Educational Media Reviews Online

Early research on the coast of British Columbia and Alaska made a great leap when railroad tycoon Edward Harriman put together an expedition that went from Seattle all the way to the Bering Strait in 1901. One hundred years later, a similar expedition of scientists, writers and artists assembled by the Clark Science Center of Smith College retraced Harriman’s route to see what changes had or had not occurred.

The conditions documented by Harriman’s crew provided a good baseline for the later expedition showing both stark contrasts and, in rare cases, a near absence of change. Over-exploitation of natural resources is a recurring theme in this documentary. In the case of fisheries, when one population of fish is no longer in sufficient numbers to make a profit, another species is harvested until it cannot sustain the industry, and the cycle continues. The latest victim in the northeast Pacific Ocean is Pollock.

On a more encouraging note, native people have not gone extinct despite Harriman’s prediction to the contrary. In a heartwarming segment, totem poles and other artifacts that were stolen by the original expedition are repatriated to a tribal village.

While The Harriman Alaska Expedition Retraced is stunning in its portrayal of the landscapes of the North Pacific Coast, with all that natural beauty even an amateur could meet with the same success. But, one is sobered by the documentation of drastically reduced populations of nearly every bird, fish and mammal recorded by Harriman and his team.

The ending was anti-climactic, leaving this viewer with more questions than answers. With all the new knowledge gained it would seem like a logical next step to make some recommendations regarding how humans should conduct themselves. Instead, expedition members of the new era make broad statements about the effects of man’s influence on the environment rather than suggesting specific changes in method, thought or practice.