Sorted by date Results 226 - 250 of 372
The Alaska Marine Highway System announced it has adjusted ferry service schedules for the middle of April in order to help roughly 400 students and chaperones from across Southeast travel to the Region V Music Festival in Juneau. AMHS will be rerouting the M/V LeConte to make a round-trip run through southern Southeast to pick up and return the students. With this service adjustment, students from Ketchikan, Wrangell, Metlakatla and Klawock will be able to attend the annual festival. Students from Sitka and Haines will use a...
For 27 years this weekly column has featured news for and about Alaska’s commercial fishing industry. It began in 1991 in the Anchorage Daily News and now appears in more than 20 news outlets across Alaska, nationally and in the UK. Today, Alaska fishermen and processors provide 65 percent of our nation’s wild-caught seafood, and 95 percent of the wild salmon. The industry puts more people to work than oil/gas, mining, timber and tourism combined. Alaska’s diverse fishing fleet of nearly 10,000 vessels is made up mostly of boats under 50 feet....
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska Native tribe and three environmental groups sued the U.S. government, claiming an agency granted mineral exploration permits without considering how a mine could affect a major salmon river and bald eagle preserve. The lawsuit filed Monday by the Chilkat Indian village of Klukwan calls for revocation of the permits granted to Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. upstream of the Chilkat River near the port of Haines in southeast Alaska. Tlingit Indians thrived because of the abundance of salmon in the watershed, K...
It’s going to be a tough year for many Alaska fishermen. Following on the heels of announcements of a massive drop in cod stocks, the industry learned last week that Pacific halibut catches are likely to drop by 20 percent next year, and the declines could continue for several years. That could bring the coast wide catch for 2018, meaning from Oregon to British Columbia to the Bering Sea, to about 31 million pounds. Scientists at the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) interim meeting in Seattle revealed that survey results s...
One of Southeast's primary ferries will be out of service longer than expected as it undergoes annual maintenance, affecting the winter schedule. The Alaska Marine Highway System announced last week the M/V Malaspina will be out of commission several months longer than expected. The vessel went in for its annual overhaul and certification on October 1, with the intention of returning it to service on December 22. During the overhaul engineers determined an extensive replacement of the craft's...
(JUNEAU, Alaska) – The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) announced Wednesday that extended repairs needed on the MV Malaspina will change winter ferry service for Southeast Alaska and Prince Rupert. The Malaspina went in for its annual overhaul and certification on October 1, 2017 and was scheduled to return to service on December 22, 2017. During the overhaul, engineers determined that extensive steel replacement was needed and that both propeller hubs must be repaired. Because shipyard space is limited and propeller hubs will take s...
SEATTLE (AP) - Harbor seals, sea lions and some fish-eating killer whales have been rebounding along the Northeast Pacific Ocean in recent decades. But that boom has come with a trade-off: They're devouring more of the salmon prized by a unique but fragile population of endangered orcas. Competition with other marine mammals for the same food may be a bigger problem than fishing, at least in recent years, for southern resident killer whales that spend time in Washington state's Puget Sound, a...
(JUNEAU) A joint letter sent Wednesday to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from Alaska Governor Bill Walker and Lt. Governor Byron Mallott, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Representative Don Young emphasized the “potential catastrophic effects on Alaska’s communities” from upstream mining activities in British Columbia (B.C.) and urged the U.S. federal government to “help protect overall U.S. interests in this situation.” The letter also called the Tulsequah Chief “an example of an inadequate response by the B.C. government....
One of the state’s public ferries will help collect data on ocean acidification during its regular route. The news was announced last week by Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center at University of Alaska Southeast, which has partnered with the Alaska Marine Highway System, British Columbia’s Hakai Institute, Alaska Ocean Observing System and other federal agencies on the project. The vessel chosen for the data collection study is the M/V Columbia, which at 418 feet and a gross tonnage of 3,946 is the ferry system’s largest. On its route betwe...
The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities reported that the M/V Kennicott has been temporarily taken out of service. After completing its southern run to Ketchikan on November 4 it entered dry dock for repairs. "It's got a leaky seal on its port-side propeller," explained Aurah Landau, public information officer for Alaska Marine Highway System's South Coast office. She estimated repairs should take until mid-month to complete, and the ferry may return to service later next week....
October 12, 1917 – Olaf Arness made a business trip the first of the week to Ketchikan, where he was called to confer with Robert B. McClary, of the signal corps, U.S.A. Mr. McClary stated that it is essential that the government get all of the aeroplane spruce in the country, and he was anxious to learn of the condition and prospects for operating the big mill at Petersburg. Mr Arness was able to give assurance that the mill will be running next spring. October 09, 1942 – A new course in First Ade is being taught in the Senior High School und...
An Alaskan campaign to protect fish from harmful mine runoff is not anti mining, it just wants a seat at the table, and the Petersburg Assembly agreed last week. The assembly approved a resolution in support of the enforcement of the Boundary Waters Treaty in the Southeast Alaska and British Columbia transboundary region. Salmon Beyond Borders has been touring Southeast Alaska, coaxing local governments to support a resolution to protect against pollution from mines, said Melanie Brown, a coordinator with the group. Brown said the organization...
WRANGELL — Three years after a major tailings dam failure in Canada’s British Columbia province, an environmental advocacy group will be meeting with assemblies and residents in Southeast Alaska communities soon. Salmon Beyond Borders is a campaign driven by a combination of fishermen, businesses in the tourism and recreational sectors, civic groups and concerned citizens. Working with tribal counterparts on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, the group has primarily been focused on maintaining water quality along transboundary rivers. In...
