Tourism has moved ahead of timber and commercial fishing to become Alaska's second-largest industry, behind only oil and gas. The National Park Service tallied 2 million recreational visits to Alaska's 15 units in 1998, nearly double the number 10 years earlier. The majority are drawn by wildlife, scenic beauty, Native culture, and opportunities for wilderness adventure - just the things that Alaska's parks are intended to protect. More and more local businesses are tapping into the profitable opportunities that the parks provide, as indicated by increased business permits issued at some units. For example, between 1995 and 1999, business permits at Lake Clark National Park more than tripled, rising from 22 to 77.
Cruise ships are bigger than ever.
A boom has occurred in the use of personal watercraft. A new generation of more powerful snowmachines goes faster and farther into more remote terrain than anyone could have imagined two decades ago. Alaska's lone member of the House of Representatives, Don Young, chairs the House Resources Committee. In the Senate, Ted Stevens chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Frank Murkowski heads the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Since 1995, the three-man Alaska delegation, representing 600,000 people, has had extraordinary power over all national park legislation and funding.