Again and again in History 452, National Parks, we have seen the battle between utility and preservation. Often the battle was over whether to create new parks at all. Sometimes the battles were between park supporters and those who wanted to “invade” the parks for timber or cattle grazing or oil. The current administration in Washington, D.C., has rolled back environmental protection regulations and opened up park lands for industrial exploitation. Most recently the Trump administration began opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling. The Biden administration is likely to overturn that policy, but in the mean time Washington is allowing oil companies to lease drilling sites in the Arctic. Will Arctic drilling occur despite whatever the new policies may be? Stay tuned.
Another disputed ground is the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. I visited there during the summer of 2019 with three granddaughters in a little cruise ship called the Legacy. As luck would have it the Dan Blanchard, the CEO of Un-Cruise, the company that owns the ship, was on board along with a professional photographer. They were there to photograph a film opposing logging the Tongass. The YouTube video that follows tells the tale.
Yours truly appears in cameo shots in the film along with said granddaughters.
— By the way, while teaching National Parks online on the road every Fall along with its companion course, History of the American Wilderness, on alternate years — while teaching these courses, I have been incredibly lucky. On a cruise in Alaska — who should be there but the company CEO doing a film on environmental protection. Visit Capitol Reef National Park — and arrive there on the one day of the year when a cattle drive went through the park. Go to Svalbard, one thousand miles North of Iceland — and arrive the day before the tragic death of a polar bear, a story that circulated in newspapers around the world. Visit Paris — and arrive in time to see the “Taxis of the Marne” resurrected for the 100th anniversary of of the Battle of the Marne. So far all of these serendipitous encounters have yielded great stories. Do I want to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park just as it produces a humungous eruption? NO thank you!
Unfortunately, several weeks ago Dan Blanchard and thousands of us who hope to see the Tongass preserved heard the bad news that President Trump was opening the Tongass again for logging. Will that change under the Biden administration?
My fingers are crossed!
— 2022: Yes, the Tongas has been saved.
Here is Capt. Dan Blanchard’s film: