How a tiny Arctic village in Alaska is trying to revive its polar-bear tourism industry

Late every summer hulking white bears gather outside a tiny Alaska Native village on the edge of the continent far above the Arctic Circle to feast on whale carcasses left behind by hunters and to wait for the deep cold to freeze the seaIts a spectacle that once brought 1000 or more tourists each year to Kaktovik the only settlement in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in a phenomenon sometimes called last chance tourism a chance to see magnificent sights and creatures before climate change renders them extinctThe COVID19 pandemic and an order from the federal government halting boat tours to see the bears largely ended Kaktoviks polar bear tourism amid concerns that the tiny village was being overrun by outsiders But Kaktovik leaders are now hoping to revive it saying it could be worth millions to the local economy and give residents another source of income provided the village can set guidelines that protect its way of life and the bears themselvesWe definitely see the benefit for tourism said Charles Lampe president of the Kaktovik Inupiat Corp which owns 144 square miles 373 square kilometers of land The thing is it cant be run like it was beforeVisitors overwhelm a tiny villageAs far back as the early 1980s anyone in Kaktovik with a boat and knowledge of the waters could take a few tourists out to watch the bears as they lumbered across the flat treeless barrier islands just off the coast or tore into the ribs of a bowhead whale left by subsistence huntersTourism in Kaktovik soared in the years after federal officials declared polar bears a threatened species in 2008 The rapid warming of the Arctic is melting the sea ice the bears use to hunt seals and scientists have said most polar bears could be wiped out by the end of the centuryAs visitation boomed the federal government imposed regulations requiring tour operators to have permits and insurance and that began to squeeze locals out of the industry Lampe said Larger outoftown operators moved in and before long crowds of tourists were coming to Kaktovik a village of about 250 people during the sixweek viewing seasonThe towns two hotels and restaurants lost out on some business when large operators began flying tourists in from Fairbanks or Anchorage for day trips Locals complained tourist gawked at them or traipsed through their yardsSmall plane capacity became an issue with residents sometimes battling tourists to get on flights to or from larger cities for medical appointments forcing those left stranded in the cities to get expensive hotel rooms for the nightRenewing polar bear tourism with changesWhen the pandemic struck Kaktovik paused visitation Then in 2021 the federal government which manages polar bears halted boat tours mostly over concerns about how tourists were affecting bear behavior and overrunning the townNow Alaska Native leaders are in talks with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to address those concerns and reignite the industry perhaps as early as 2027 The agency told The Associated Press in a statement that its working with Kaktovik to ensure that any future opportunities are managed in a way that prioritizes visitor safety resource protection and community inputAmong the changes Kaktovik leaders want to see is a limit on how long a boat can sit in the water near the bears Too long Lampe said and the bears get used to humans making for a dangerous situation when bears wander into town looking for foodDuring the height of the tourism boom it became tougher to haze bears out of town even with the towns bear patrol shooting at them with nonlethal rounds The patrol had to kill about three or four bears per year compared to maybe one per year before the boom Lampe saidOur safety was at risk Lampe saidIn 2023 a 24yearold woman and her 1yearold son were killed in a polar bear attack in Wales in far western Alaska It was the first fatal polar bear attack in nearly 30 years in Alaska the only US state home to the speciesSince the boat tours in Kaktovik were halted the bears once again seem more fearful of humans Lampe saidEncouraging respectful visits in the ArcticPolar bear tourism coincides with Kaktoviks subsistence whaling season When a crew lands a whale its usually butchered on a nearby beach While the community encourages visitors to watch or even help some were recording or taking pictures without permission which is considered disrespectful Lampe saidSherry Rupert CEO of the American Indigenous Tourism Association suggested that Kaktovik market itself as a two or threeday experienceNative communities that are ready for tourists want them to come and be educated and walk away with a greater understanding of our people and our way of life and our culture she saidRoger and Sonia MacKertich of Australia were looking for the best spot on the planet to view polar bears in the wild when they came to Kaktovik in September 2019 They spent several days in the village took a walking tour led by an elder and bought souvenirs made by local artists including a hoodie featuring a polar bearFor Roger MacKertich a professional wildlife photographer based in Sydney the highlight was the boat tours to see bears roaming on the barrier islands or taking a dip in the water The bears paid them no attentionThats nearly as good as it gets he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever