LONG AWAITED: THE BACKCOUNTRY MANAGEMENT PLAN
Park Contacts: Mary Beth Moss, Chief of Resource Management; Allison Banks, Backcountry Management; and Rusty Yerxa, Writer for Resource Management
Visitation in Glacier Bay National Park's backcountry grew steadily from 1992-1995, with an average yearly increase of 13% . Reasons included media pressure, the Auk Nu daily summer ferry to Gustavus, a growing charter boat fleet, and a new kayak rental company. Visitor experience in Glacier Bay and the biological integrity of park resources were in trouble of being compromised if backcountry use was not appropriately managed.
Since 1995, visitors, kayak guides, and park staff have noted increased bear-human interactions, harbor seal disturbance, several cases of impacted bird colonies, and numerous backcountry areas exhibiting vegetation impacts, trailing, and evidence of human waste/trash.
Now the 2002 season is coming. Resource Management proposes a number of projects which will collect information on campsite impacts, distribution of sensitive shoreline nesting birds, and bear habitat. These data will be used to develop strategies to minimize resource and visitor conflicts; to offer opportunities for solitude before deteriorating backcountry conditions force the imposition of drastic measures and consequent public dissatisfaction. The resulting backcountry management plan will be completed by 2003-4.
WILD SPACES:
ASSESSING WILDERNESS CONDITIONS AT GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK:
UPCOMING PROJECTS
A. KAYAKING WITH BEARS
Both black and brown bears use shoreline habitat as travel corridors and as foraging habitat during certain periods of the year. In particular, both species of bear feed on emerging shoreline vegetation in early summer months, feed on intertidal fauna during mid-summer, and frequent salmon streams (often at the shoreline) during late summer salmonid runs. Bear-human interactions have steadily increased in recent years, resulting in frequent incidents of equipment damage, increased habituation of bears to people and periodic closure of various areas of the bay. It is also possible that human use of shoreline habitats is displacing bears from critical habitat.
The summer of 2001 saw two kayakers, Tania Lewis and NatDrumheller, spending 7 days at a time in the field counting sign, quantifying data, creating a GIS may of each place visited. They were dropped off by the Crystal Fjord or a park boat and from there kayaked to previously selected sites of human use. They worked sections of the upper West arm, where there have been conflicts with bears during the past few years, due to increased human visitation. Both kayakers were self-sufficient, and though they had some encounters, none were frightening, enabling the two to do their work in the presence of bears. Once their data is completely entered into a database, ARCView computer software will offer the following for each camping site: bear sign, rubbed trees, vegetation and other food sources for bears. Existing bear-human interaction records in an Access database will also be compiled.
This summer was the first year of a pilot project. Plans for 2002 include surveying the East Arm, offering park management a chance to compare East and West, and hopefully make decisions for the East Arm before it reaches the concentration of visitors in the West Arm. Campsite impact assessment will also be done.
B. SHORELINE ASSESSMENT:
Allison Banks, Backcountry Management
Beginning in 2002, crews will walk chosen beaches known to have low, medium, or high human impact. Unlike the Coastal Walkers, who have recorded natural physical attributes, these crews will collect data on campfire rings, social trails, erosion, and trash. Some of this may be collected by the "Bear Kayakers." Data collected will be added to existing databases to assess current backcountry conditions within Glacier Bay proper. Resource management staff will inventory selected wildlife species and habitats and will monitor the impacts of human presence on the shoreline. In this narrow belt of terrain between the ocean and steep fjord walls or dense upland vegetation lie the park's most sensitive wildlife habitat and productive biological resources.
The results will be merged with the park's existing backcountry use database and GIS layer to create a profile of current and potential backcountry ecosystem impacts and social conditions. Visitor surveys now in progress will further assist in generating desired future conditions and appropriate use levels for this wilderness park.
If you have questions regarding the Backcountry Management Plan, please call Allison Banks, 907-697-2611.
C. CAMPSITE ASSESSMENT:
The park has collected data on backcountry visitor distribution for 5 consecutive years (1996-2000). Backcountry distribution data is stored in an Access database linked to the park's GIS. This data will be analyzed to locate areas of high, moderate, and low visitor use. Data will be collected on the extent of vegetative disturbance, informal trailing, presence of trash and/or human waste, presence of fire rings and/or evidence of fires.
The campsite database will also be linked to the park's coastal inventory database. This database contains information on shoreline type, slope and substrate, intertidal biota, and adjacent upland habitat type. Comparisons between the coastal mapping database and the campsite monitoring database will allow managers to determine:
1. the types of shorelines and areas most attractive to visitor use
2. the types of shorelines and adjacent upland habitats most and least resistant to visitor use
areas where backcountry use overlaps sensitive intertidal habitats
Park managers will use this information to:
1. delineate areas of existing high resource impact
2. predict areas where future user concentrations may develop (based on an analysis of campsite attributes)
3. develop management strategies to reduce resource impacts through education, zoning, area closure, use caps, etc.
4. monitor the effectiveness of management decisions on campsite impacts
D. GROUND NESTING BIRD ASSESSMENT:
During 2002, a survey will determine the distribution of ground-nesting marine birds along Glacier Bay's shoreline with particular emphasis on high-use areas that are most susceptible to human impacts. Data from this project could be overlaid with the visitor distribution database so that managers can:
1. identify areas where visitor use overlaps ground nesting bird habitat
2. develop management strategies to reduce visitor impacts to ground nesting birds (education, zoning, area/seasonal closure, use caps)
3. monitor population levels of selected colonial ground nesting birds to ensure that backcountry use does not affect populations
4. identify areas where gull egg collecting may take place (a traditional practice of the Hoonah Tlingit people that may be reauthorized in the near future.
