Cheap Alaska Cruises

My turn: Tongass is a salmon forest first

When visitors from around the world enjoy a cruise through Alaska’s Inside Passage, they are experiencing the Tongass National Forest as a scenic wonder.

I live in Sitka, and when I look at the Tongass, I see salmon because I’m a salmon fisherman, and the Tongass is first and foremost a salmon forest. It is one of nature’s great salmon-producing factories.

Though the Tongass has just 5 percent of Alaska’s land area, it produces almost 30 percent of the state’s wild salmon.

Add up all the commercial salmon fishing, all the sport fishing for salmon and trout, all the salmon that Alaskans take to feed their families, and you learn that the fish coming from the Tongass drive almost $1 billion of economic activity in Southeast Alaska’s economy every year.

The Tongass could produce even more salmon if vast areas of the old-growth forest had not been mowed down. Logging operations that supported two giant pulp mills chewed up streams, caused erosion, and spoiled miles and miles of good fish habitat.

I’m familiar with places on Prince of Wales Island that have been so hammered for so long, local coho runs are finding it difficult to survive. We used to have really good fisheries in places like Clarence Strait, Sumner Strait, and Point Baker. Those areas have been really hurt by clear cutting huge areas of old-growth forest.

These days, the Forest Service says it recognizes the need to change the way it manages the Tongass. It will move away from old growth logging, and try to shift logging into second-growth areas. As that shift takes place, the agency wants to maintain jobs by doing a lot of work to repair past damage inflicted by old-style logging.

That kind of talk is good news, but the Forest Service is still pushing big timber sales in old-growth forest. The agency spends millions and millions of dollars every year preparing timber sales nobody buys. These days, the good timber that’s left is too remote and too expensive to cut and still make a profit in the face of cheap competition around the world.

Still, I’m encouraged to see a growing number of restoration projects — like the public-private partnership that will restore the Sitkoh River this season. There’s plenty of that work to be done throughout the Tongass.

Culverts that block fish passage need to be fixed or removed. Old logging roads that cause erosion need to be closed and replanted. Workers can thin dense undergrowth along streams, to improve habitat. And contractors can be hired to put some downed trees back in those streams, to break up the flow of water that fish, especially coho, need to survive.

Cheap Alaskan Cruise | Last-Minute-Vacation-Cruises.com

A cheap Alaskan cruise is all you need to take some stress away and rejuvenate yourself after all those months behind the desk. The good news is that affordable prices that will enable you to embark on an Alaskan cruise are offered by a lot of cruise lines so you have a lot of options. During your Alaska cruise you will see some of the famous Alaskan destinations like Glacier Bay and Juneau that you may want to visit.

Getting to the Alaskan ports is half the fun. Cruises regularly leave from Seattle and Vancouver, BC in the summer months. Both of these cities are exciting to visit before or after a cruise vacation. Sometimes you can find a special cruise deal that includes an overnight stop at special rates. Be sure to check for last minute deals for up to 50% off the brochure price plus your spending and gratuities.

One of the popular tourist destinations in Alaska is Anchorage. Here, you can enjoy the amenities of the modern world while you marvel at the natural treasures that this place possesses. In Anchorage, you can commune with the locals and learn their way of life. You can also do some outdoor activities like trekking and hiking during your stay.

Anchorage is also near the highest peak in North America, which is Mt. McKinley. The ancient name for the mountain is Denali. In addition, a lot of city parks are also available for you to stroll in and absorb the beauty of this place. Anchorage is also a good place for you to do some shopping. This location is filled with stores where you can buy native handicrafts that were handmade by the locals.

One place that you want to be sure to visit on a Denali discovery cruise is the Denali National Park. This is Alaska’s most popular attraction where you can see the breathtaking sights of this place. Here, you can safely commune with wildlife species like the Moose, the grizzly bears, and the wolves. Amazing sights of Mt. McKinley can be seen from all over this park. Glacial rivers, massive peaks, and a lot of natural beauty are waiting to be discovered in the Denali NP.

In the course of your journey, you can visit the Talkeetna which is a unique town near Denali. Like the Denali National Park, this pioneering town offers a lot of adventurous trips for you and your family to enjoy. While in Talkeetna, you can explore Main Street which will let you have a good notion of the past pioneering lifestyles in Alaska. There are also three major and famous glacial rivers here which you can visit.

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