A record number of cruise passengers are expected this year in Alaska’s capital, Juneau. But its crown jewel, the Mendenhall Glacier, is quickly melting. This leaves many in the city wondering: what comes next?
But climate change is melting the Mendenhall Glacier. It is receding so quickly that by 2050, it might no longer be visible from the visitor center it once loomed outside.Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.“We need to be thinking about our glaciers and the ability to view glaciers as they recede,” said Alexandra Pierce, the city’s tourism manager. There also needs to be a focus on reducing environmental impacts, she said.
Manoj Pillai, a cruise ship worker from India, took pictures from a popular overlook on a recent day off. “We did talk about, ‘Is it worth the investment in the facilities if the glacier does go out of sight?’" said Tristan Fluharty, the forest’s Juneau district ranger. “Would we still get the same amount of visitation?”
After pandemic-stunted seasons, about 1.6 million cruise passengers are expected in Juneau this year, during a season stretching from April through October. Juneau Tours and Whale Watch is one of about two dozen companies with permits for services like transportation or guiding at the glacier. Serene Hutchinson, the company's general manager, said demand has been so high that she neared her allotment halfway through the season. Shuttle service to the glacier had to be suspended, but her business still offers limited tours that include the glacier, she said.
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