About 4,000 tourists are expected in Juneau on Monday when the first cruise ship of the 2025 season arrives. Officials hope temporary solutions will give visitors a satisfactory experience at the Mendenhall Glacier despite losing nearly all of its regular staff.

Uncertainty about the upcoming tourism season is fueled by the Trump administration’s mass firing of federal workers and other actions, such as global tariffs, that travel industry experts say are resulting in fewer foreign visitors.

But Alexandra Pierce, tourism manager for the City and Borough of Juneau, said that as of now she still expects the total number of passengers to be between 1.6 and 1.7 million, similar to last summer. She said the city is seeking predictability with its new limits.

“We have the daily passenger caps going into effect for next year, building on the success of the five-ship limit,” she said. “We’ve also mostly eliminated hot berthing for 2026, so that’s an exciting development.”

At the same time, Pierce said it’s difficult to know if summer visitors will stick to their travel plans, and if the ones who do will leave Juneau happy.

“The real concern that we have is safety, whether there’s a skeleton crew out there and just not as many employees to respond in an emergency,” she said. “That puts, obviously, a strain on our emergency response. Or whether it’s human-bear interactions out there. A lot of the rangers’ duties involve mitigating issues between people and wildlife.”

Perhaps the most significant adjustment made so far is what Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center officials call a “half-time” operations plan.

The visitor center will be open intermittently during April, when a limited number of ships are scheduled to arrive on intermittent days. Ships will arrive daily beginning May 5. May 8 will be the first day a maximum of five ships are in town under a voluntary agreement in effect since last year between the city and major cruise companies.

Beginning May 4, the glacier’s visitor center will be open Sunday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed on Saturdays. Last year, according to the U.S. Forest Service’s website, the visitor center was open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. every day from May through September.

Hours for the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area as a whole remain unchanged at 6 a.m. to midnight daily, with portable bathrooms open 24 hours a day. Bathroom facilities next to the parking lot outside the visitor center are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

Forest Service: ‘Confident today, but don’t know about tomorrow’

At a Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday, Barb Miranda, acting forest supervisor for the Tongass National Forest, led the first public forum since Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency began laying off thousands of federal employees nationally in mid-February. Miranda started at the Forest Service in 1987, and March 15, 2020, was her first day at the Mendenhall Glacier. She closed the visitor center due to the COVID-19 pandemic and began reopening it in 2021.

Miranda said she is used to transitions and shifting priorities, but broke down as she explained how the loss of staff has been unprecedented.

“With every administration change, there’s a change in priorities and there’s a transition time that always comes with a little bit of tumult,” she told the chamber audience. “Well, I wouldn’t be very honest if I didn’t say that it feels like there’s a lot of tumult with this transition change.”

“We lost our only person that can design aquatic organism passages on the Tongass right now,” she said as an example. “So that hinders our ability to implement timber projects and commercial thinning projects in any of the road work that we do.”

Rep. Andi Story (D-Juneau) asked Miranda about public safety. Miranda said danger is always present, even in past years when the visitor center had more staffing, and people will need to remain bear aware.

“We can’t do it the way we used to do it,” Miranda replied. “We’re going to have to rely more on signage and people’s personal responsibility, and perhaps the industry stepping in to make sure people get messages on the buses about how they should behave in a place where wildlife interactions are frequent.”

Thirty-one of the 32 federal employees at Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area were fired in a mass purge of probationary employees in February. As of April 3, roughly half were estimated to be returning after judges and a labor panel determined the firings were illegal.

Instead, most accepted a deferred resignation offer from the Trump administration as a prelude to further downsizing.

According to Forest Service Juneau District Ranger Michael Downs, this leaves three rangers at the Mendenhall Glacier to greet tourists on Monday.

“We have three park rangers left, which is good, it’s up from what we thought was only one,” he said.

The Forest Service’s loss of employees in Southeast Alaska is about 30%, according to Miranda. Downs said rangers from other districts around Southeast Alaska will assist with operations at the Mendenhall Glacier.

