Series: Alaska Park Science - Volume 13 Issue 1: Wilderness in Alaska

This issue includes: * Economics of Wilderness * Using Ethics Arguments to Preserve Naturalness * Busing Through the Wilderness: "Near-Wilderness" Experiences in Denali ... and more!

• Article 1: Download Alaska Park Science: Volume 13, Issue 1

  Download a print-friendly copy of Volume 13, Issue 1 of Alaska Park Science. Read more

• Article 2: The Meaning of Wilderness

  

  An intro to Volume 13, Issue 1 of Alaska Park Science Read more

• Denali National Park & Preserve

  Article 3: Howard Zahniser’s Vision of Wilderness

  

  Ed Zahniser describes his father, Howard - principal architect of the Wilderness Act. Read more

• Article 4: Alaska Wilderness: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

  

  Learn why wilderness is good for Alaska. Read more

• Lake Clark National Park & Preserve

  Article 5: A Dena'ina Perspective: Respecting Ełnena (Land)

  

  The legacy of unseen footprints of the Dena’ina people has sustained the place now called Lake Clark Wilderness for centuries. Read more

• Article 6: The Economic and Cultural Benefits of Northwest Alaska Wilderness

  

  Northwest Alaska, from Kotzebue Sound to the headwaters of the Kobuk River, is approximately the size of Indiana. It is mostly roadless wild lands, dotted by eleven villages that are located on the coast or major rivers. The formal designation of wilderness areas in northwest Alaska contributes to sustaining an ecosystem that is predicated on an expansive area of natural habitat that is not fragmented by human development. Read more

• Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve

  Article 7: Whispers Wispy and Wishful

  

  Wilson Justin's emotional and haunting recollection of a blissful childhood growing up in the wilderness near the Nabesna Road, eroded by the present-day pain of a changing landscape and the pressures of modern life. Read more

• Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve

  Article 8: At.óowu: Tlingit Homeland

  

  Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve contains almost 2.7 million acres of designated wilderness and is one of few national parks that protect wilderness marine waters. The area is also the traditional homeland of two Tlingit tribes; the Gunaaxoo Kwaan who claim the northern coastal reaches and the Huna Kawoo who settled Glacier Bay proper, Icy Strait, and long stretches of the outer coast. Read more

• Article 9: Economics of Wilderness: Contribution of Alaska Parks and Wilderness to the Alaska Economy

  

  Looking ahead, it is clear that Alaska’s wilderness ecosystems will become increasingly valuable assets in a crowded urban world. If Alaska’s wild lands, wildlife, and ecological integrity are cared for with respect, the contribution of wilderness and conservation lands to the Alaska economy and to people everywhere will be significant, positive, increasing, and enduring. Read more

• Article 10: What Future for the Wildness of Wilderness in the Anthropocene?

  

  Visionary as it was, the Wilderness Act did not anticipate today’s human-driven, global-scale changes. The idea of preserving wild lands challenges us with the irony that such places, untouched by humans, will only continue through our will to keep them that way. A resolute human purpose is needed to maintain the decision to have areas that are free of human purpose. Read more

• Article 11: Using Ethics Arguments to Preserve Naturalness: A Case Study of Wildlife Harvest Practices on NPS Lands in Alaska

  

  The NPS responsibility to maintain natural wildlife populations is inherently challenging. For example, many animals migrate out of parks either seasonally or long-term. Typically, we collect and analyze data, and then publish our work. However, the answer rarely, if ever, lies solely in the data. Often the question is not even one of biology, but one of values. In these cases, nonscientific tools such as rigorous and transparent argument analyses are appropriate. Read more

• Aleutian Islands World War II National Historic Area

  Article 12: Searching for Wilderness: Amchitka Island, Alaska

  

  A history of violence and disturbance haunts the Aleutians. On Amchitka Island, the natural healing process has been threatened and disturbed in a profound way. The legacies of World War II and nuclear tests remain; the contaminants and rats introduced during the past century may never be removed, forever changing the diversity of this island. Ecosystems can usually recover from naturally occurring disturbances but Amchitka may be irreversibly changed. Read more

• Denali National Park & Preserve

  Article 13: Busing Through Wilderness

  

  A vast wilderness park with a road through the middle - how does that work? Read more

• Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

  Article 14: Commercial Use of Wilderness at Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

  

  Because of increasing demand for commercial use of the wilderness-like area of Dyea, Klondike is preparing a new plan to manage this use. Among other issues, the plan will address the carrying capacity of the Dyea area for recreation. To help inform this plan, a series of visitor surveys were conducted to address this issue. This article describes these studies. Read more

• Article 15: Assessing and Mitigating the Cumulative Effects of Installations in Wilderness

  

  Many scientific studies rely on instrumentation to provide valuable information about wilderness resources. However, scientists must be vigilant about preserving the undeveloped quality and wilderness character as a whole. Over time, any effort that succeeds in reducing the incremental effects of a new activity or installation will also reduce cumulative effects. Read more

• Article 16: Late Pleistocene Paleontology and Native Heritage in Northwest Alaska

  

  ossil remains are bountiful in northwest Alaska, with the Baldwin Peninsula, Kotzebue Sound, and Seward Peninsula being particularly fossil-rich areas. Recorded paleontological discoveries were made in the immediate area as early as 1816. However, the region has lacked the level of attention and scientific study of other northern areas such as the Klondike and the Yukon, and is therefore lesser known. Read more

• Article 17: Artists Spotlight Alaskan Wilderness

  

  Voices of the Wilderness Traveling Art Exhibit is a collection of paintings, photographs, sculptures, poetry, and other works inspired by Alaska’s wilderness. Read more