Juneau Cruise Control: Juneau CAN Rethink Tourism

Tonight, June 11, 5:30pm, city hall and on Zoom, the Visitor Industry Task Force will hear from Goldbelt. Rather than presenting specifics on their plans, it appears they will be building a case for their project. Preview their presentation and find meeting links in comments below.

We also note, that at public comment next week (June 18, 5:30pm) each member of the public will be limited to 3 minutes. Goldbelt has an entire meeting. Huna Totem had much of a meeting. The whale watch and flight seeing industries had two meetings each. Send written comments to [email protected] and ask your comment be forwarded to the VITF.

Glacier Bay National Park strictly limits cruise ships and accepts bids to get the best ships for protecting the park. A transparent and fair way to allocate a limited resource.

Juneau now has daily limits in place. Who decides what ships come and which don't? What are the criteria? Is the process transparent and fair? Could it be improved?

"Every 10 years, officials develop a “prospectus” for cruise ship companies that outlines factors such as environmental standards, economic viability and willingness to pay for interpretative programs and per-passenger fees. Companies that want permits to enter Glacier Bay submit bids with detailed operating plans for how they’ll meet or exceed these standards. An independent panel ranks the bids, and those with the best ratings win the lucrative contracts.

“It’s a very effective tool,” [NPS] said. “Our environmental footprint is much lower than it would be otherwise.”

For example, cruise ships agree to hold all wastewater—even treated wastewater—during visits to Glacier Bay, eliminate single-use plastics or other materials that might blow overboard, and ban noise-generating maintenance projects. They also agree to allow observers on board to record humpback whale sightings, reduce ship speeds to minimize underwater noise, avoid sensitive ecological areas, provide detailed oil-spill emergency plans, and commit to using marine gas oil, a less polluting fuel, while in the park.

How Alaska’s Glacier Bay Developed a Sustainable Approach to Cruise Ship Traffic Parts of this model could be adapted to other Arctic marine protected areas, expert says.