“I’m on plan version 50,” he said. “We’re going to utilize those staff to make sure that we can have at a minimum five people while we’re open.”

Pulling rangers from Admiralty Island to assist at the Mendenhall Glacier this year will mean less maintenance of cabins and trails there, but Downs said it remains a priority to continue supporting the Thayer Creek Hydro project in Angoon.

In a news release on Thursday, the Forest Service announced it’s ready for visitors at the Mendenhall Glacier. The area will be staffed by a collaborative team of Forest Service employees, several Discovery Southeast employees, and eight cultural ambassadors from the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.

They are expected to work together to conduct crowd control, protect natural resources, manage bear and human interactions, provide for visitor safety, manage the bookstore, provide interpretive education and information, and ensure bathroom facilities are operational.

“Our hope is, once we get going and things maybe stabilize, that we not quite go all the way back up to 11½-hour days, because that is kind of too much anyway, in my opinion, but that we can upscale that a little bit, and maybe find a way to open on Saturdays,” Downs said.

The team will also support outfitters and guides, manage traffic for buses and transport services, and maintain the cabins, trails, and campsites around the glacier.

Miranda cited Rain Coast Data’s Southeast Alaska by the Numbers 2024 report to show how the Tongass is an economic driver of Southeast Alaska and “the backdrop of our lives.” Until recently, the federal government supplied 4% of the total number of jobs in Southeast.

“Lucky us, it’s our backyard,” she said. “We recreate there. Personally, it is an economic driver for many of our businesses, and it provides sustenance for us in the food that we eat, the time that we take, our walks out the backyard, the berries that we pick, all those things that we enjoy by living here in Southeast Alaska.”

Discovery Southeast plans to help at the Mendenhall Glacier. The nature and science education nonprofit runs a bookstore at the visitor center in partnership with the Forest Service to promote education and fund its programs for elementary schools.

“I think what’s going to be special is it looks like there’s some interest in having us support the Forest Service out there, making sure that the area and the visitor center can be open as much as possible,” Shawn Eisele, the executive director, said. “Oftentimes, we’ll have our employees answering questions or just helping monitor an exhibit. We’re definitely open to providing that kind of support this year.”

CBJ’s usual and unusual summer preparations

On April 5, Alexandra Pierce proposed the Assembly Finance Committee boost worker presence at Juneau’s most popular tourist attraction by allocating $200,000 in passenger fees from cruise ship visitors. She said it’s an as-needed action if another reduction in force takes place. The ordinance is scheduled to be voted on at a regular Assembly meeting May 19 after taking public testimony.

“It’s our major attraction,” Pierce said. “It’s also important that we’re effectively managing our public lands so that residents and visitors can use them. It’s a really important public asset that needs to continue to operate for everybody’s enjoyment and use.”

The funds could be used to support other entities at the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, such as the cultural ambassador program and Discovery Southeast’s efforts.

Pierce said local businesses rely on the Mendenhall Glacier as an attraction. She said the city will continue facilitating communications between different organizations. In addition to those efforts, Pierce said CBJ has been reaching out to Alaska’s congressional delegation about the impacts on Juneau’s tourism industry.

“We’re not sure if the tariffs or any of the travel advisories will affect our visitation, whether that will lead to people canceling bookings as cruise ship passengers or independent travelers,” Pierce said. “And we don’t fully understand the impact of the federal firings yet at the Mendenhall Glacier. We’re actively working through that.”

CBJ is also prepping facilities and training new staff for city departments, including Docks and Harbors and Parks and Recreation.

Pierce said some of CBJ’s preparations are to address issues that were called into Tourism Best Management Practices last summer. She said the crossing guard program, which faced high turnover, should run more smoothly this year. A free downtown Wi-Fi project launching this summer should resolve data connectivity issues people experienced during busy ship periods. AT&T and GCI have also increased their capacity in downtown Juneau.

