Sparked by concerns over the condition of our national parks, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) established a working group known as the Center for the State of the Parks in the year 2000. Chief among the group’s goals was to develop a complete and comprehensive understanding of resource conditions as they exist in our national parks and preserves.
As part of this national effort, the State of the Parks Program evaluated the condition of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and released their report in September of 2008. In Alaska and even nationally, Glacier Bay is considered to be one of the most spectacular and significant parks to be administered by the National Park Service (NPS).
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is unique among parks for a number of reasons. Both Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin Roosevelt recognized the importance of the area in the study of glacial retreat when they designated Glacier Bay as a National Monument. With passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), Glacier Bay became a National Park in 1980. Most of the 400,000 annual visitors to the Park experience Glacier Bay by boat.
The State of the Parks Program evaluates two broad categories of conditions in the parks it studies, natural resources and cultural resources.
Glacier Bay National Park Natural Resource Conditions
Since most visitors to the Park see it from boats, Glacier Park has been relatively untouched by human caused effects to the marine environment and wildlife habitat. Using a scoring system based on a range of 0 to 100, the Park scored 89 points. This is considered a good score in comparison to other parks in the national park system. A few of the resource management highlights are listed below.
- Nearly all of the land found in the park is designated as wilderness
- A comprehensive vessel traffic management plan is now in place
- Commercial fishing in the park will be phased out by 2050, making this one of the few high-latitude marine reserves available to researchers unaffected by the commercial fishing industry
- The park has proven to be an outstanding natural laboratory for academic researchers worldwide
- A program is in place to monitor the health of endangered Humpback whales that reside in the park and the park participates in recovery plan for the whales
- Glacier Bay National Park has an informative and useful website that provides valuable information to those interested in the Park
Glacier Bay National Park Cultural Resource Conditions
Again using the same scoring range, Glacier Bay only achieved a fair rating for cultural resource conditions with a score of 66 out of 100 points. A chief reason for the poor showing is the budgetary support given to cultural programs that only receive two percent of the park’s overall budget. Here are some of the cultural resource highlights mentioned in the evaluation.
- Glacier Bay’s cultural resource program receives limited budgetary support and is managed by a single employee
- Ethnological and historical information on indigenous Tlingit people connected to the Park is at risk
- A focus should be made by park administration to develop more interpretive programs that focus on the Tlingit people of Glacier Bay
- Improvements near to be made in park archival spaces to adequately protect historic and cultural documents
- An overall comprehensive interpretive plan needs to be put into place at the park
Following the recommendations made in the State of the Parks Resource Assessment for Glacier Bay National Park would go a long ways towards protecting this jewel of the park service system. The National Parks Conservation Association suggests those interested in helping protect the park participate in planning efforts, join a group that supports the park, and volunteer at Glacier Bay. The assessment is a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
Copyright © 2008 by Alan Sorum
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