| 1) | environmental baseline data (biological, chemical, and physical) are inadequate; | |
| 2) | data available (i.e., Juraszs') have not been analyzed fully; | |
| 3) | changes in human use of areas are not adequately quantified (e.g., for fishing, cruising, touring, pleasure boating); and | |
| 4) | data on the acoustic characteristics of Glacier Bay or the vessels occurring in the Bay are not available. |
MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES TAKEN OR UNDER CONSIDERATION[6]
The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for managing and overseeing the use of Glacier Bay National Monument in support of the objectives defined for the Service, when it was established in 1916; an excerpt from the Act creating the Service in 1916 states that the purpose of the Service is:
"To conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."
The intent in establishing the Monument is defined in the Proclamations of 1925 and 1939, sections of which are excerpted and presented below.
"Whereas, there are around Glacier Bay ... a number of tide-water glaciers of the first rank in a magnificent setting of lofty peaks, and more accessible to ordinary travel than any similar regions of Alaska,
"And, Whereas, the region is said by the Ecological Society of America to contain a great variety of forest covering consisting of mature areas, bodies of youthful trees which have become established since the retreat of the ice which should be preserved in absolutely natural condition, and great stretches now bare that will become forested in the course of the next century,
"And, Whereas, this area presents a unique opportunity for the scientific study of glacial behavior and of resulting movements and development of flora and fauna and of certain valuable relics of ancient interglacial forests." (Proclamation establishing Glacier Bay National Monument, February 26, 1925.)
"Whereas, it appears that certain public lands, part of which are within the Tongass National Forest ... have situated thereon glaciers and geologic features of scientific interest; and