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A rustic Forest Service recreation cabin tucked away on Kupreanof Island will soon get a much-needed sanitation upgrade, according to U.S. Forest Service officials. The Tower's Arm Cabin, one of the Petersburg Ranger District's most remote sites, will have its dilapidated outhouse replaced during a three-day project in spring 2025, the agency announced this month. According to the decision memo, the cabin's existing outhouse is "dilapidated and unsanitary." The new outhouse will feature a...
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, encouraged members of the Alaska Legislature – and the public – to work together to get things done, despite major uncertainties caused by the Trump administration, as well as its cuts to budgets, personnel and programs. “I’ll tell you I accept the challenge. I want you to know that I’m going to do everything in my power to make the best of this,” Murkowski said, of her role in advocating for Alaska’s priorities in Congress. “We are engaging every day to try to identify where we are seeing challenges pres... Full story
This is a developing story. The Trump turmoil in the federal workforce continued at full tilt Tuesday as the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced all fired probationary Forest Service workers will be reinstated with back pay at least temporarily. Meanwhile the Department of Education made another round of mass firings that essentially cut its workforce by half. Those two moves were just part of the day's chaos that Trump administration officials are embracing as a necessary shakeup and detra...
JUNEAU — President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders in recent weeks to expand logging in the nation’s forests, but stakeholders say the recent mass firings of U.S. Forest Service employees could hinder the administration’s plans in Alaska. Trump’s actions are the latest chapter in a decades-long tug-of-war between conservation and development in Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest — by far the largest of the nation’s forests. On his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order to boost development o...
This month the Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) was honored at the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet with the Community Impact Award — for transforming local transportation infrastructure through decades of partnerships, generosity, and community engagement. Glowing with pride as she presented the award, Petersburg Parks and Recreation Director Stephanie Payne described the partnership between the borough and PIA “in creating and maintaining trails for the community, along with ro...
Federal employees across Southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest received termination notices over Presidents Day weekend, part of what union leaders are calling an "intentionally dishonest" nationwide purge of civil service workers that has hit Alaska's rural communities particularly hard. In Petersburg, as of Sunday evening, at least nine Forest Service probationary employees were terminated, with seven more terminated in Wrangell. Most of those affected were early-career professionals... Full story
Forest Service terminations To the Editor: 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees have lost their jobs across the nation. 10 of those FS employees live in Petersburg. These firings were not based on performance. That is a false agenda this administration is pushing to make you not care and look away. These terminations were inflicted on employees that were still in their probationary period, usually their first year of work. They are predominantly young, motivated people starting out their careers. This will not only leave a gap in the Forest...
A vintage briefcase sits against a wall in the Clausen Memorial Museum, displayed alongside weathered timesheets from bridge inspections conducted decades ago. The well-worn leather case, donated by Tom Laurent, carries a family history of Forest Service dedication – passed down from his father, who himself was a second-generation Forest Service scientist, Tom continued using the leather case for bridge inspections until just last year. This simple briefcase, representing three generations of s...
Cruising Sitka Spruce Circa 1900, United States Forest Service employee Alice Stuart created The Alaska Calendar for Engagements and one of the photos she chose was "Cruising Sitka Spruce." The image depicts two gentlemen measuring and assessing the dimensions and bulk of a stand of Sitka Spruce trees. When a stand of trees is to be sold in a timber sale, the USFS needs an estimate or appraisal. In the photo the men are "cruising" – the name given the method used to measure a stand of trees t...
February 13, 1925 – At the meeting of the chamber of commerce last evening a resolution was adopted calling on the government to make use of its boats in Alaskan waters hereafter to feed deer every winter. For practically no cost to the government it is estimated that thousands of deer can be saved every winter from starving. The Seattle Times wired to the chamber here for information and were informed that it was estimated there were some 3,000 deer in this region needing attention and that at least 35 tons of hay would be needed for t...
WRANGELL — The Wrangell Police Department successfully executed a dual search warrant on Jan. 28 after a month-long investigation into a local drug ring. Cooper Seimears, 39, Jacob Marshall, 29, and McKenna Harding, 29, were charged and arrested following the 8 a.m. search warrant execution. Seimears and Marshall face eight drug-related felony charges and one misdemeanor. Harding faces drug-related charges of one felony and one misdemeanor, though she and Marshall, her fiancée, each face two additional misdemeanors for keeping drugs near th...
Jake Slaven, president of the Petersburg Rod and Gun Club, presented a report to the Petersburg Borough Assembly on Feb. 3 to provide updates on the activities of the club and improvements at the Petersburg Shooting range. The club has installed new security cameras at the range through $8,000 in funding contributed by club members and a matching grant from Petersburg Mental Health Services. The facility has also added a new shelter at the pistol range, funded by an NRA Foundation grant, and the...
Carey Case first arrived in Petersburg in 1998 as a 24-year-old seasonal Forest Service employee, and now, after 25 years of service in numerous roles within the district, she has been hired as the Petersburg District Ranger. "I started working for the Forest Service in college in Washington State, and really liked working outdoors and getting to take helicopters and working in remote places," Case recalls. Her journey to Petersburg began when "RD Parks hired me and moved me up here. He asked... Full story
Lawrence Lee Blank was born on August 17, 1932, to Albert and Leta (Wenala) Blank in Seattle. He was told he was part Sioux and a descendant of Chief Sitting Bull. Growing up on the streets of downtown Seattle, he learned early on to get himself a hustle. His first hustle, shining shoes during World War II for servicemen hitting the bars on First Avenue, was an honest one, but as he got older his hustles turned darker, including auto theft and check forgery. Though he was never violent and...
