July 2003

UM scientist appears on PBS
Paul Alaback, a UM ecologist, appeared in a new two-hour PBS special about one of the most important scientific treks in American history, the Harriman Alaska Expedition.

The documentary, "The Harriman Alaska Expedition Retraced," debuted on PBS television stations in June.

A century ago railroad tycoon Edward H. Harriman invited the top minds in the country to join him on a 9,000-mile exploration of the Alaskan coast.
In 2001 Thomas Litwin, director of the Smith College Clark Science Center, organized an expedition to follow the path of the original one. Again it was stocked with a collection of top scientists - including UM's Alaback - though this time Alaska native people were included. Called the Harriman Expedition Retraced, its purpose was to visit the same places and see what changes the 20th century had brought to Alaska.

"I have studied the temperate and coastal rainforests of Alaska and South America for about 20 years," Alaback said, "which is how I got connected with the project. Our modern expedition took one month by ship and retraced the exact route of the original, exploring ways in which native peoples, the ecology, resource extraction and views of nature have changed in the intervening 100 years."

Alaback's principal role was to examine the writings of Bernard Fernow, the father of forestry in the United States, and his predictions about the prospects for the development of the sustainable timber industry in Alaska.

"The Harriman Alaska Expedition Retraced" uses diary readings, archival photographs and original cinematography to weave together stories of two monumental expeditions at two very different times in our history.

Accompanying the story of the main events - the 1899 voyage and the retracing in 2001 - are sidebars from the events from the biographies of scientists, writers and artists on board the original expedition.

More information about the 2001 expedition, the film and an educational teacher study guide is available online at www.pbs.org/harriman.

University Relations | Cary Shimek, Editor
The University of Montana-Missoula
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