Neilson, J.L., and C.M. Gabriele. 2019. Glacier Bay & Icy Strait Humpback Whale Population Monitoring: 2018 Update. National Park Service Resource Brief, Gustavus, Alaska.

Salt Lake City, UT -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/16/2019 -- Colorado River & Trail Expeditions has been operating guided grand canyon rafting expeditions and Alaska rafting on the Alsek and Tatshenshini Rivers in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve since 1978. From the upstairs window of our warehouse in Haines, Alaska, (on the inland side of the Chilkat Range, "just over the mountains" from Glacier Bay)

Southeast Alaska, Juneau, Haines, Skagway, and Glacier Bay.

For centuries, the Lynn canal facilitated trade and migration between Native coastal settlements and interior villages in what is now Alaska and northern Canada. In hand-carved sea-worthy canoes, decorated by totemic symbols, aboriginal people paddled up an down the Lynn Canal to hunt, fish, and engage in trade. This followed the migrations of birds, fish, whales, and other wildlife, and harvested seasonal plants and berries. This waterway of importance for both for commerce, tourism, and wildlife. Visiting certain times for the year are the festive lights of cruise ships heading toward Skagway, which is located at the terminus of the Lynn Canal. During the day, it is possible to watch humpback whales breaching, as they migrate up and down the waterway following schools of fish.

It was common to see whales every summer, but not as many in recent years. Past years whale citings were common to see six or seven whales breaching alongside the ferry that brings us from Juneau to Haines. Last summer (2018), the ferry captain spotted one humpback. It is unclear what has caused the number of whales swimming in the deep waters of the Lynn Canal might be decreasing. Today, a report from the National Park Service regarding the declining presence of humpback whales in Glacier Bay and Icy Strait, just a little farther north and west from our location on the Lynn Canal.

SUBJECT: The following report summarizing humpback whale monitoring results from 2018 is now available: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/620535 [692 K, 6 pages] Neilson, J.L., and C.M. Gabriele. 2019. Glacier Bay & Icy Strait Humpback Whale Population Monitoring: 2018 Update. National Park Service Resource Brief, Gustavus, Alaska.

KEY FINDINGS:

It was documented 100 unique humpback whales, lowest annual count since 2002.

Humpback whale abundance in Glacier Bay and Icy Strait has declined by >50% since peaking in 2013.

This downtrend trend has been most dramatic in Glacier Bay, where it was identified only 45 whales in 2018, a 72% decline compared to our record high count of 161 whales in 2013.

It was documented only one mother/calf pair in 2018 but by mid-August the mother had lost her calf, marking total reproductive failure for the first time in this 34-year study.

An increasing number of whales that exhibited long-term site fidelity to GB-IS in 2004-2013 (n = 66) have not been documented since 2013. In 2018, over half (56%) of these well-known whales were missing.

For the third year in a row, it was observed numerous abnormally thin whales, however, it appears this was less common than in 2017.

Although our monitoring results indicate population-level changes over the past five years, it is not known if the declines in whale numbers represent a shift in distribution and/or increased mortality from 2014-2018. Efforts to locate the whales missing from Glacier Bay and Icy Strait in catalogs from other feeding areas (e.g., British Columbia and Prince William Sound) have so far yielded no matches. Through a new collaboration with Happywhale.com, it was recently initiated expanding our search area to the broader North Pacific.

Within Alaska, the consistent, long-term, monitoring of humpback whales is limited to Glacier Bay and Icy Strait, although our findings are consistent with negative trends in abundance, reproduction, and body condition for humpbacks in other areas in the central North Pacific.

Growing evidence suggests that recent declines in humpback whales and other marine species may be related to the unprecedented marine heatwave that occurred in the North Pacific from 2014-2016

For more information, contact:
Janet Neilson
Humpback Whale Monitoring Program
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
PO Box 140
Gustavus, Alaska 99826
907-697-2658

About Colorado River & Trail Expeditions
Colorado River & Trail Expeditions (CRATE) has been a licensed white water rafting concessionaire in the Grand Canyon since 1971. CRATE began rafting other stretches of the Green River and Colorado River shortly thereafter, including Cataract Canyon, Desolation Canyon, and Westwater Canyon. In 1978, The group explored the Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers in Alaska and soon added those wild and remote rivers to our catalog of rafting adventures. For over 40 years, the team has consistently provided high quality, fully outfitted rafting adventures through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the west. 801-261-1789 or 801-268-1193.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/glacier-bay-national-park-new-humpback-whale-monitoring-report-1196714.htm

Salt Lake City, UT -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/18/2018 -- Did you know that the Grand Canyon is turning 100 years old in 2019? The Grand Canyon was officially made a National Park on February 26, 1919.

In honor of the centennial, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and Grand Canyon National Park have partnered to produce "100 Years of Grand" – a centennial project to showcase archival materials around the early years of Grand Canyon.

See photos for the blog here:Grand Canyon Turns 100

Unidentified members of the 1937 Carnegie Cal-Tech science expedition unload gear and supplies from one of their three dories. One of the expedition's scientists, John "Cactus Jack" Stark, created an illustrated book of doggerel verse to commemorate the trip, of which only nine copies were made. This image corresponds to the text on page 6 of the Doggerel Log [item no. 13352], "Through the Marble Gorge was sunny, Shooting rapids seemed just funny, But at Badger we unloaded all the duffle from the boats, Spent the afternoon in lining, and the evening in reclining, with backs sore from the portage of the duffle without coats." On the back of the photograph in pencil is written, "Portage Badger Rapids 11/10/37."

Unidentified members of the 1937 Carnegie-Cal Tech science expedition discuss geological features of the Grand Canyon near Hermit Rapids on the Colorado River. The expedition, lasting from October to November of 1937, included four scholars from the Carnegie Institute of Washington and the California Institute of Technology (John T. Stark, Ian Campbell, John H. Maxon, and Robert P. Sharp), a Grand Canyon naturalist (Edwin McKee), and three expert boatmen (Frank B. Dodge, Owen Clark, and Merril Spencer). The original eight-man team set out from Lees Ferry down the Colorado River in order to study the indigenous and metamorphic rocks of the Grand Canyon. River runner Buzz Holmstrom would later join them near Diamond Creek.

More amazing old photos and letter correspondence can be found here:Additional Pictures

What's a better way to celebrate the centennial of the Canyon than by joining us on a Grand Canyon Rafting trip! Our 2019 trips are filling fast, but we still have a few dates available. Call or e-mail us today to not miss the opportunity to celebrate this milestone and GO GRAND in 2019.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/grand-canyon-turns-100-in-2019-1105872.htm