But if those travelers come expecting wilderness, they will be disappointed. Alaska is famous for, Sitka is civilization to its core. It was in Sitka, for instance, that Russian fur hunters established the world's most powerful trading company, and it was there that the United States established the territorial government of Alaska after buying the land from Russia in 1867. Yet for a place of such human vitality, Sitka's park is a strangely quiet place. It is a historical park, yes, but only in a whispered, ghostly sense.
Visitors come here to amble peacefully in a gorgeous and inspiring forest.
It is as if the banks of the Indian River, which bustled with human activity for thousands of years, have been frozen in perpetuity, as if put behind glass. This may seem like the desired result when you set aside a parcel of land to be preserved. As in national parks across the country, much effort goes into making sure that nothing changes at Sitka. It's part of an active management philosophy to ensure that the unspoiled beauty of such places remains unspoiled. More people, including a growing community of experts at universities such as Wisconsin, are beginning to question the long-accepted axiom that national parks should be sheltered tracts of wilderness never touched by human hands.