Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner John Boyle got an earful about the state of Haines’ five park facilities from four residents who came to an open house on Friday evening.
Residents excoriated Boyle for the state’s meager funding to area parks, the lack of a permanent park ranger in Haines, and what they saw as dangerous human-bear interactions at Chilkoot Lake, among other issues.
“Frankly, the state has become an embarrassment to me,” Debra Schnabel, who serves on the borough assembly, told Boyle at one point during the meeting.
Boyle, for his part, acknowledged the state’s shortcomings in many areas, and attributed them to neglect of parks for decades, including under previous administrations.
“We probably don’t put as much into parks as we probably should,” Boyle said.
Park funding has hardly budged in the last decade, even as costs as inflation and tight labor market has pushed up costs. This year, the state gave about $16 million to parks, and is facing nearly $70 million in deferred maintenance projects.
The Haines area hasn’t been able to find a permanent park ranger for the last two years, something resident Tom Morphet pushed the commissioner on.
“Who would come to see this park and say ‘I want to be part of this,'” Morphet said.
Boyle said the department is looking to boost wages, but as part of the state’s wage-setting process, it is waiting for a study to be finished. Currently, park rangers are paid less than troopers, even though they go through similar training and require similar qualifications. Morphet told Boyle that he knew people who were deterred by a drug-testing requirement, which disqualifies people who use marijuana, which can stay in a person’s blood for weeks. Fentanyl, which unlike marijuana is illegal in Alaska, only lasts a few days.
Morphet suggested creating a new class of rangers that don’t carry weapons, which could exempt them from state policies that require drug testing for law enforcement people. Boyle said the department is open to new ideas, including creating an ‘interpretative ranger’ position that doesn’t carry firearms, similar to the classifications of the National Park Service. He also said housing has been a big issue in recruiting rangers around the state. Seven ranger positions are currently unfilled in Alaska, something Boyle said reflects a national trend of a tight labor market.
“I think there are myriad causes of why we are struggling with this,” said Boyle. “We’re not getting applications.”
Kathleen Menke pressed Boyle on human-bear interactions at Chilkoot State Recreation Area. She said she’d observed anglers chasing bears from the river and others fleeing the river, leaving fish-filled coolers for the bears to take. She also said photographers on the road were approaching dangerously close to bears, and suggested the park system hire a full-time bear monitor to educate visitors and keep an eye on the bears to avoid mauling.
“It’s appalling what’s going on there right now,” she said.
Boyle said he had heard the message about the dangers of Chilkoot Lake from borough staff, who had driven with Boyle around some of the park facilities earlier in the day, and was open to ideas about how to address it.
Residents also pushed Boyle on unmaintained dirt road into Chilkat State Park, which they said made for dangerous driving since it forced drivers to veer into the opposite lane to avoid potholes. And another resident suggested putting more money into the area trail system.
Only a handful of residents showed up for the open house, held on Friday evening at the public library during the state fair. Borough manager Annette Kreitzer acknowledged the meeting time was “inconvenient” but said officials were hoping to schedule another commissioner visit.