Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 353
JUNEAU – The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) vessel M/V Matanuska has arrived at the Ketchikan Vigor Shipyard for repairs to its propulsion system. The United States Coast Guard approved the sailing plan for Matanuska to travel to Ketchikan on one engine, along with a tug escort provided by Vigor Marine. The ship returned to service in November 2019 after a two-year, $47 million overhaul. AMHS anticipates that Matanuska's repairs will be completed at some point in May and hopes that the v...
The shutdown of ferry service in Southeast Alaska has impacted many aspects of day-to-day life in communities across the region. In previous reporting by the Wrangell Sentinel and Petersburg Pilot, peoples' travel plans have been disrupted, businesses have been impacted, and cultural events like Celebration 2020 could potentially see decreased turnout. Another aspect of Southeast communities that is facing disruption from the lack of ferries are school districts. The schools of Wrangell and...
Sen. Bert Stedman told the community while attending the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce banquet on Saturday that the future of the Alaska Marine Highway System depends on how negotiations go with Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Stedman said that legislators will discuss the AMHS and present possible scenarios to the governor when Dunleavy releases his operating budget; however, without enough votes to override the governor's anticipated vetoes, negotiations won't be too aggressive. "If you don't have the...
Decades ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System was a pillar of the state’s transportation network. Alaskans and visitors alike piled onto ferries running up and down the Inside Passage for a trip that was a little adventurous, a little luxurious — Dining rooms! Staterooms! Bars on board! — and close enough to the cost of driving through Canada that they were a strong contender for traveler dollars. Fast forward to the present, and the system is in grave danger of falling to pieces. Its only operating vessel until early March is the MV Lituy...
Vital role of AMHS not addressed To the Editor: Recently I traveled to Juneau to meet with Legislators to discuss the importance of the Alaska Marine Highway. Mayors and administrators from statewide coastal communities teamed up to highlight the importance of the system. We heard stories of food shortages, missed medical appointments, and economic hardship from around the state. I found that the message was received with a sympathetic ear, but our friends from non-maritime communities believe that the ferry system serves too few at too great...
January 30, 1920 The Petersburg Fire Department will purchase an automobile of some kind for fire fighting purposes, if the citizens of the town are willing to help. A committee has been appointed and will visit the merchants and property owners within the next few days to ascertain their wishes. It has been demonstrated that the auto is the most efficient fire fighting apparatus in existence Should fire break out at any point in the city, from Standard Oil dock to the Point an alarm would bring the car, with a 50 gallon chemical and...
The borough assembly failed to pass a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture and the United States Forest Service at an assembly meeting Monday expressing discontent with the process of reviewing the Roadless Rule in the Tongass National Forest. The letter, which was drafted by Assembly Member Chelsea Tremblay, notes that when the Forest Service presented their six alternatives to the Roadless Rule at a public meeting in November, it seemed as if the decision to go with the alternative six,...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — More than half of Alaska’s ferries will be out of service amid a lack of funds to repair the vessels, transportation officials said. The state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced this week that the Aurora and the LeConte will be pulled from service after inspections revealed required steel replacement, the Juneau Empire reported Friday. About 24 employees of the Aurora were already notified they would be relieved of duties effective Jan. 14, officials said. The Aurora is set for long-term lay...
Lower catches for Pacific halibut are in the forecast for the foreseeable future. That was the message from the International Pacific Halibut Commission at its meeting last week in Seattle. The IPHC oversees halibut stock research and sets catch limits for nine fishing regions ranging from Northern California and British Columbia to the Bering Sea. There are fewer of the prized flatfish (down 4%), they weigh less (down 5%) and no big pulses appear to be coming into the stock was the grim and the results of summer long surveys at nearly 1,370...
A resolution supporting alternative one of the draft environmental impact statement for the exemption of the Roadless Rule in the Tongass National Forest will go before the borough assembly at their first meeting in December after the assembly pushed the vote back by two weeks at their meeting on Monday. The United State Forest Service released the findings of its draft environmental impact statement earlier this month that showed the United States Department of Agriculture supported...
WRANGELL - The Nolan Center opened its newest exhibit on shipwrecks with much fanfare on Friday, Nov. 8. With food, wine, music, and special presentations, many people turned out for the grand opening. The exhibit, "Wrangell Remembers - Shipwrecks Close to Home, 1908-1952," features stories and artifacts of several Southeast Alaskan shipwrecks from the 20th century. Four ships are featured in this exhibit, The Star of Bengal, the S.S. Mariposa, the Princess Sophia, and the Princess Kathleen....
Heed vaping warning To the Editor: As of November 13, 2019, 2,172 cases of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury have been reported to CDC from 49 states (all except Alaska), the District of Columbia, and 2 U.S. territories (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands). CDC has identified vitamin E acetate as a chemical of concern among people with e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury. The CDC recommends that people should not use THC-containing e-cigarette, or...