Rural schools, mostly in Southeast Alaska, are facing a major funding shortfall this year after the U.S. House of Representatives failed to reauthorize a bill aimed at funding communities alongside national forests and lands. The bipartisan Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was first passed in 2000, and enacted to assist communities impacted by the declining timber industry. It provided funds for schools, as well as for roads, emergency services and wildfire prevention. The award varies each year depending on federal lan...
Petersburg started the year nearly snowless, even at high elevations - and that's rare, according to long-term data records. Snowpack data is collected at hundreds of sites in Alaska every winter month for the National Resource Conservation Service's snow survey program, which monitors snow depth and water content measurements to use for environmental forecasting and water management. There are several snow survey stations in Southeast Alaska - including two on Petersburg's Mitkof Island, which...
January 2024 A prized Mental Health Trust lot by Blind River Rapids, a popular recreation site for sport fishing, was sold at auction to a USCG family. Toler and Jessie Alexander are eager to return to Petersburg after retiring from the Coast Guard in a few years. The borough listed its top priority capital projects, and the Petersburg Medical Center replacement was first and second on the list – for the main hospital construction and the main hospital interior build out. Petersburg Indian A...
December 12, 1924 – Following a hunting trip near Cape Strait, Lindenberg Peninsula, last Saturday, Hans Lee froze to death from exposure after being capsized from a boat. The party, which Mr. Lee accompanied, left Petersburg early Saturday morning on the halibut powerboat Star. The party also consisted of Martin Enge, Berger Waswick and Knut Thompson, part owner of the Star with Louis Martin. They arrived at their destination about 8 a.m. and left the boat at anchor while the four went into the woods. The weather was calm and there was no h...
U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Joey Boggs is back home in Petersburg this week after escorting the now-famous 80-foot Sitka spruce - known as "The People's Tree" - from Zarembo Island to the front lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. On Zarembo, Petersburg's Rock-N-Road Construction - Sig Burrell and his crew including Jimmy Martinsen, Clayton Martinsen, Ethan File and Tore Lenz - were the ones who harvested the tree. It was the peak of their summer construction season, and...
WRANGELL - Kids keep asking John Schank if he's Santa. "I can't lie to them," he laughed. "But I say, 'I'm just his helper.'" John Schank is 72. He has a big white beard and has been driving for Lynden Transport for 49 years. He and Fred Austin, another longtime Lynden driver, are transporting the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree and its 82-foot sled - trailer - from Seattle to Washington, D.C. This is Schank's second time driving The People's Tree from Alaska to Washington, D.C. He was selected to d...
Over the last two summers, U.S. Forest Service crews have made headway to improve the Petersburg Lake Trail on Kupreanof Island — upgrading the boardwalk, brushing the path and cutting through fallen trees by hand. The 10.5 miles meandering from the dock up to the Petersburg Lake Cabin site is now mostly passable — but a beaver dam complex remains an obstacle, flooding about a mile of the path in the middle of the hike. Petersburg Lake Trail had been largely impassable due to degradation fro...
Wayne Thomas Hagerman was born on November 4, 1943, in Petersburg, Alaska, the son of Edward and Lillian Hagerman. He graduated from Petersburg High School in 1962 and went on to earn his optometry degree from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. In 1967, at a Petersburg friend's wedding, Wayne met and fell in love with Gloria Kaelin. Shortly thereafter, her father, a United Methodist minister, married them in Mount Lake Terrace, Washington, and they enjoyed almost 57 years together. The... Full story
The U.S. Forest Service Petersburg Ranger District is temporarily moving office operations to Scow Bay while the downtown headquarters is renovated. Work on the downtown office —including a complete renovation of the interior of the building— is estimated to start in January 2025 and could last two years. Until then, the Harris Building —at 123 Scow Bay Loop Road— will be the de facto Petersburg District office location where the public can meet with USFS staff. Work at the downtown office site...
October 31, 1924 – Thursday evening, November 6, in the schoolhouse, the Petersburg Parent-Teacher Association will once again convene. There is to be a business meeting which will likely not be long. The following program will be rendered for the pleasure of those present: piano solo, Miss Reep; reading, “Maggie Clancy has her say,” Lanore Martin; vocal solo, “The Hour of Memory,” Mrs. Martin Enge; and a reading by Miss Thorp. Refreshments are promised. So bring yourself, a friend and lots of pep and interest! October 28, 1949 – The ski tow...
It seemed everyone in Wrangell piled into to the Nolan Center to witness the blessing of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. Led by the Wrangell Cooperative Association, the event was moved indoors after a persistent storm turned a cloudy afternoon into a rainy one. The event was attended by folks from Wrangell, from throughout Alaska and from Washington, D.C. Even Smokey the Bear made a surprise appearance. Kate Thomas, the borough's economic development director, played emcee for the afternoon,...
