National Parks
Alaska has 8 national parks:
Denali National Park and Preserve
: located in the center of the state, it is home to the highest peak in North America, Mount Denali, which rises to over 6,000 meters. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the park protects a wide variety of environments: forests, lakes, ponds and glaciers.Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
: located in the northern part of the state, north of the Arctic Circle, this vast park protects taiga and tundra ecosystems.Katmai National Park and Preserve
: located on the Alaska Peninsula in the southwestern part of the state, this park is characterized by its chain of active volcanoes. It is also worth mentioning the picturesque Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes linked to the eruption of the Novarupta volcano.Kenai Fjords National Park
: in the south of the state, the park protects vast areas of glaciers, forests and fjords, associated with a great diversity of flora and fauna.Kobuk Valley National
Park: located in northwest Alaska, it is characterized by its sand dunes (Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, Little Kobuk Sand Dunes, Hunt River Dunes). This vast reservoir is home to a remarkable biodiversity.Glacier Bay National Park
: located on the southeast coast of Alaska, 150 km from Juneau, the park is classified as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. It protects glaciers, fjords, coastal forests, lakes and ice fields.Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
: located in the south of the state, less than 200 km from Anchorage, it is home to a great diversity of environments such as volcanoes, forests, tundra, lakes and rivers, associated with a rich biodiversity.Wrangell-St Elias National Park : located in the south of Alaska, the park, classified as a UNESCO biosphere reserve, is characterized by its alternating glaciers and mountain ranges (Chigah Mountains, Wrangell Mountains, St Elias Mountains), which constitute unique landscapes in the world.
The wilderness in question
The notion of wilderness was developed by the naturalist John Muir, who made a voyage of exploration in Alaska in 1899. This concept of a nature untouched by human occupation is the one that prevailed in the establishment of national parks in the United States. However, it raises a certain number of questions. National parks, as reservoirs of biodiversity, cannot by themselves maintain the evolutionary dynamics of life, linked to the circulation of species and thus to the presence of ecological continuums. Ex situ human activities, which generate pollution and global warming, also impact national parks. These protected areas are also threatened by human activities within them, such as oil and gas drilling. Tourism also induces impacts, both direct, since traffic in the parks can disturb certain species, and indirect, since the transportation of travelers often has a very significant carbon impact. This policy of "sanctuarization" has also excluded indigenous populations from certain areas, even though they have been present for thousands of years and have been able to preserve the natural balance. The anthropologist Nastassaja Martin has studied the Gwhich'in people in northern Alaska(Les Âmes sauvages, 2016). The Gwhich'in, in the face of global warming, national park policies and oil projects, see their way of life completely transformed. These indigenous peoples carry another vision of the world, called "animist", which differs from the Western vision called "naturalist" which thinks of humans outside of nature. These different ontologies, developed by the anthropologist Philippe Descola, contribute to enlighten our interrelations with the living. At a time of ecological crisis, rethinking our relationship with the world could be a first step towards more balanced relations between humans and non-humans.
A territory subject to multiple pollutions
Pollution residues that have travelled around the world via ocean currents are accumulating in the Arctic. The Arctic Council, composed of members from the various Arctic countries and representatives of indigenous peoples, initiated an assessment program, which found multiple pollutants in wildlife including PCBs and mercury. Fairbanks suffers from significant air pollution, linked to heating (wood, oil), road traffic and power plants, associated with the phenomenon of winter inversion, which prevents the dissemination of pollutants.
The burning issue of oil
Begun in the 1960s, oil development could see new developments. In 2020, Donald Trump's administration granted oil and gas leases in the state, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Joe Biden's inauguration did not call oil development into question. The new president has only temporarily suspended the project in ANWR, requesting a legal review. Other large-scale projects are continuing, to the great displeasure of environmental NGOs, which are highlighting the damage to biodiversity and the climate. The drilling infrastructures could also be threatened by climate change: they require energy-intensive cooling installations... in order to limit the melting of the ice on which they rest...
A territory facing climate change
Alaska is experiencing the full force of climate change. Fires, melting glaciers and sea ice threaten biodiversity. Also of concern is the melting permafrost - or permanently frozen ground - which as it warms releases methane, and could also release large amounts of CO2 frozen in the ice, but also large amounts of mercury, viruses and bacteria. Ground subsidence induced by melting permafrost is also causing landslides and threatening homes. Some of the inhabitants of the village of Newtok have already been forced to move in 2019 to a new village, Mertarvik.
