Katmai’s bridge is not to nowhere

The recent opinion piece by Tom Walker, "Katmai's bridge to nowhere," is emblematic of a person who is able to frequent places like Brooks River, but who would deny that same opportunity to others for whom it may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience — in this case, average tourists who may not have as much time or ability to enjoy all that Alaska has to offer.

Mr. Walker is concerned that "habitat can be quickly degraded" and that "wildlife will be displaced by too many people" at Brooks River. These were the same concerns that created the need for a bear study at Brooks River back in the early 1970s. Back then, there were far fewer human visitors to Brooks River and also far fewer bears. The study ended up concluding that "people had intruded into prime bear habitat" and it predicted the demise of the park's entire bear population, not just Brooks River, if the lodge were not removed. Those of us who knew better have been fighting against moving the visitor facilities ever since. Since then, human visitation has increased tenfold and has been paralleled by an equal increase in the number of bears, park wide. The purported doom and gloom never happened.

[Photos: Katmai bears feast on salmon]

The fact is that people have not "intruded into prime bear habitat," as the 1970s bear study concluded. The archaeological record of Brooks River goes back more than 4,500 years, when the area was a narrow constriction in a single, much larger lake. As the water dropped and the river formed between what is now Brooks and Naknek lakes, National Park Service archaeologists say that "all available evidence attests to an intense and continuous occupation of the river margins by Native Alaskans that extends well into the historic period. The mantle of cultural deposits extend out at least one quarter mile on each side of the river and frequently reach depths of up to two meters in thickness. Nearly 900 house and structural depressions are visible on the surface alone, not counting those that are buried deep within the ground," reads a 1992 paper by Ted Berkedal, Chief NPS archaeologist. Drying salmon on racks was then and still is the primary way these Native people preserved their subsistence catch. This could not have been done unless they excluded bears from the river for the past 4,000 years. Given that, it might be more accurate to say that bears have recently intruded into prime people habitat.

That said, I am not suggesting that Brooks River be returned to its prior subsistence fishing state. Rather, we just need to be honest about what it actually is. To again quote Mr. Berkedal's paper, "To the multitude of visitors that crowd the bear-viewing platforms each year, nothing appears more natural than the sight of dozens of satiated bears feeding and cavorting in the waters of Brooks River. Yet, from a historical vantage point nothing could be further from the truth — the situation is indeed most 'unnatural.' This 'bear heaven' is not a creation of Mother Nature, rather, it is a cultural artifact of National Park Service management."

Mr. Walker also says that the new park concessionaire, the operator of Brooks Lodge, "reportedly" plans this summer to increase the number of fly-in day visitors. This is patently false. In fact, just the opposite is true. For the first time ever, the Brooks Lodge concessionaire, which also operates Katmai Air, plans to cap the daily number of day trips they sell, and that number is less than what they sold last year, not more.

Also, Mr. Walker's contention that the new bridge will "do absolutely nothing to reduce or eliminate lines at the falls' trailhead" is not a view shared by the Park Service or myself. The main reason for lines at the falls trailhead is that the "bear jams" that happen at the current bridge create a situation where large numbers of people cross at once when the bridge finally opens. Everyone rushes to the trailhead, and they all get there at once. Hence the line forms. The new bridge will eliminate the bear jams so people can trickle across the bridge all day long. It may actually allow for longer viewing times on the falls platform, not shorter ones.

Besides, the main reason the Park Service limits viewing times at the falls platform is to prevent professional photographers with mega-cameras and tripods (like Mr. Walker) from hogging the prime spots all day long to the exclusion of ordinary tourist visitors, most of whom wouldn't spend more than an hour there anyway. There are ample opportunities to view bears in the rest of the Brooks River area.

[Beyond the bears: Appreciating other Brooks Camp attractions in Katmai]

Mr. Walker is correct on a couple of points. One is that, "a bear atop Brooks Falls is one of Alaska's iconic images." And it is also true that, "an up-close look at a wild bear has become a hallmark of almost every Alaska vacation." There are plenty of places where diehard photographers and campers can go to see bears with very few or even no people. Brooks Camp, Brooks River and its famous falls — which are currently accessible without limits — is the one place that provides that hallmark opportunity to anyone and everyone willing to go. There is nothing wrong with that, and the new bridge will help keep it that way.

Sonny Petersen is the previous owner of Katmailand Inc., the Brooks Lodge concessionaire and Katmai Air. The lodge was founded by his father Ray Petersen in 1950. Petersen recently sold the operations to Bristol Bay Native Corp. in May 2016.