"Glacier Bay landscape, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, 2015." by U.S. National Park Service , public domain
![]() | Glacier BayGuide Summer 2021 |
The Summer 2021 edition of The Fairweather Visitor Guide to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (NP&PRES) in Alaska. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
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covered parks
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Summer 2021
V I S I TOR G U I D E
Trails���������������������������page 5
Boating & Camping...page 22
Wildlife��������������������� page 30
Table of Contents
General Information����������������������� 3–13
Explore Glacier Bay highlights
Park Science������������������������������������ 14–19
Discover stories behind the scenery
Guide to Park Waters Map������������20–21
Traveling, Boating & Camping���� 22–29
Plan your adventure
Wildlife��������������������������������������������30–36
Look, listen, and protect
For Teachers������������������������������������������ 37
Share Glacier Bay with your class
For Kids�������������������������������������������������� 38
Become a Junior Ranger
Stay Connected ������������������������������������ 39
Support your park
Additional Information. . . . back cover
Emergency, Medical, and Contact Us
The Fairweather
Produced by:
Designed by: National Park Service and Alaska Geographic
Park Coordinator: Laura Buchheit
Editor: Matthew Enderle
Graphics: Sean Tevebaugh
Welcome to Glacier Bay
Welcome to Glacier Bay
National Park and Preserve,
a place defined by beauty
and hope, change and
resilience. These are familiar
concepts reflected in the
challenges we face with the
pandemic and our shared
efforts to protect what we
treasure.
If you are here this summer, then you successfully
navigated the gauntlet of new requirements,
restrictions, and fears of travel. You might even have
a better appreciation for the challenges faced by those
in the past who came to visit this special place.
By now, we had all hoped that we might be further
along in our ability to freely visit our National Parks.
We also feared that finding a vaccine and a path out
of the pandemic might take much longer. Instead,
we now find ourselves in the middle place. Alaska’s
communities and travel industry are excited to
start to welcome people back, but the lack of herd
immunity requires us to be cautious and many remote
communities here are justifiably concerned. Luckily,
many of the best experiences in Glacier Bay – such
as breathing in the quiet beauty rather than the air
of a crowd – are found outside and can be enjoyed
responsibly so our most vulnerable are protected.
Parks are about shared ownership, working together
as a nation and world to care for a treasure we want
to pass on to our children. Successfully dealing with
the pandemic requires much of the same: collective
action to preserve what is precious. Collaboration is
especially important for our vulnerable populations:
the tribal elders who hold so much of Tlingit culture,
or the people who worked so hard to create the
communities and protect the areas you are visiting
and who still live here. Please join us in helping to
keep this special place special and to ensure the safety
and well-being of yourselves, your fellow travelers,
and our local communities.
There is a memorial coin beneath each of the four
house posts in Xunaa Shuka Hit (page 6), the Eagle
and Raven poles outside, and the Healing totem (page
8). These coins have a statement, engraved in Tlingit
and English, that drive every decision and every
action this park takes:
Haa yátx’i jeeyís áyá
For Our Children Forever.
Philip Hooge,
Superintendent
Enjoying these places requires flexibility in thought
and action. You may find your mid-summer trip
occurring when many restrictions have been relaxed
and local and regional COVID-19 cases are very low,
or you may find yourself in a time of rising numbers
and tightening restrictions.
Contributors: Michael Bower, Laura Buchheit, Brian Buma, Kat
Connelly, Sara Doyle, Lisa Etherington, Chris Gabriele, Margaret
Hazen, Philip Hooge, Emma Johnson, Tania Lewis, Dan Mann,
Sandy Milner, Mary Beth Moss, Janet Neilson, Steven Schaller,
Melissa Senac, Lewis Sharman, Scott Gende, Ingrid Nixon, and
Darlene See.
Special thanks to the following photographers:
Kaytie Boomer, Michael Bower, Brian Buma, Sara Doyle, Janene
Driscoll (inside cover), Chris Gabriele, Tania Lewis, Dan Mann,
Craig Murdoch (front cover), Janet Neilson, Sean Neilson, Steve
Schaller, Sean Tevebaugh, and NPS seasonal staff.
The Fairweather is published by Alaska Geographic Association
and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
Printed on recycled paper using soy-based inks.
