial ice. history specimens and other museum artifacts

e The park’s museum Glacier Bay’s archives and library were is nearly nonexistent. A small space in the collection and moved to a new building and thoroughly inven- park’s visitor information center could poten- archive contain a toried in August 2006, but the entire collection tially house limited exhibits, but it lacks wealth of items, including historical is contained in a restricted access facility of only climate control. However, because most inter- photographs like this 90 square feet, while the library is allotted just pretation takes place aboard cruise ships ark and Preserv one of boys at the 120 linear feet of shelf space. Archival collec- touring Glacier Bay, the park may not need Dundas Bay Cannery. tions more than fill all available shelf space. extensive exhibit space. Many items have not Items that should be on the shelves are currently Though cataloging backlogs and lack of yet been cataloged,

y National P which makes in boxes while they await cataloging. The park storage and exhibit space are challenges at research difficult. recognizes the need for additional space in the Glacier Bay, the region’s cool climate discour- Park staff are making museum facility, but the shortfall persists. Until ages the pests, molds, and other biological strides to address Glacier Ba additional space is planned and proposals to agents that threaten similar collections in other this issue by convert- procure funding are written, the park’s ability to parts of the country. As at many facilities, fire ing existing library records to a search- accommodate new collections material will poses the most significant threat to Glacier Bay’s able digital format. remain impaired. collections, a risk reduced by fireproof safes and the modern sprinkler and alarm systems outfit- ting the new storage facility. Management of Glacier Bay’s museum collection and archives would be improved through written procedures for monitoring NATIONAL PARK SERVICE environmental conditions within the storage facility, the addition of a deadbolt and a dehu- midifier in the storage facility, and better user access to materials. The most urgent need for the collection, however, is action to reduce the cataloging backlog. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

49 e ark and Preserv y National P Glacier Ba

STEWARDSHIP CAPACITY while between 2006 and 2007 it increased just Park staff trap Dolly 1.3 percent to about $3,878,000—that amounts Varden char, a type of fish, in Falls Creek FUNDING AND STAFFING—SHORTFALLS to about $1.18 to care for each of the park’s at the site of a nearly LEAD TO PROJECT DELAYS AND 3,283,246 acres. The operational budget and completed hydro- CHRONIC UNDERSTAFFING these increases have not kept pace with park electric facility. Staff Stewardship capacity details how well equipped needs, resulting in chronic understaffing and are studying the char the Park Service is to protect the parks. The most project delays. to determine the facility’s effect on fish significant factor affecting a park’s ability to Without funds to hire needed staff, term in the stream system. protect its resource is the funding a park receives positions fill in for permanent staff, and several from Congress and the administration. Over the staff positions have not been filled at all. past few years, the operational base budget for Positions that need to be filled on a permanent Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve has basis include a cultural resource manager experienced small increases. Between 2005 to (funding for this position has been requested in 2006 the budget increased by about 2 percent, President Bush’s fiscal year 2009 budget), NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

