Alaska’s wildness and communities are what draw people to this incredible part of our world, and it is vital that we protect it for future generations. This is true for the Tongass National Forest, and for our towns and villages in Southeast Alaska. Alaska’s wildness is why I am here; it is the reason I chose Juneau for UnCruise Adventures. It is the reason that I have fought hard to preserve wild lands and wildlife at every opportunity.
Small-ship cruising offers an intimate and sustainable way to explore Alaska, allowing our guests to connect deeply with the landscape and its wildlife without overwhelming local communities. Over the last 40 years I have witnessed the remarkable growth of tourism in Juneau and other Alaskan ports, while also seeing the impact of common-sense regulations and voluntary agreements that preserve the Alaska I love. I support measures that help maintain the balance between the need for viable business for our people and keeping Alaska…Alaska.
I had the pleasure of being selected by Juneau’s mayor to serve on the Visitor Industry Task Force. The task force was active for three years. This group worked to find reasonable and legal solutions to the impact of industrial tourism on our small city. Recently, the City and Borough of Juneau started to implement these recommendations. This is why we now have a five-cruise ship daily limit agreement between the city and the big foreign-flagged cruise lines. Limiting Juneau to no more than five big cruise ships, with a maximum number of daily visitors, will help ensure that tourism remains sustainable and beneficial to my community, but also limit growth.
Yet, there is still much to be done, including a new cruise ship pier, which will diffuse visitor impact, reduce congestion and allow for better flow of guest activities without adding additional visitors. This also limits anchoring by ships, which distracts from the visitor experience in Juneau and creates considerable congestion at lightering floats and nearby roads. Of note, the property for this new pier is a huge gravel uplands area that is almost entirely abandoned, unused, unsightly, and in need of improvement.
Cutting all large ships from Juneau port calls on Saturdays will bring lawsuits from the private dock owners who have a legal right to rent their docks. It will also put the City and Borough of Juneau at risk, as the city owns piers that are funded partially by bonds and federal loans, which do not allow the city to selectively choose who may or may not use the piers on any given day. I envision a huge legal mess if voters in Juneau approve “no-ship Saturdays.” In my mind, this is not our best foot forward, and this from a man who would not be caught dead on a large foreign industrial tourism cruise ship! But we need not go crazy here; let’s stick with the process and get the work done that the Visitors Task Force recommended to the City and Borough of Juneau.
As for UnCruise Adventures, we will continue to minimize our impact on Alaska while supporting the local businesses that benefit from our gentle impact operations, preserving Native Alaskan and local character, and minimizing our impact on the environment.
• Dan Blanchard is a longtime Juneau resident, and the owner and CEO of UnCruise Adventures.
