It’s no secret Juneau is a special place — after all, there’s a reason people visit here: the nature. Anyone with a map or a phone can walk from the heart of downtown Juneau and within ten minutes be completely engulfed by the rainforest.
Or, they can pay someone to take them there. Soon, visitors may be able to take guided tours of a few places that, up to now, have been off-limits to tourism companies. That’s because the way tourism companies in Juneau can take advantage of city-owned trails and parks is getting an update.
New guidelines for how Juneau’s Parks and Recreation Department manages the commercial use of trails and parks could open up more areas for guided tours. That has some residents concerned, but the city has been tracking that feedback. Earlier this summer the department held public meetings across town to collect local input.
Parks and Rec Director George Schaaf said at a meeting last week that the city used input from hundreds of residents to help shape the recommendations.
“We hope that the analysis that we’ve been able to pull together… reflects those comments that we received, and is something that the community can support,” he said.
He said the new guidance is overdue – the last time guidelines were updated was two decades ago. The proposed revisions come as city officials and residents grapple with what role cruise ship tourism should play in Juneau’s future.
If approved by the Juneau Assembly, the update would take into account the impacts tours could have on the natural environment and local users. It gauges whether an area is high or low usage and then regulates things like the group size allowed, restricted days and hours of operation.
Linda Pringle is with Corvus Design, which helped develop the analysis. At the meeting, she explained that most trails won’t be affected by the revision.
“Approximately out of the 50 or so miles of trails that the CBJ manages through the Parks and Recreation Department only about 15% of those are actually going to be open to commercial use,” she said.
The recommendations would revise tourism rules at 13 locations across town. Three of those would be locations where tourism companies haven’t been allowed before, including the Under Thunder Trail and Telephone Hill Park.
Some residents expressed frustration with the commercial tourism already on trails and parks and worried more of it would lead to overuse.
Kathy Coghill, a North Douglas resident and active trail runner testified at the meeting last week. She said she was nervous about more people using the trails.
“I’m just concerned about the physical vulnerability of the trails and making sure that we assess their current status and make sure they’re healthy and okay before we start thinking about adding volume of visitors,” she said.
But some trails would be saved just for Juneauites. The new plan designates 38 trails and 24 parks that would be off-limits to commercial tourism. That includes historical hotspots like Perseverance Trail and Sunshine Cove.
But, individual tourists can still go to them on their own accord. And, there are still trails that the city doesn’t manage that could be open to commercial use.
The recommendations still need to be vetted by the Assembly, which has the authority to make changes. Residents will have another chance to comment, which has not yet been scheduled. If the new plan is approved, companies would need to apply for permits to operate on certain trails and parks.