50 e ark and Preserv y National P Glacier Ba

Park biologists ethnographer, technical communications projects. Additional funds are needed for the examine plant specialist, bear biologist, second whale biolo- invasive species management program to species as part of a gist, fish biologist, seal biologist, research vessel ensure that invasive species are kept in check. study to assess bear habitat. The park captain, and law enforcement rangers to patrol The program includes conducting inventories, needs additional outer coastal regions. Employees with term planning and implementing control actions, funds to support positions that are slated to disappear currently processing geospatial data, giving outreach other important perform most of these duties. programs, and summarizing findings. A perma- resource manage- Staffing and funding shortages make it diffi- nent invasive species specialist is needed to ment projects, such as invasive species cult for the park to provide resources with the oversee this program. control and salmon level of care they deserve. As mentioned previ- Other high-priority projects that need addi- assessments. ously, the Park Service does not have the tional funding in order to continue or be imple- resources to patrol outer coastal regions of the mented include above-water soundscape base- national park, leading to concerns about the line and monitoring (measuring the amount of possibility of poaching, resource damage, and noise produced by airplanes and boats, prima- unreported wildlife mortality in acts of defense rily, that can affect wildlife and the visitor expe- of life or property. rience); a marine debris inventory, assessment, Staff and funding shortfalls also affect the and cleanup; and assessment of coho and park’s ability to complete resource management sockeye salmon stocks in the Bartlett River. PARK PLANS—FUNDS NEEDED TO natural resource management and activities ADAPT SOME AND COMPLETE OTHERS within the park, including the Vessel Quotas To guide the management of diverse resources, and Operating Requirements Environmental national parks rely on a variety of management Impact Statement (Vessel Management Plan, plans. The primary overarching planning docu- 2005), Alsek River Management Plan (1989), ment at most parks is the general management and Bartlett Cove Comprehensive Design Plan plan (GMP). The GMP for Glacier Bay National (1997). The Glacier Bay National Preserve Park and Preserve was completed in 1984 and is Off-Road Vehicle Use Environmental outdated. The park’s Wilderness Visitor Use Assessment/Finding Of No Significant Impact Management Plan—important because 75 (FONSI) was completed in August 2007. This percent of the park is managed as wilderness— plan directs general transportation for the Dry was approved in 1989 and is limited, outdated, Bay area, including commercial fishing support 51

and does not address new wilderness use issues activity, subsistence and recreational hunting e the park now faces. Activities such as scientific and fishing, and trapping on a network of desig- research, administrative presence, maintenance, nated trails and routes. A bear management and commercial uses affect park wilderness but plan and revisions to the 2000 vegetation no plans exist to manage them. Funding short- management plan are under development. The ark and Preserv falls and low prioritization by the Park Service draft bear management plan, though incom- has stalled work to revise the existing GMP and plete, details the most crucial preventative and wilderness management plan. The park is plan- responsive management protocols needed to

ning to begin work on a commercial services protect bears and provide for the safety of visi- y National P plan in late 2008. tors. The park has committed funds to complete Several other plans are in place to guide the plan by September 2008. A cooperative Glacier Ba Virtually all the land in the park is designated wilderness, but the park’s Wilderness Visitor Use NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Management Plan is outdated and does not address current concerns. A lack of funds is partly responsible for stalling work on a new wilderness management plan. fishery management plan, mandated by the RESOURCE EDUCATION—PARK 1999 Commercial Fisheries Regulations, has REACHES VISITORS IN UNUSUAL WAYS never been funded. Resource education programs and interpretive Several plans and reports are in place to exhibits have the ability to foster appreciation manage cultural resources, while others are still of park resources and engender a sense of needed. A museum collection management resource stewardship in park visitors. Most plan is in place, but it should be updated national parks provide learning experiences because the collection was recently moved to a through ranger-guided or self-guided tours, new facility. An archaeological overview and interpretive exhibits in visitor centers, or infor- assessment is in draft form and should be mational brochures and wayside exhibits. completed. An ethnographic overview and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve faces a 52 assessment is in progress. Historic structures somewhat unusual challenge in reaching visi-

e reports would help guide management of the tors with educational information because park’s 23 frontcountry structures. most of the park’s visitors enter park waters but do not venture ashore. To reach the 95 percent of visitors who arrive on cruise ships, the park places rangers on board vessels, where they ark and Preserv

Park rangers board cruise ships to provide interpretive y National P programs that include children’s NATIONAL PARK SERVICE activities. Glacier Ba NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