©Alaska Geographic
Visitors to Bartlett Cove can still experience the wild, glacial
landscape of Glacier Bay.
Glacier Bay offers a myriad of opportunities to “Find Your Park.”
3
Explore Bartlett Cove
Trails
Bartlett Cove is the only developed area within
the wilds of Glacier Bay. The forests and
shorelines offer great opportunities for hiking
and exploring. Maps are available at Glacier Bay
Lodge and the Visitor Information Station (VIS).
Forest Trail
Distance: 0.7 miles (1.1 km) one way
Time: 30 minutes–1.5 hours
This leisurely stroll meanders through a lush
forest that grows atop a glacial moraine. A
wheelchair accessible boardwalk takes you part
of the way, leading to two viewing decks that
overlook a serene pond. Return along the shore
for an easy one-mile loop.
The shores of Barlett Cove offer opportunities to explore...
If you just have a few hours...
If you have a half day...
Stop by the Visitor Center: On the second floor of the
Glacier Bay Lodge is the National Park Service (NPS)
information desk and exhibits. Open daily when lodge
is open. Educational materials and souvenirs available
for purchase from Alaska Geographic.
Hike to the Bartlett River: See trail details, page 5.
Walk the Forest Trail: See trail details, page 5.
If you have a full day...
Go for a beach walk: See trail details, page 5.
Explore the intertidal zone at low tide: See map
page 5.
Hike to Bartlett Lake: See trail details, page 5.
Join a Ranger Program: See bulletin boards or park
website for schedule of activities happening during
your visit.
Go for a paddle: There are several options for kayaking
around Bartlett Cove. Take a guided kayak trip, or rent
your own from Glacier Bay Sea Kayaks.
Visit the Whale Exhibit: See one of the largest
humpback whale skeletons on display in the world.
Located near the Visitor Information Station.
Become a Junior Ranger: Kids can pick up their free
Junior Ranger Activity Book from the NPS information
desk at the Glacier Bay Lodge, or from the Visitor
Information Station (VIS). See page 38.
View the Tribal House and the Healing Pole:
Walk along the Tlingit Trail to explore Huna Tlingit
connections to Glacier Bay. See pages 6–8.
Explore Glacier Bay on the Dayboat: Spend the day
exploring Glacier Bay to observe wildlife and tidewater
glaciers. Stop by the lodge for availability*.
Get the Latest Schedule of Events
Please see the NPS Visitor
Center information desk in the Glacier Bay
Lodge, the bulletin board in front of the
lodge, or the Visitor Information Station
(VIS) near the public dock for updates and
information on available services.
4
Tlingit Trail
Distance: 0.5 mile (800 m) one way
Time: 30 minutes–1 hour
Enjoy this easy stroll along a forested shoreline.
View the Healing Pole and a traditional Tlingit
canoe, admire a complete whale skeleton, learn
about common native plants, and take in the
Raven and Eagle totems, as well as the exterior of
the Tribal House.
Bartlett River Trail
Distance: 4 miles (6.4 km) round trip
Time: 4–5 hours
Explore a dense spruce-hemlock rainforest. The
trail through the forest ends at an estuary near
the mouth of the river. Each summer, spawning
salmon attract otters, eagles, seals, and bears.
Anglers enjoy fishing there, too.
Bartlett Lake Trail
Distance: 8 miles (16 km) round trip
Time: 7–8 hours
About ¾ of a mile down the Bartlett River Trail
you will find the lake trail, a branch trail that
climbs the moraine. This primitive trail is a
rugged day-hike, with rewards of solitude and a
tranquil lake. Bring water, food, and rain gear.
Explore the Shore
Distance: varies
The shoreline beyond the docks continues for
miles past the campground. You may observe
land and marine wildlife. Look for birds, listen
for whales, and watch for sea otters feeding near
shore. This is not a maintained trail.
5
Xunaa Shuká Hít
Xunaa Shuká Hít stands proudly on the shores of Bartlett Cove.
