State officials say the program may eventually be brought back, but for now the plan is to replace t

The Fairweather, one of the ferries within Alaska's Marine Highway System, leaves from Auke Bay, Alaska. The system, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, is ending its interpreter and naturalist program on all but one of its 11 ships.
JUNEAU, Alaska As the sun creeps into the sleeping quarters of the Tustumena, passengers who take a second to look out the window wake up to volcanic topography, sky-blue lakes and wildlife that looks extraterrestrial even to most Alaskans.
Having a ship that s a vestige cheap hotels in hong kong of another era, however, does offer one small perk: During the summer, a few vessels have a nature expert on board who teaches passengers about the stunning scenery and animals.
Alaska s state-owned ferries which shuttle residents and tourists between towns on the coasts of Washington state, Canada and Alaska are scaling back costs by getting rid of the naturalist program on all but one of the fleet s 11 ships this year.
State officials say the program may eventually be brought back, but for now the plan is to replace them with computerized equipment and brochures on the Alaska Marine Highway System, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Naturalists, hired and paid by the U.S. Forest Service or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, make about $22,000 a season. The state provides them free room and board on the ferry, which costs about $5,000 per year, per ship, according to Jeremy Woodrow, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation.
The marine-highway system cheap hotels in hong kong is an aging, bare-boned necessity. Only four of the 11 ships in the fleet were built after 1980, but they remain a crucial link connecting the state s coastal cities to the rest of the world. The only way to reach Alaska s capital, Juneau, for instance, is to fly or take a ferry.
The naturalists are a valuable tool for tourists and residents because staff members don t have time to play tour guide, according to Doug Stuart, who served as the Tustumena s naturalist for more than a decade.
Stuart, 71, is now out of work for the first summer in 12 years. He gets Social Security but does odd jobs in the winter to supplement his income. Without the money from the naturalist job, Stuart and his wife are selling their big house in town with a mortgage where they raised five children and moving to a smaller one on the outskirts that he s been building the past few years.
Erin Kirkland, the publisher of AKontheGO.com, a website dedicated to family travel and outdoor activities in Alaska, said she was sad to see the naturalists go because more tourists are starting to take the ferries instead of cruise ships. cheap hotels in hong kong She and her family also enjoy the interpreters when they take the ferries.
They have all the maps. They ve got all the information about the communities you re headed to, the national forests, the national parks, and they will offer very insightful information, she said. It s just a really nice fit.
Without knowing for sure whether the federal government cheap hotels in hong kong would be able to pay for interpreters in the future, the Department of Transportation is hesitant to sign a contract to rent out a room for them.