JUNEAU, Alaska — Tourism leaders in Alaska are asking Congress to increase U.S. Forest Service recreation funding. The U.S. Forest Service’s funding for recreation on the Tongass and Chugach national forests declined 46 per cent from 2004-2014, the businesses said. That’s hurting businesses that depend on U.S. Forest Service staff to issue permits and maintain cabins and trails in the Tongass, they said. “In southeast Alaska, nature-based tourism is one of the big opportunities on public lands,” Pack Creek Bear Tours manager Dan Kirkwood said Friday. We’re talking about recreation, but this is serious business.”——Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, http://www.juneauempire.com

Source: National Post November 12, 2017 16:52 UTC