Alaska’s salmon season is winding down and while catches have made the record books in some regions, the statewide take will fall a bit short of the 204 million fish forecast. “We are within about 10 percent of the forecast, so that’s very positive and overall it’s been a pretty good season,” said Forrest Bowers, deputy director of the commercial fisheries division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The statewide salmon catch through Friday topped 191 million. The shortfall, Bowers said, again stems from the arrival of fewer pink salmon...
WRANGELL - Wrangell emergency responders took part in a search for a missing canoer on the Stikine River earlier this month. Fire Chief Tim Buness reported a call had been received for assistance at around 5 p.m. on August 3. "We had a couple of canoers canoing by the Great Glacier," he said, on the Canadian side of the river about 10 miles from the border. The craft had turned over in the fast-moving water at around 3 p.m., spilling two men into the river. "One of the guys made it up to the...
JUNEAU – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that the retention of king salmon is prohibited in all Southeast Alaska salt waters, king salmon may not be retained or possessed; any king salmon caught must be released immediately and returned to the water unharmed. These regulations will be effective 12:01 a.m. Thursday, August 10 through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, September 30, 2017. The Southeast Alaska king salmon sport fishery is managed under the directives of the Southeast Alaska King Salmon Management Plan (5 AAC 47.055). T...
One of the newest United States Coast Guard fast response cutters, the John McCormick, made a stop in Petersburg on Tuesday as part of its southeast Alaska tour of the communities it serves. "We definitely didn't want to miss you guys," Capt. Michael Moyseowicz said about Petersburg. "Being the new ship, we wanted to stop in all the communities that we serve." The cutter is 154 feet in length, it holds 16,000 gallons of fuel and can remain at 12 knots speed for 13 consecutive days. There are...
WRANGELL – In the middle of its run on television, a popular survival series on the History Channel pits a pair of Wrangell residents against the elements. Brothers Shannon and Jesse Bosdell form one team on Alone's fourth season cast. The show has seven pairs of relatives travel to the remote stretches of northern Vancouver Island, in the province of British Columbia. There each duo is separated by some miles in the wilderness, with the task of finding one another. Once reunited, the series' s...
The Gatorade Company named a Petersburg High School graduate the best track and field athlete in Alaska last week; she joins an elite group of awardees including NFL Quarterback Robert Griffin III and Olympian Hurdler Lolo Jones. Izabelle Ith is the first person from Petersburg to be awarded the 2017 Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year. The award recognizes outstanding athleticism, academic achievement and character demonstrated on and off the track, according to a recent press release....
JUNEAU, Alaska – The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) announced Wednesday that due to ongoing repairs the M/V Columbia will require additional time at Vigor Shipyard in Portland, Oregon. This delay will impact some passengers. Affected passengers are being notified by AMHS staff now. The M/V Malaspina is currently running in the Columbia’s place, and will continue until the Columbia is back in service on July 26. The Malaspina is a smaller vessel, therefore some passengers will not get the cabins they reserved and some vehicle res...
Ernest Ray Smith, of Issaquah, died peacefully at home on May 24, 2017. Ernie was born April 24, 1949, in Kelso, Washington, the son of Dean and Dona Smith. He was raised in Kelso, and graduated from Kelso High School and Puget Sound University, playing both basketball and baseball. In the late 1970's Ernie moved to Issaquah, Washington to work for Puget Sound Bank, finishing out his career with Columbia Bank. He served on the Issaquah City Council, coached youth sports and enjoyed being part... Full story
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A major earthquake in northwest British Columbia shook up communities in nearby Alaska and Yukon Territory but caused no apparent damage. Kathryn Carl, a teacher in the Alaska village of Klukwan about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the epicenter, said the magnitude 6.2 quake shook her awake at 4:30 a.m. Carl thought her 80-pound Karelian bear dog had jumped on the bed. “She was sitting there,” Carl said. “She knew about it before we did.” A series of aftershocks, including a magnitude 6.3 quake at 6:18 a.m., kept Carl...
PETERSBURG (AP) – A group of volunteers from five southeast Alaska communities is working to document bats as part of a program aimed at combating a deadly virus caused by the animals. Volunteers from Petersburg, Juneau, Haines, Sitka and Wrangell are participating in this year’s program, which is coordinated through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Over the last three years, the program has helped gather data to prevent White Noise Syndrome. The fungal disease has killed off more than 7 million bats in the Lower 48 since it was discover...
WRAGNGEL – When Southeast Conference meets for its annual Mid-Session Summit in Juneau later this month, among the items high on its list for discussion is the structural reform of Alaska's ferry system. Southeast Alaskans have become dependent on the state's Marine Highway System since its establishment in 1959, essentially becoming their road network into and out of the region. It is a significant economic driver for the coastal communities it services as well, with an estimated impact of j...
Entering its third full week of the session, Alaska’s Legislature continues to look at a variety of spending cuts and revenue options. On February 2, the Senate Finance Committee heard SB 21, a proposal of Sen. Bert Stedman to restructure how Permanent Fund earnings are appropriated. Currently the $56B in the fund are constitutionally protected, but the bill proposes further limiting the amount of money that can be withdrawn from the principal to 4.5 percent of market value, based on a rolling five-year average. That rate falls within the f...
