Back To Anchorage - Realizing Our Wetlands Abundance

The Kealia Pond National Wildlife Reserve was near where we stayed in Maui and we had the chance to explore it while we were there.  It's about 700 acres if I recall right.

But as we flew into Anchorage yesterday, I was reminded of yet another reason why I live here -We have wetlands, bogs, etc. that seem to go on forever.  That's not an invitation on my part for developers and manufacturers to destroy them.  It's partly a prayer of thanks that the predominant image of Alaska around the world is 'a giant icebox.'

Here's a view as our plane flew around across the inlet waiting for a time to land.

It was a very grey day, but it was in the 50's (F) - continuing a warm spell since September.

At Kealia Pond, they say that only 10% of  Hawaiian wetlands are left.  Probably this picture shows more than all the wetlands Hawaii ever had.

What if Alaska were the same size as Hawaii?  Would our habitat destruction be similar?

My first visit to Hawaii was ia quick overnight in Honolulu in 1969, followed by nine weeks in Hilo working at a Peace Corps training program in 1970.  The first trip to Maui was a couple years later.  The changes are staggering - the development everywhere, the traffic.  And who gets the benefits?  People raised in Hawaii often can no longer afford to live there.  Hawaii, once a tropical paradise, is now 'an investment opportunity."

Alaska is big enough and the biggest development is remote enough that most people don't see the impacts.  But in Hawaii it's obvious.  And tourism is probably now the biggest culprit.

Another view just before landing.

And here we were on the tarmac headed to the gate.