Dressed in the beaded vest of a Tlingit elder, tribal
interpreter Don Starbard shares with visitors: “There’s
a good balance now. Yes, our young people are going
off to college to become successful. But our language
is strong. Our dance is strong. Our canoe culture is
strong, and, most importantly, our connection to
Homeland remains strong.” All summer long, visitors
gather at the Tribal House. They listen to traditional
stories and explore the intricately carved and painted
building. Cultural interpreters working for the National
Park Service (NPS) and the Hoonah Indian Association
(HIA), the tribal government, share deeply of their
traditions, history, enduring connection to Glacier Bay
homeland, and the collaborative efforts that led to the
completion of this magnificent building.
throughout Glacier Bay prior to the Little Ice Age.
Although villages inside the bay were overrun by
glacial advances in the 1700s, the Huna Tlingit reestablished fish camps and seasonal villages soon
after glacial retreat. Establishment of Glacier Bay
National Monument in 1925 (and later National Park)
and implementation of laws and park regulations led
to a period of alienation and strained relationships
between tribal people and the NPS. Time and new
understandings have brought much healing. In recent
years, the NPS and HIA worked cooperatively to
reinvigorate traditional activities, develop cultural
programs for youth and adults, amend regulations to
allow for a broader range of traditional harvests in park
boundaries, and preserve oral histories.
For countless generations, the Huna Tlingit sustained
themselves on the abundant resources found
The most symbolic cooperative venture—Xunaa Shuká
Hít (roughly translated as Huna Ancestors’ House)—
HIA cultural interpreter leads a group down the Tlingit Trail to
Xunaa Shuká Hít.
6
Hoonah youth welcome traditional dugout canoes on Bartlett
Cove’s shoreline during the 2018 Healing Pole Dedication.
Tribal members dance and sing during the August 2016 Tribal
House Dedication.
NPS cultural interpreter shares messages represented within the
Raven and Eagle totems.
now stands proudly on the shoreline of Bartlett Cove.
Dedicated in August 2016 and opened to the public in
summer 2017, it now draws thousands of visitors from
around the world.
sides of Xunaa Shuká Hít. In August 2018, these poles
were joined by Yaa Naa Néx Kootéeyaa (Healing Pole).
This totem, collaboratively designed by NPS and HIA,
reveals the story of the journey through a painful past
to a healthier, more meaningful partnership. Xunaa
Shuká Hít is a place of learning, growth, inspiration,
and continued healing for generations to come.
A team of clan leaders, craftsmen, planners, architects,
and cultural resource specialists designed Xunaa
Shuká Hít to reflect a traditional architectural style
reminiscent of ancestral clan houses with modern
touches suitable for the needs of the community today.
Inside the Tribal House are four richly detailed massive
cedar interior house posts and an interior house screen
which depicts the stories of the four primary Huna
Tlingit clans and their tie to Glacier Bay homeland.
These cultural elements impart spiritual value to the
Tribal House, and, as importantly, their design and
completion expand the circle of tribal members who
hold traditional skills and share in cultural knowledge.
The 2,500 square foot Tribal House is not only a place
for visitors to learn about Tlingit traditions, but is
also a venue for tribal members to reconnect with
their traditional homeland, life-ways, and ancestral
knowledge. Within months of its dedication, the Tribal
House inspired native high school students to spend
their winter school break at the Tribal House learning
traditional crafts from elders and culture bearers.
Months later, hundreds of tribal members gathered
to raise the Eagle and Raven totems that grace the
Images of the Huna Tribal House dedication and
carving projects are available on the park’s website
under the Tribal House Media Gallery. To learn more
about special events and opportunities to experience
the Tribal House, check the posted activity schedules in
Bartlett Cove or ask a ranger.
Traditional songs inspire the strength and stamina to carry the
Raven and Eagle totems at the May 2017 Totem Raising.
7
Planning for our Park
Yaa Naa Néx Kootéeyaa
I believe we are on a path - that our people will be remembered...”
- Frank Wright Jr, President of Hoonah Indian Association
Our pole...is a story pole. It is, essentially,
the recorded history, not only of the Huna
Tlingit, not only of Glacier Bay National
Park, but of our long, sometimes painful,
sometimes joyous, journey together.
- Philip Hooge, Superintendent
Journey of Healing
Philip Hooge (left) and Frank
Wright, Jr. (right) at the Healing Pole
Dedication.