She added that this year, Uber and Lyft pick-ups and drop-offs now have designated spots. Pierce said the Visitor Industry Task Force will be relaunched. Last year, operators of whale-watching companies formed their own organization to discuss best practices, separate from the city’s task force. Pierce said it’s an ongoing effort.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monitors whale activity, which also raises questions around management by the federal government this summer, which “could be fine” or “completely turned upside down,” Pierce said.

“We’re focusing on doing what we can, where we can, while also working with other agencies as needed to try to solve some of these problems — whether it’s engaging with the Coast Guard and NOAA on whale watching or working with other federal agencies,” Pierce said.

The impacts of firings and tariffs are felt regionally

Liz Perry, executive director of the nonprofit organization Travel Juneau, said this summer, additional operator support and communication will be essential in filling staffing gaps.

“Over the last couple of years, permitted vendors have had a staff person at the visitor center area to help manage traffic and help with crowd control, because that center has been understaffed for years now,” she said. “They have stepped in, and they’ve done a critical role in that part, so they are going to maintain that as well. We’re looking at a lot of options to make sure that we’re going to be successful, the traffic is taken care of, our visitors are taken care of, and we’re just putting our heads together to see what we can bring to the table to help the Forest Service.”

Perry said Travel Juneau will notify visitors about changes in staffing and hours at the Mendenhall Glacier throughout the summer. She said the communication will be done through social media and directly to the cruise lines. Travel Juneau’s Visitor Information Services Department will be able to answer questions at downtown booths on new operating hours and business pricing lists. Travel Juneau volunteers plan to staff those centers seven days a week. Perry said they have about 75 volunteers.

On April 2, Perry traveled to Washington, D.C., with the Alaska Travel Industry Association to advocate for the U.S. National Parks and the Forest Service.

“We won’t know the impact until the end of the summer,” she said regarding international visitors canceling trips to Juneau. “We’ll see how many people actually show up, how many people are actually making purchases – whether it’s purchasing art or taking an excursion.”

Tensions between Canada and the U.S. could ripple through Haines, Skagway, and Juneau if Alaska’s neighbors choose to cancel their summer trips. Last week, Beer Fest and the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay ticket sales were at approximately 75%, which is slower compared to past years. Usually, Beer Fest, which takes place during Memorial Day weekend, has a waitlist.

“We can’t operate in a vacuum,” Perry said. “This will affect everyone — visitors, locals, and our sister communities up and down the Inside Passage.”

Rebecca Hylton, tourism manager for the City and Borough of Haines, said while she anticipates seeing fewer Canadians this summer, the ones who visit will be welcomed with open arms.

“I want to emphasize that we remain deeply connected as neighbors across the border,” she said. “I believe any impact will be felt more from reduced travel by Canadians from other provinces or territories, as Yukoners continue to show a strong affinity for Haines — and the feeling is mutual. There’s a long-standing bond between our communities, built on shared experiences, values, and a genuine love for this region.”

Hylton noted that Haines has long benefited from visitors who arrive by road, including those driving private vehicles, participating in caravan tours, or traveling in rental RVs via the Yukon corridor. She said this segment of travelers has historically supported a wide range of local businesses, from campgrounds to small retailers.

“However, this year we’re sensing instability in that market, with early signs of reduced trip planning and less predictable traffic flow,” she said. “While nothing is confirmed yet, there are indications that some organized tours may be adjusting or canceling their routes, which we’re keeping a close eye on.”

She said she anticipates a notable drop in international visitors this year. While tariffs and “51st state” rhetoric have certainly played a role, they are not the only factors being raised. According to the political news site Axios, data suggests that sudden reluctance to visit the U.S. is not only felt by Canadian visitors.

“We’ve seen an increase in feedback via direct correspondence and social media comments that reflects hesitation or shifting sentiment from international markets, particularly from Canada and overseas travelers who typically fly to Whitehorse and rent RVs,” she said.

• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.