The Copper Basin Extension of the Prince William Sound community College recently held a course based on the Native American Curriculum Project. A grant from the National Park Foundation partially funds this project. The goal is to present a training course targeted to local residents and to develop a curriculum which can be used as a model for other National Park communities throughout Alaska.

The course taught how to successfully provide quality visitor services and interpretation of both Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve and the region. The need for the course arose from the international promotion of the region as a major tourist destination, while tourism and development are not currently a focus of the local people. The three-week course focused on three main topics: 1) What is tourism, and how does it affect the area? 2) Local and cultural history, and 3) How to start your own business. Speakers included representatives from the National Park Service, Ahtna, Inc., the Alaska Division of Tourism, the Rural Tourism Center at Alaska Village Initiatives, the UAF Alaska Institute of Tourism, the State Division of Land, BLM, the Ahtna Heritage Foundation, the regional Chamber of Commerce and several other local speakers. Due to the popularity of the course, several classes, one to two days in length are scheduled for the fall semester.

For more information, contact Katrina Church at 822-3673, or by email at vfklc@uaa.alaska. edu . The curriculum should be finished in November.