The National Park Service cares
for special places saved by the
Raised on August 25, 2018, Yaa Naa Néx Kootéeyaa (Healing Pole) tells
the story of the long journey for both Huna Tlingit and the National
Park Service to heal years of misunderstandings and hurt.
Designed collaboratively by tribal elders, carvers, and NPS staff,
the pole contains a mix of traditional formline design and modern
representations of symbols—differentiating it from other poles in
Southeast Alaska.
Glacier Bay is the traditional
home and “breadbasket” of the
Huna Tlingit—sustaining them
physically and spiritually until a
rapidly advancing glacier pushed
them out in the late 1700s.
The Huna Tlingit felt that the
federal government—a faceless,
soulless being with too many
hands—barred them from many
traditional practices upon their
return after the glacier receded.
Traditional dugout canoes
support healing journeys
cooperatively planned by
NPS and the Hoonah Indian
Association—connecting tribal
members with Glacier Bay
homeland.
Visit the Healing Pole next to the Visitor Information Station,
and read the complete story from bottom to top at our website:
go.NPS.gov/healingtotem
8
American people so that all may
experience our heritage.
Glacier Bay by satellite, from NASA’s Earth Observatory.
Your Opinion Counts
You are a part of a long legacy of adventurers inspired by
Glacier Bay! Keep connected and involved even from afar.
The NPS relies on your feedback to help guide stewardship
of America’s great natural and cultural resources.
Glacier Bay National Park is currently working with the
NPS to update some of the park’s management plans. This
planning effort will strengthen the park service mission
to provide for visitor enjoyment while also preserving the
park’s extraordinary natural and cultural heritage for
future generations.
Please take the time to visit our Frontcountry and
Backcountry Management Plan websites (see below) or
contact us (see right) to learn more about our process and
progress, and to offer your unique perspective. There are
multiple ways you can be involved.
Follow implementation of the
updated Bartlett Cove plan:
go.nps.gov/GLBA_FMP
Frontcountry Management
Plan website
Follow Glacier Bay wilderness
experience planning:
go.nps.gov/GBwild
Backcountry Management
Plan website
Stay Tuned!
You don’t need to live close by to be connected
and stay involved. You can follow progress and
offer feedback to inform park planning in the
following ways:
√ SUBSCRIBE to our planning notification list
by sending us your contact information:
glba_public_comments@nps.gov
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
PO Box 140
Gustavus AK 99826
√ FOLLOW the park’s social media for press
releases and planning announcements (public
meetings, review drafts, comment periods).
√ VISIT US ONLINE to learn more about
park management: https://www.nps.gov/glba/
getinvolved/planning.htm
Visit the NPS online portal for real time public notices and comment
opportunities: Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC)
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/glba
9
Timeline of Glacier Bay
1980 Congress, under
1794
Since time immemorial,
Tlingit clans live in the area that
is now Glacier Bay. Advancing
glaciers in the 1700s during the
Little Ice Age force the Tlingit
out of their homeland. After
the Little Ice Age, the glacier
melts back and the ocean fills
the valley quickly, creating
Glacier Bay.
1750
1770s–1790s
European explorers arrive.
Excursions led by Captains
Malaspina, La Perouse, Cook,
Vancouver, and many others
provide the first western
descriptions of the area and its
people. Cartographers create
the first maps of the area and
non-Native names are given to
landforms.
10
Captain George
Vancouver of the H.M.S.
Discovery and Lt. Joseph
Whidbey describe Glacier
Bay as “a compact sheet of
ice as far as the eye could
distinguish.” The “bay” is a
mere five-mile indentation
in the coastline.
1800
1925 Ecologist William
1883 James Carroll and other
commercial steamship captains
make Muir Glacier a popular
tourist destination.
1850
1900
Park Service and Hoonah
Indian Association
sign a Memorandum of
Understanding to establish
a working partnership.
1950
1916
U.S. Congress passes
the Organic Act, creating the
National Park Service.
part of the “Mission 66” initiative
that brought facility improvements
to national parks nationwide during
the 50th anniversary of the National
Park Service.
2020 Reduced
park operations
continue with
limited visitation
due to the Covid-19
pandemic. In
2019, Glacier Bay
welcomes over
640,000 visitors.