53 e ark and Preserv y National P Glacier Ba

provide interpretive narrative via public include visitor space for interpretive exhibits, a The park provides address systems, presentations in the ships’ theater, an information desk, and backcountry ranger-led hikes, formal presentations, theaters, children’s programs in the youth and boater orientation; curatorial facilities; and a Junior Ranger centers, and informal interpretive opportuni- dispatch and emergency response functions; a program, but the ties at portable visitor centers. sales area for the Alaska Geographic existing visitor center People who visit the park’s only developed Association; and work space for the park’s inter- does not adequately area, Bartlett Cove, may attend ranger-led hikes pretive staff. The park has requested funds to serve visitors. The park would like to and formal presentations, while children can move forward with this new facility. construct a new participate in the park’s Junior Ranger program. The park hosts education and outreach multiuse facility and But the park currently has little in the way of a programs for diverse audiences. It sponsors boat has requested funds visitor center. A makeshift area on the mezza- trips, camping trips, hikes, day camps, class- for this project. nine of the Glacier Bay Lodge serves as a visitor room activities, and formal presentations for contact station and includes aging exhibits, an local communities, including Hoonah, Yakutat, inadequate auditorium, and an information and Gustavus. Students from around the world desk, which is staffed only intermittently participate in the park’s electronic field trips on throughout the day. The park would like to the Internet while other virtual visitors surf the build a multiuse facility to replace the existing park’s website for information on wildlife, park visitor center. The proposed facility would history, and other topics. The park is currently Teaching children about the park’s natural and cultural resources helps to instill a sense of stew- NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ardship responsibility.

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working on an interactive map that will allow the last ten years visitation trends, resource

Glacier Ba park and virtual visitors to access information knowledge, technology, and park and conces- on resources and Tlingit culture online. sion facilities (including cruise ships) have To guide interpretation of natural and changed significantly. For instance, the number cultural resources, the park needs to complete a of cruise ship passengers increased by 27 comprehensive interpretive plan (CIP). A percent in this time period, and the infrastruc- decade ago, the park began a long-range inter- ture of the ships where park staff deliver interpretive plan, a critical element of a CIP, which pretive programs has changed dramatically. In developed park themes, visitor experience goals, addition, long-distance technology offers new and implementation strategies. It is now time to opportunities to reach underserved audiences. take another look at the overall interpretive And there is a need to share compelling cultural program and visitor use goals, because during stories in innovative ways, representing multiple viewpoints. A new comprehensive interpretive plan will articulate the vision for the park’s interpretive future and recommend the media and programs best suited for meeting visitor needs, achieving management goals, and telling NATIONAL PARK SERVICE the park’s stories. EXTERNAL SUPPORT—VOLUNTEERS WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP: ARE INDISPENSABLE Many national parks rely on support from • Participate in park planning efforts: The public is invited to volunteers, community groups, and nonprofit provide input on all park plans. Visit the park’s website organizations to help bridge the gap between (www.nps.gov/glba) to find out about current planning efforts. the park’s needs and what the park can afford. • Support or become a member of a group helping to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve’s protect the park: Friends of Glacier Bay (www.fogb.org), volunteer coordinator acts as a liaison to help Alaska Geographic Association (www.alaskageographic.org), place people where they are most needed. In or the National Parks Conservation Association fiscal year 2007, the park benefited from the (www.npca.org/support_npca). contributions of 73 volunteers who eradicated 55 invasive plants, worked as campground and • Volunteer in the park. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

harbor hosts, and assisted with various is looking for dedicated people who can lend a helping hand. e research projects. To learn about volunteer opportunities, contact the park at Support from the Friends of Glacier Bay and 907.697.2230. the Alaska Geographic Association are also criti- • Become an NPCA member and activist and learn about cally important. According to its mission, the legislative initiatives and protection projects affecting all ark and Preserv friends group “is dedicated to ecological parks. When you join our activist network, you will receive Park integrity, opportunities for solitude, and appro- Lines, a monthly electronic newsletter with the latest park news priate research in Glacier Bay National Park and and ways you can help. To join NPCA or become an activist,

Preserve.” The friends group initiated the first y National P visit www.npca.org. Glacier Bay Science Symposium in 1983 and has supported three more since then, the most recent one held in 2004. The friends group also Glacier Ba donates time and funds to care for the park’s library and is working to record oral histories of

