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Web posted
The park service would stick with 139 cruise ship visits into Glacier Bay from June to August of each year, with the possibility of increasing to 184 a year, according to a recommendation in a newly released study. The draft environmental impact statement offers five options for motorized vessel traffic in the 3.3 million-acre park north of Juneau.
The study covers vessel limits for cruise ships, tour vessels, charter boats and private vessels. Some alternatives include new speed limits and separate quotas for Glacier Bay and Dundas Bay in the park. The agency's preferred alternative would keep all vessel numbers at current levels, with possible increases in cruise ship visits.
Glacier Bay National Park Superintendent Tomie Lee said future increases in cruise ship numbers would be gradual and depend on environmental studies and monitoring.
The park service measures cruise ship air emissions and checks vessel logs, Lee said. The agency also is conducting ongoing research on seals and humpback whales, she said.
Lee said she expects cruise ships will be allowed 139 visits this summer, as in the past.
The draft study comes on the heels of new state cruise ship regulations and industry efforts to improve wastewater treatment and limit air emissions. Holland America agreed not to discharge wastewater into Glacier Bay National Park in 1998, which set the bar for other cruise lines, Lee said.
"We told the other cruise lines if they wanted to continue to operate in the bay, they had to meet Holland America's standards," she said. "The standards they helped set and the state's work have really tightened up the protections for the park."
The park service increased the number of cruise ships allowed into Glacier Bay from 107 to 139 in 1997. In response, the National Parks Conservation Association filed a lawsuit, arguing a full-scale environmental study was needed. The U.S. Court of Appeals agreed in 2001, returning cruise ship traffic to pre-1996 levels. Congress then froze cruise ship visits at 139 until the detailed study was finished.
Jim Stratton, Alaska regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association, said the group will be taking a close look at how the study deals with all types of boats.
"The key here is to protect the resources while at the same time allowing the public to view the magnificence of Glacier Bay. And it's a balancing act," he said. "If we have perceived impacts from cruise ships, it stands to reason to make sure there aren't impacts from other types of boats, too."
Nearly 383,000 people traveled through Glacier Bay in 2001. About 85 percent of park visitors are cruise ship passengers, according to the park service.
Lee said the park service also is interested in ways to make permitting easier for boat operators.
"It can be confusing now. We have a limit on entries per day and user days and sometimes we don't have the full number of entries per day" she said. "I'd really encourage people -- particularly people who use Glacier Bay and the bay itself -- to get involved."
Comments on the draft study will be accepted through May 14 and public hearings are planned in mid-April in Anchorage, Juneau, Hoonah, Gustavus, Pelican, Elfin Cove and Seattle. More information is available at www.nps.gov/glba/. A final decision is expected in January.
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