The federal government’s plan to raze more roads through the Tongass National Forest is facing strong headwinds from fishermen, Native groups and coastal communities throughout Southeast Alaska. Over 220 Southeast Alaskan fishermen signed a letter to the Trump Administration last week opposing the abrupt push to exempt the Tongass National Forest from a roadless rule in place for over a decade. The exemption would release more than 9 million acres from protection and open nearly 200,000 acres to logging. The U.S. Forest Service made the a...
The borough assembly signed on to a Salmon Beyond Borders letter on Monday to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to act against Canada's inadequate mining regulations in British Columbia. Watershed from Canada's abandoned, proposed, developing and operating large-scale mines in B.C. impact or pose a great risk to American interests as the watershed from the mines flow into the United States, according to the letter. Salmon Beyond Borders asks that the U.S. Department of State work with Global...
Over six emergency flares were fired into the sky just before 8 P.M. on Sunday in the area of Farragut River, but the United States Coast Guard determined that individuals at one of the cabins were just disposing of expired flares. Dennis Rogers and his family were anchored in Francis Anchorage of Farragut Bay when they saw a red parachute flare slowly descending from the Farragut River area, Rogers said in a written statement to the Pilot. Rogers immediately called the Coast Guard Sector Juneau...
Workers become part of us To the Editor: The silver fish came in unimaginable numbers to the steams, creeks and rivers of their birth; and the people followed. First, perhaps 15 thousand years ago, there came the Tlingit. The bounty of the land nourished them, and their culture thrived. Much later came the Russians, then the Norwegians and other peoples from the "Old World". The honor and respect their hosts were due was not given, yet the fish sustained them. Demand for the sea's harvest from...
WRANGELL - For many people in Southeast Alaska, mining operations in nearby British Columbia is a source of concern. While these mines are across the border in Canadian jurisdiction, many of them are located in the watersheds of rivers that cross back into Alaska. Should an accident or pollution occur at these mines, whatever flows downriver could have a major impact on the lives and livelihoods of many people, Canadian and Alaskan. Salmon Beyond Borders is one Southeast Alaskan organization...
The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is ending service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, effective Oct. 1, 2019. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is requiring AMHS to secure a Canadian law enforcement presence to protect CBP’s personnel in Prince Rupert while inspection tasks are performed. All avenues for local law enforcement were pursued, but AMHS was not able to secure the staff necessary to fulfill this requirement. The new requirement specifies a Canadian law enforcement p...
LeConte Bay as viewed from along a ridge on the north side of the bay. LeConte Glacier is seen at the left of the photo and snow capped peaks and snowfields in the background that extend into British Columbia....
MV Columbia was traveling through the Wrangell Narrows Sunday when its wake caused a nearby skiff to capsize. "All indications support that this was a random freak thing," said United States Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist Melissa McKenzie. "There was no specific cause for it." There were three people onboard the 16-foot skiff when it capsized near Blind Point. All three of the passengers went into the water, but were rescued by good Samaritans, said McKenzie. No injuries were reported....
Two adventurers were dropped off in Thomas Bay with their gear, two kayaks and a pack raft, which they carried through the terminal moraine to the terminal lake of Baird Glacier. From the glacier, their journey to climb Devil's Thumb began. It would take Patrick Fowler and Alex Jahn just about a week to reach the 9,078-foot summit once they left Thomas Bay on Sunday, July 28. "Every day there was some sort of challenge that we had to overcome," said Fowler. "It all came together. The weather...
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration held an online press conference last Friday, Aug. 2, to announce the release of their annual report to Congress on the state of the country's fisheries. This report, for the year 2018, looks at 479 federally managed fish stocks across the United States. Alan Risenhoover, director of the office of sustainable fisheries, said that the report was designed to give Congressmen and the wider public more insight into the state of American fish stocks....
WRANGELL - It was a perfect day to be outdoors last Sunday, Aug. 4. The sun was shining, the water was smooth, and the temperature was warm. Besides the nice weather, concerned locals also spent the day outdoors to raise awareness for another issue: Mining along the Stikine River. The Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission, SEITC, held a rally upriver last Sunday. Tis Peterman, CEO of the commission, said that the Stikine was recently listed among the top 10 endangered rivers in...
With approximately 400 members of the Inlandboatmen's Union going on strike last Wednesday, July 24, operations of the Alaska Marine Highway System have come to a halt. Without ferry services, many people across the state, especially in Southeast Alaska, found themselves stranded. In the communities of Wrangell and Petersburg, many people are facing disruptions to their schedules, families, and work. WRANGELL: Several of Wrangell's children and adults attending a church camp in Juneau were...
As Alaska lawmakers continue their struggle to keep the state afloat, commercial fisheries dodged a bullet that would have removed millions of dollars from its budget. An obscure procedural action within the capital budget called a 'reverse sweep' prevents dozens of program-specific pots of money from being automatically drained into the budget reserve, as Governor Dunleavy aimed to do. "The sweep is money that is not spent in a single year. In this case, it comes from certain sources, such as...
