『Alaska Cruising With The Boat Company』のカバーアート

Alaska Cruising With The Boat Company

Alaska Cruising With The Boat Company

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In this episode we share details about a recent cruise to Alaska. The Boat Company is a non-profit cruise line that has been plying the waters in SE Alaska for decades. Is this cruise line appropriate for those of us with body disruptions? Listen to find out. Living The Could Life contains affiliate links. They don’t cost you anything, but we may earn a small commission if you use them. We may have been hosted on a trip, excursion or other travel-related event. We may have received or experienced a product for review. Any opinion is our own. Transcript Click Here for Transcript Theresa: Some places don't need to be sold, they just need to be shown. Southeast Alaska is one of those places. It's a world of mist, mountains, and water that feels untouched, almost ancient. Robert: And tucked inside that world is the Boat Company, a small non-profit that's been quietly, steadily protecting this landscape for more than 40 years. They don't advertise loudly, they don't chase trends, they simply invite people into a place they love and use travel to help save it. Theresa: Today, we're talking about small ship cruising in Alaska with the Boat Company. Unlike other cruise lines you've heard of, they operate two small vessels, the Leesorone and the Mist Cove, each carrying just 20 to 24 guests. We sailed on Mist Cove. It's intimate, personal, and deeply connected to the land and water around it. Robert: And their mission centers on one of the most extraordinary ecosystems on Earth, the Tongass National Forest. Theresa: And because so many travelers don't realize what the Tongass actually is, and some have never really heard about it, we want to pause here and give it the space it deserves. Welcome to Living the Good Life. I'm Theresa. Robert: And I'm your co-host, Robert. So let's get into it. The Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States. Nearly 17 million acres of islands, fjords, mountains, glaciers, and old-growth rainforest. It covers almost 80% of southeast Alaska and forms the U.S. portion of the largest temperate rainforest left on Earth. Theresa: Like Alaska, this is a giant forest. Almost everything in Alaska is much bigger than you expect, or at least it was far bigger than I ever expected. This is the forest of giants like the ancient Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, and Cedar. They have stood for hundreds, sometimes more than a thousand years. It's the old-growth forest at its best. These trees rise like pillars in a green cathedral, draped in moss and rooted in tongue. Robert: Beneath those trees runs water. Cold, clear, life-giving water. 19,000 miles of salmon streams braid through the Tongass. All five species of Pacific salmon spawn here, feeding bears, eagles, wolves, communities, and entire regional economies. Theresa: You can't go to Alaska without trying salmon. Wildlife thrives here in ways that feel almost mythical. Brown and black bears, the rare Alexander Archipelago wolf, Sitka black-tailed deer, and more than 350 species of birds. Offshore, humpbacks and orcas move through nutrient-rich waters tied directly to the forest's tail. Robert: The Tongass is also a global climate powerhouse. It stores more carbon per acre than nearly any forest on Earth. About 20% of all carbon in the entire U.S. national forest system. Protecting it is one of the most effective climate actions available. Theresa: And that is one of the missions of the Boat Company to protect the Tongass. It's also the traditional homeland of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, whose cultures, food systems, and identities are deeply rooted in this land. Robert: But the Tongass is not invulnerable. Its greatest threat has always been industrial logging, especially old-growth logging. These ancient trees take centuries to grow and seconds to fall. Once they're gone, the ecosystem doesn't simply bounce back. Theresa: And this is where the roadless rule becomes critical. The roadless rule protects more than 9 million acres of the Tongass from new road building and large-scale industrial development. When the rule is in place, these areas remain intact, but many hope for it to be lifted. Those areas then become open to old-growth timber harvest, mining exploration and development, road construction that fragments habitat and damages salmon streams. Robert: Roads may sound harmless, but in the Tongass, they are the first cut. They open remote islands to logging. They increase erosion into salmon streams. They fracture wildlife habitat. And they create long-term ecological scars that take generations to heal. Theresa: Climate change adds another layer of pressure to the Tongass. Warming rivers, shifting precipitation patterns, and stressing of salmon populations. The Tongass is resilient. But even a huge rainforest has its limits. Robert: This is why the Boat Company exists. Not just to show people the Tongass, but to help protect it. To fund research, restoration, and long-term stewardship ...
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