Huna Tlingit elders. Alaska Geographic NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Association runs the park’s bookstore, shares park information with visitors on cruise ships and at the Glacier Bay Lodge, coordinates special events, and publishes the park’s newspaper. Relationships with surrounding communities are also important to the resource health and long-term success of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. There are three communities closely associated with the park: Gustavus, Hoonah, and Yakutat. Relations with the Tlingit of Hoonah and Yakutat are improving as a result of outreach. Hiring a public information officer would help to further ensure good relationships with surrounding communities, but the park does not currently have funds for this position. Instead, these duties are shared among management staff. Volunteers help the park remove invasive non-native oxeye daisies. APPENDIX: METHODOLOGY

56 To determine the condition of known natural The scores for cultural resources are deter- and cultural resources at Glacier Bay National mined based on the results of indicator

e Park and Preserve and other national parks, the questions that reflect the National Park National Parks Conservation Association devel- Service’s own Cultural Resource Management oped a resource assessment and ratings process. Guideline and other Park Service resource The assessment methodology can be found management policies.

ark and Preserv online at NPCA’s Center for State of the Parks Stewardship capacity refers to the Park website: www.npca.org/stateoftheparks. Service’s ability to protect park resources, and Researchers gather available information includes discussion of funding and staffing from a variety of sources in a number of criti- levels, park planning documents, resource

y National P cal categories. The natural resources rating education, and external support. reflects assessment of more than 120 discrete For this report, researchers collected data elements associated with environmental and prepared technical documents that Glacier Ba quality, biotic health, and ecosystem integrity. summarized the results. The technical docu- Environmental quality and biotic health meas- ments were used to construct this report, which ures address air, water, soils, and climatic was reviewed by staff at Glacier Bay National change conditions as well as their influences Park and Preserve prior to publication. and human-related influences on plants and NPCA’s Center for State of the Parks repre- animals. Ecosystems measures address the sents the first time that such assessments have extent, species composition, and interrelation- been undertaken for units of the National Park ships of organisms with each other and the System. Comments on the program’s methods physical environment. are welcome.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve offers opportunities for solitude in a spec- tacular natural setting. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For more information about the NPCA thanks the staff at Glacier Bay National Center for State of the Parks® Park and Preserve who reviewed the factual accu- and this and other program reports, contact: racy of information used in this report. We also thank peer reviewers for their valuable comments National Parks Conservation Association and suggestions. Center for State of the Parks® PO Box 737 CENTER FOR STATE OF THE PARKS® Fort Collins, CO 80522 ADVISORY COUNCIL Phone: 970.493.2545 E-mail: [email protected] Dr. Dorothy Canter Or visit us at www.npca.org/stateoftheparks/ The Johns Hopkins University Dr. Francisco Dallmeier National Parks Conservation Association Smithsonian Institution Alaska Regional Office Jim Stratton, Senior Director Dr. Sylvia Earle Phone: 907.277.6722 National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Email: [email protected] Dr. Glenn E. Haas Colorado State University Primary researchers: Chris Allan and John Watson Writer: Lisa Hayward Folk Bruce Judd Editor: Elizabeth Meyers Architectural Resources Group Copy Editor: Kelly Senser Karl Komatsu Design/Layout: Paul Caputo Komatsu Architecture Center for State of the Parks Staff: Dr. Thomas Lovejoy Dr. James Nations, Vice President H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, Dr. Gail Dethloff, Director and the Environment Erin McPherson, Cultural Resources Program Manager Dr. Pamela Matson Elizabeth Meyers, Publications Manager Stanford University, Ecological Society of America Cathy Norris, Program Assistant Megan Lowery, Natural Resources Coordinator Robert Melnick Daniel Saxton, Publications Coordinator University of Oregon Dr. Kenton Miller World Resources Institute, World Commission on Protected Areas Dr. Roger Sayre United States Geological Survey Dr. William Schlesinger Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Dr. Lee Talbot George Mason University

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