2000
2016
1966 Glacier Bay Lodge opens as
1879 John Muir, guided by Tlingit
men, paddles into Glacier Bay. They
find the glacial ice has retreated 40
miles since 1794. Muir returns three
times over the next 15 years. He
constructs a cabin, makes extensive
observations of glaciers, and
explains interglacial tree stumps.
The eloquent writings of enthusiasts
like Muir and Eliza Scidmore begin
attracting new visitors to the bay.
S. Cooper, studying plant
succession in Glacier Bay,
and the Ecological Society
of America persuade
President Coolidge to
establish Glacier Bay
National Monument.
the leadership of President
Jimmy Carter, signs the
Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act
into law. Glacier Bay
becomes a national park
and preserve encompassing
3.3 million acres.
1995 The National
1992 UNESCO designates
Glacier Bay, along with
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
and Preserve (Alaska), Kluane
National Park Reserve (Canada)
and Tatshenshini-Alsek
Provincial Park (Canada), as a
24-million-acre World Heritage
Site, one of the world’s largest
internationally protected areas.
The National
Park Service celebrates
its centennial: 100 years
of “America’s Best Idea.”
Glacier Bay celebrates
with the opening of the
Huna Tribal House, a
collaborative project
with the Hoonah Indian
Association. The building
serves as a cultural anchor
and a place of learning.
11
World Heritage
Glaciers
A cruise ship appears small within the expansive Glacier Bay landscape. Through careful vessel management, Glacier Bay National
Park seeks to balance visitation with resource preservation.
International Connections
A cruise ship sails into Glacier Bay, one of potentially only
two for that summer’s day. The ship’s company follows
voluntary environmental protocols to reduce vessel
emissions and lower impacts. The ship’s crew curtails
activities aboard, encouraging passengers to take in the
wilderness around them. Interpretive rangers, invited
aboard for the day, share stories of the park and its
significance. After visiting the tidewater glaciers, the ship
eventually departs leaving nothing but its wake.
the 50 marine sites on the United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
converged on Bartlett Cove for a symposium with
one major goal: to learn from each other how to best
manage their protected areas. Over the five-day event,
managers from sites all over the world shared stories of
the challenges they face including increasing visitation,
climate change, and marine pollution. They also shared
solutions.
This Glacier Bay model of vessel management is a
significant reason why in September 2019, managers of
According to Superintendent Philip Hooge, the
gathering was a chance to highlight the park’s
success with public-private partnerships. “Working
together with the cruise industry we have been able
to successfully deal with some of the issues associated
with cruise tourism,” he said, “and achieve higher
environmental standards using means other than the
regulatory process.”
Park Superintendent and West Norwegian Fjords Board
Chairman sign Sister Park Agreement at Lamplugh Glacier.
12
While in the bay in front of the Lamplugh Glacier with
the marine managers cheering on, Superintendent
Hooge signed a Sister Park Agreement with
representatives of West Norwegian Fjords World
Heritage Site in Norway. The two sites have much in
common in that they both feature scenic fjords with
major visitation by cruise ships. “This provides an
incredible opportunity for protected areas that share so
much to learn from each other,” said Hooge.
A glacier flows from the Fairweather Mountains. Glaciers continue to change in response to their environment.
Rivers of Ice
Tall, coastal mountains and an abundance of snow
make Glacier Bay a comfortable home for hundreds of
glaciers. Storms from the Pacific Ocean collide with the
towering Fairweather Mountains, often producing rain
at sea level and snow at higher elevations. More snow
falls each year than melts in the mountains. The snow
compacts, forming ice. With the influence of gravity,
the ice slides down the mountainside. Basically, ice in
motion is a glacier.
As a glacier flows down the mountainside, it reaches
warmer elevations. When the air above a glacier is above
freezing or if it is raining, then ice melts. The balance
between the amount of ice forming and ice melting
determines whether a glacier advances (grows) or
retreats (shrinks), though it always flows forward.
Glaciers shrink in size when more ice is lost from melting than
gained from snowfall.
“Words and dry figures can give one little idea
of the grandeur of this glacial torrent flowing
steadily and solidly into the sea, and the beauty
of the fantastic ice front, shimmering with all the
prismatic hues, beyond imagery or description.”
