Bear Viewing in Juneau

[tee_harbor]

First, the good news: The salmon are spawning around Mendenhall Glacier and many bears are present. My cabbie on Wednesday told me that 11 bears had been counted that day, all to be seen for the price of transportation to the glacier.

 

The bad news: Forest rangers have been forced to close down portions of the Steep Creek Trails for visitors' safety. Too many visitors were leaving trails, resulting in close encounters, and there simply aren't enough rangers to be running around checking on everyone.

 

The viewing platform right off the parking lot and the raised walking platforms will remain open. Full details can be found in at juneauempire.com, article archived for August 16th.

 

The situation reminds me of the other thread about wildlife viewing--salmon abuse. Every single salmon a bear consumes is vitally important to his winter survival; being forced to flee and miss an hour's feeding can mean the difference between life and death. The bears are not there to complete a tourist's scrapbook.

[photodoodle]

I'm glad that bear health and human safety are prioties for the park service.

Thanks for the local update, tee.

[Jennifer31]

Hi

 

Will the bears still be there around the first week of Sept or will they be gone by then.

 

thanks

jennifer

[tee_harbor]

Hi

 

Will the bears still be there around the first week of Sept or will they be gone by then.

 

The salmon will still be there, so bears should still be around. However, if they discover better pickings or get too stressed, they'll move on.

 

This certainly seems to be the prime time for fish and thus their predators. I went Out the Road for berry picking yesterday, and the smell of rotting fish was everywhere! Be prepared!

[Jennifer31]

Hi

 

I just realized that you are from Juneau. How is the job market up there? I will be finishing up my teaching degree in Special ed next June and was thinking of moving up to Alaska next summer. I am hoping I can get a teaching job there.

 

My plan is to get a newspaper when I get into Juneau.

 

Jennifer

[mytime53]

Hi

 

I just realized that you are from Juneau. How is the job market up there? I will be finishing up my teaching degree in Special ed next June and was thinking of moving up to Alaska next summer. I am hoping I can get a teaching job there.

 

My plan is to get a newspaper when I get into Juneau.

 

Jennifer

Jennifer--a newspaper won't do you much good. There is a job fair every spring in Anchorage where administrators from school districts all over the state interview prospective teachers. Also, almost all school districts list openings online on their own websites. This link may help you: http://www.alaskateacher.org/doku.php?id=alaska_school_districts

Good luck.

[tee_harbor]

Darnit, mytime53, I saw her first! :D But I think she's right, Jennifer, I've never seen ads for teachers in the paper, probably because each town is isolated, there's no 'driving over from another town' for a job; we have who we have. My understanding is that the SE AK schools are always looking for teachers.

 

This cruise is a great chance to see the different towns and get a feel for the area. And Juneau's school district's website is: http://www.jsd.k12.ak.us/newdistrict/ Just in case you like us best. :)

[Jennifer31]

I wanted the newspaper to get an idea of rent and living situations. I know that Alaska will come down to my college and do interviews. They came down in Feb-March, but didn't get anyone because no one was graduating.

 

My goal is to teach in Juneau. I went on a cruise to Alaska about 3-4 years ago and enjoyed Juneau and SE Alaska. I was actually accepted to University of Alaska-SE teaching program. I decided against it because it was a new program and they were still working out the kinks. I figure that I wasn't ready to be a guinea pig at my expense, so I opt to do my Bachelors degree in my home state. Then, things worked out well for me to do my Master's degree in special ed in my home state.

 

One of the largest reasons for doing this cruise again is to get a better idea of where I want to teach and learn more about Alaska culture and history.

 

Thanks

Jennifer

[c-cruise]

Hi, just got back from Alaska today on the Oosterdam. We went to the Mendenhall Glacier visitors center and the Steep Creek trail was indeed closed. However, we did see several black bears around the visitors center area. The park rangers were keeping an eye on them and trying to keep the tourists back. It was actually a fairly comical site to watch. After the Glacier we went to the Glacier Gardens which I thought was kind of a waste of time. Next time I would skip the gardens and spend more time at the Glacier exploring the trails etc.

[tee_harbor]

I wanted the newspaper to get an idea of rent and living situations.

 

Oh, darn. Housing is one of our community problems. :o They yammer on and on about affordable housing, yet no one builds any new rentals, only homes. But there are solutions beyond the newspaper. There's a foyer in the parking garage with a bulletin board, or Heritage Coffee, another at the A&P grocery store, all downtown, where you can see person to person rentals available.

 

It sounds like you're really serious. I don't know how long you're in Juneau, but perhaps you should contact one of the human resources folks on the Juneau district website and see if someone's available for lunch or a cup of coffee, to discuss reality issues like housing and will they have an opening. Good luck!

[Jennifer31]

Hi

 

I will be in Juneau for 7 hours. Not long enough. I will check out the website and try and get in contact with someone in HR. I am fairly serious. I want to teach in a rural community.

 

Jennifer

[barns46]

Tee-Harbor... and all the great cc members.. I just wanted to thank you for all your great info., we are going to Juneau the end of sept. Our H.S football team will be playing and taking on the Juneau Bears..and found out last nite our freshman gets to go..(and of course D.h. couldnt pass up a dream trip..Alaska and Football :) any way I knew where to get good info ..:) :)

[tee_harbor]

Tee-Harbor... and all the great cc members.. I just wanted to thank you for all your great info., we are going to Juneau the end of sept. Our H.S football team will be playing and taking on the Juneau Bears..and found out last nite our freshman gets to go..(and of course D.h. couldnt pass up a dream trip..Alaska and Football :) any way I knew where to get good info ..:) :)

 

What a great trip for your family! Some things will be closed down, but that gives you the 'real' Alaska experience. And I'm sure the football team will make you feel welcome...well, not out on the field, but they really appreciate teams coming up to play them!