State proposes a 25-year tidelands lease for Goldbelt's Douglas Island cruise port

The state proposed Friday to lease about 152 acres of tidelands on Douglas Island to Goldbelt Inc. for the cruise ship terminal Juneau's Alaska Native corporation plans on the island's west side. The lease would run 25 years, less than half the 55 Goldbelt asked for.

The project would put two cruise ship berths in Stephens Passage, about 9.3 miles west of downtown Juneau. It would also include small ship docks, a tour boat return dock, a private small boat harbor and a small boat launch. Goldbelt says the facilities would serve up to 10,000 guests and 3,000 ship workers during the tourist season. Goldbelt owns the land above the shoreline, which gives it a preference right to lease the tidelands next to it.

The state Division of Mining, Land and Water said a shorter lease lets it re-evaluate the land and state resources more often and "reassess the use of the area." Its preliminary decision finds, for now, that the lease is in the state's best interest, citing lease payments, indirect benefits from development on west Douglas and the expansion of Juneau's tourism footprint.

"Once developed, the port is expected to become one of Juneau's largest taxpayers," Goldbelt President and CEO McHugh Pierre said in a vision statement in May.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game did not object to the lease, but warned the project will likely have a significant impact on commercial and personal use crab fisheries. It said those impacts could be lessened by avoiding construction during key dates. Eleven permit holders took an average of 67,075 pounds of commercial Dungeness crab a year from 2015 to 2025 in the statistical area where the project sits. The department also said the project will likely interfere with its crab stock surveys there, which could affect the harvest strategies set by the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

The lease would bar construction June 15 to July 15, the last two weeks of August and the first week of November. It would also minimize in-water pile driving April 15 to June 1 where practicable, when young salmon are migrating out.

Rent would start at the state's $1,000-a-year minimum until an appraisal sets fair market value. If the appraisal comes in higher, Goldbelt would pay the difference back to the lease's start. Goldbelt would also post a $600,000 performance guaranty the state can use for cleanup and restoration if it doesn't meet the lease terms. The lease carries a 50-foot public access easement along the shore, which the state would allow Goldbelt to close temporarily during cruise season for public safety.

The terminal is already moving through federal permits. Regulators have weighed noise permits for pile driving, in waters with humpback whales and sea otters, Alaska News reported in June and August. Pierre told a Juneau Assembly committee in September 2025 that prospective customers intend to honor Juneau's five-ship daily limit, according to draft minutes. An Assembly committee advanced an ordinance in August to write that limit into city code.

Written comments on the public notice are due Nov. 23. Only people who comment in writing can appeal the final decision.