An Evaluation of the Effects of Tourism on Traditional Activities: An Ethnographic Study for the Alagnak Wild River Area

Authors

Douglas Deur, Portland State UniversityFollow
Karen Evanoff, Lake Clark National Park

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 2013

Abstract

This report represents a summary of findings from the study, “An Evaluation of the Effects of Tourism on Traditional Activities: An Ethnographic Study for the Alagnak Wild River Area.” The National Park Service (NPS) administers 56 miles of Wild River along the Alagnak as a unit of the National Park Service, administered through the offices of Katmai National Park and Preserve. The NPS is charged with managing the river’s natural and cultural resources, as well as preserving the river’s lands and resources for current and future generations. Alagnak Wild River was created under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980, and is managed in collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages the River’s fish and wildlife. An important part of NPS administrative responsibility relating to Alagnak Wild River centers on Alaska Native uses of the River. Alagnak River has long served as a homeland and a key subsistence use area to Alaska Native peoples. Through the 20th century, Native peoples relocated to villages on the nearby Kvichak and Naknek Rivers, Bristol Bay, and beyond. Still, descendants of Alagnak’s former residents have continued to return to Alagnak’s riparian zone to hunt, trap, fish, gather plant materials, recreate, and participate in social gatherings. A number of families maintain allotments along the riparian corridor, and Native corporation lands are found there as well. The place retains a high level of personal significance to many residents of nearby villages today. In recent decades, however, and especially since the establishment of Wild River status in 1980, non-resident visitation of Alagnak Wild River has escalated significantly. This visitation especially involves recreational fishing, but also recreational hunting, boating, rafting, sightseeing, and other pursuits. In some cases, these non-resident uses of the river have been reported to interfere with Alaska Native uses of the River. The nature of these disturbances and their effects on Alaska Native communities appears to be diverse. Alaska Native users report such direct effects as accelerated erosion, crowding, litter and vandalism, new public safety concerns, and a variety of impacts on fish, game, and other resources of importance. Indirect effects are reported too, such as the displacement of resident users, the erosion of cultural knowledge about the Alagnak, increased pressures on alternative resource procurement areas, and increased access to tourist-based cash economies. In an effort to best manage the natural and cultural resources of Alagnak Wild River, as well as to judiciously balance the needs of different constituencies, the National Park Service required additional information regarding the past and present uses of Alagnak River by Alaska Natives, as well as the observations Alaska Native river users regarding non-resident visitation and its various effects. Based on literature review, ethnographic interviews and field visits, the current report seeks to present a thematic overview of these themes. This report’s findings are based principally upon ethnographic interviews with residents from the communities with the most direct historical associations with Alagnak Wild River, including Levelock, Igiugig, King Salmon, Naknek, South Naknek, and Kokhanok. This report describes the transformation of the Alagnak River corridor from a densely-populated center of Alaska Native habitation to a relatively peripheral resource use area that is still used by descendents of its original inhabitants today. Individual sections provide summaries of settlement patterns, hunting, fishing, and berry gathering, as well as trapping and other economic and cultural activities tied to the River. In addition, this document provides a thematic overview of concerns expressed by Alaska Natives regarding observed and potential impacts of visitors on lands and resources along the River, and upon Alaska Native use of the River. The document concludes with an initial assessment of compliance implications relating to federal cultural resource law and policy. This information is organized so as to aid the National Park Service in anticipated natural and cultural resource planning for the Alagnak River corridor, including an anticipated River Management Plan, and to assist the NPS in anticipating concerns that may emerge in future consultation with Alaska Native communities that are historically associated with Alagnak Wild River. This work has also been undertaken to assist traditionally associated Alaska Native communities with their efforts to document their historical and cultural ties to this unique place. This study builds significantly upon the findings of an earlier study by the lead author, entitled “Alagnak Wild River Resident Users Study,” conducted for the NPS as part of the Alagnak Wild River Visitor Use Project (Deur 2008b). The findings from that study were guided the development of the current study, and elements of that study’s findings are incorporated into the current document.

Description

With contributions by Adelheid Hermann and AlexaAnna Salmon
Completed under Cooperative Agreement H8W07060001 between Portland State University and the National Park Service.

Citation Details

Deur, D. and Evanoff, K. (2013). An Evaluation of the Effects of Tourism on Traditional Activities: An Ethnographic Study for the Alagnak Wild River Area.