-Eliza Scidmore, 1883
A few glaciers, called tidewater glaciers, reach all the
way to the ocean and are strong enough to survive
with their ice touching warm ocean water. Tidewater
glaciers have a naturally occurring cycle of advance
and retreat that has shaped Glacier Bay for millennia. A
few hundred years ago, a glacier that sat mid-way down
the bay for centuries advanced rapidly until it came to
the waters of Icy Strait. The salty ocean water caused
the glacial ice to melt and dramatically break away in
a process called calving. Snowfall couldn’t keep up
with the amount of melting and calving, so the glacier
retreated quickly. All of the glaciers visitors see in the
park today are remnants of that once large glacier.
Changes to glacial ice continue in Glacier Bay. While
tidewater glaciers are still influenced by ocean water,
all glaciers are now impacted by a rapidly warming
planet. Glacier Bay National Park will continue to study
glaciers as the climate warms. As a living labratory,
Glacier Bay provides outstanding opportunities to
explore the intricate dynamics of glaciers.
13
Park Science
Visitors and researchers alike from around the world
explore and admire Glacier Bay. The dramatic retreat
of glaciers created a premiere scientific laboratory.
Explorer John Muir initiated the park’s remarkable
legacy of scientific inquiry in the late 1800s. Botanist
William Cooper secured protected status for Glacier
Bay following his research about how plant life
follows glacial retreat. In fact, the initial proclamation
protecting Glacier Bay National Park states research
as a reason for national preservation. From whales and
plankton to climate and otters, research is a common
occurrence in the protected laboratory of Glacier Bay.
This scientific study provides greater understanding
and appreciation for the wilderness we explore. Learn
more by reading the following pages, and make your
own discoveries in Glacier Bay.
“The most beautiful thing we can experience
is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art
and science.”
- Albert Einstein
William S. Cooper recognized Glacier Bay as a living laboratory. He studied the process of pioneer plants colonizing land recently
revealed by retreating glaciers.
Meet a researcher
Sandy Milner, Pioneer of Glacier Bay Streams
Dr. Milner has studied
streams created after glacier
retreat for 40 years.
Dr. Alexander “Sandy”
Milner has been researching
Glacier Bay’s streams for
38 of the past 40 summers!
His first visit was as an
undergraduate student on
an expedition from Chelsea
College, UK in 1977. Here
he found a natural living
laboratory, a place to
pioneer research on how life
establishes in new streams.
Today, Dr. Milner is regarded as the world expert
on stream ecosystem development following glacial
retreat. His work has revealed the patterns of stream
succession as new watersheds form in this dynamic
landscape. As streams age, the stream channels
stabilize, water clarity improves, and water temperature
The mouth of Wolf Point Creek (pictured 40 years ago) emerged
from under the retreating glacier in the mid 1940s.
14
increases. Aquatic insect fauna become more diverse
and abundant. Salmon colonize new spawning habitat.
Dr. Milner has shared his passion for learning and for
Glacier Bay as a professor at the University of Alaska
and the University of Birmingham (UK). He has
supervised 12 graduate students (ten of them Ph.D.’s)
and authored 26 scientific journal articles focused on
stream development in Glacier Bay.
The transformation of streams continues to captivate
Dr. Milner. When asked why he returns to Glacier
Bay, he explained “I would never have thought when I
sampled a cold Wolf Point Creek [Muir Inlet] with no
vegetation on a barren landscape in the late 1970s as
it emerged from the ice, that I would still be sampling
the same stream 38 years later in a cottonwood forest
with so much biodiversity and thousands of salmon
spawning. The stream system is still dynamic and every
year a new discovery is evident.”
The stream now supports pink salmon runs of more than
12,000 fish.
A Vision of Preservation
People visit Glacier Bay to view amazing scenery,
dramatic glaciers, and spectacular wildlife. Yet a
century ago one man saw something else of great value
here: incredible opportunities for science.
monument. One of the monument’s fundamental
mandates was to preserve the opportunity to conduct
scientific studies, making Glacier Bay a true “park for
science.”
Botanist William Skinner Cooper (1884–1978) came
to Glacier Bay in 1916 to study how plants colonize
newly-exposed ground following glacial retreat. He
recognized Glacier Bay as the best place on earth to
witness the process of “plant succession,” a fascinating
interplay of plants, nutrients, soil, and time. In this
process the bare ground emerging from beneath a
glacier goes through various stages to become a rich,
thick, mossy evergreen forest of towering spruces and
hemlocks.
Dr. Cooper returned to his beloved Glacier Bay many
times to document the successional development in the
study areas and plots he established on his first visit.
Dr. Cooper’s students and other scientists continue his
work on how ecosystems respond to glacial recession
and, more broadly, global climate change. This ongoing
research makes Glacier Bay the oldest continuously
researched post-glacial landscape in the world.
Dr. Cooper saw a natural laboratory in Glacier Bay
where scientific principles could be discovered as
well as tested; a place where completely new scientific
questions could be asked. As a prominent member
of the Ecological Society of America, Dr. Cooper
successfully led a committee of colleagues in a vigorous
campaign to lobby President Calvin Coolidge for
protection of the Glacier Bay area in 1925 as a national
Glacier Bay is preserved
as public land for many
reasons: protection of
wildlife habitat, scenery,
value to the world,
enjoyment by present
and future generations,
and as a living laboratory.
Glacier Bay still inspires
new discoveries today.
Ecologist Brian Buma continues
the legacy of research on
Dr. Cooper’s original plots.
From rock to rainforest—in just 75 years! Images taken at the same location document the landscape changes.
15
Park Science
Ninety-five percent of Alaska’s glaciers are thinning, stagnating, or retreating.
The Ice Is Melting
The Earth’s climate is changing—and fast! In
Glacier Bay, glaciers are rapidly shrinking and ocean
temperature is rising. Scientists who study the Earth’s
climate have documented warming temperatures in
Alaska due to increased carbon dioxide levels. Warming
temperatures lead to changes in fire cycles, tree growth,
animal migrations, and rapidly melting glaciers.
Ninety-five percent of Alaska’s glaciers are currently
retreating, thinning, or stagnating. Importantly, the
rate of thinning is increasing. Glacier Bay’s glaciers
follow this trend. Recent research determined that
the area covered by ice in Glacier Bay has shrunk 15%
from 1950 to now. Nevertheless, heavy snowfall in the
towering Fairweather Mountains means that a few
glaciers might remain stable in Glacier Bay, a rarity in
today’s world. Take a good look at the glaciers you see in
Glacier Bay today. The next time you see these glaciers,
they will be different.
Alaska and other polar regions experience the effects
of climate change more strongly than other places.
Decades of data from NASA’s Goddard Institute for
Space Studies show that Alaska and the polar regions
have warmed more than twice as much as the rest of
the earth. Climate change is a reality for Alaskans,
threatening villages with coastal erosion, changing
subsistence practices, and altering weather patterns.
Ask park rangers about what changes they have noticed
in Glacier Bay.
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There is good news. Humans are inventive, resourceful,
and capable of overcoming great challenges. Although
climate change is a global concern, we each hold a part
of the answer to minimizing its impact.
The Earth’s climate is changing and Glacier Bay is
warming. How will these changes affect you? One
fact is certain: the choices we make today will make a
difference in the future.
A weather station high above the bay collects information that will contribute to understanding Glacier Bay’s changing climate.
Tracking Ecosystem Change
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a place of
constant change. What you see today will be different
tomorrow. Visitors experience a dynamic landscape
and seascape that are continually adjusting, balancing
the forces of nature. In many ways, intricately linked
climate and ocean processes drive the park’s changes.
Some connections are quite clear—glaciers recede in
a warming climate. Others are less obvious—ocean
acidity impacts the food webs that many of the park’s
most iconic species, such as humpback whales and sea
otters, depend on. Therefore, long-term records of
climate and ocean conditions provide the necessary
backdrop for understanding the changes occurring in
Glacier Bay.
Just as a doctor assesses your health based on a medical
history, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve along
with the NPS Southeast Alaska Network inventory and
monitoring program are assessing Glacier Bay’s health
through long-term monitoring of selected climate and
ocean “vital signs.” Eight weather stations have been
installed throughout the park to track climate health.
These automated stations monitor long-term trends
in