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The biggest red salmon run in the world is building at Bristol Bay. Up to 50 million fish could surge into its eight river systems in coming weeks, on par with past seasons. When it's all done, the fishery will provide nearly half the global supply of wild sockeye salmon. But this summer is different. Not only due to the restrictions and fears and economic chaos caused by Covid-19. At the height of the fishery, fishermen will learn if a massive gold and copper mine that's been hanging over...
Giving COVID relief funds to the seafood industry and stepping on the gas for offshore fish farming are two big takeaways from the executive orders and congressional packages coming out of the nation’s capital. Recent news that Alaska would receive $50 million from the $300 million fisheries relief funds in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was well received by industry stakeholders and it’s likely to be followed by more. A May 15 hearing called “COVID 19 impacts to American Fisheries and the Seafood Supply Chain...
The Wrangell Port Commission continued its discussion of increasing the fees they gather from visiting cruise ships last week, March 5. This has been an ongoing topic of discussion for the commission for several months now. Harbor Master Greg Meissner has iterated in several meetings that the city needed more money for a variety of reasons. As things stood now, he said, the port is barely profitable. During their previous discussion back in February, he said they only bring in about $8,000 to...
The Tlingit and Haida Regional Housing Authority held a workshop at the Nolan Center last week, to cover a variety of topics. The group brought together members of Wrangell's native community, and the wider public, to share information about the census, financial planning, and preventative home maintenance. Esther Ashton, tribal administrator for the Wrangell Cooperative Association, led the discussion on the census. It is very important for the native community to respond to the census this...
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...
Students of Evergreen Elementary School, and Head Start, gathered together at the elementary school gym for a celebration of the annual Elizabeth Peratrovich Day on Feb. 18 in Alaska. As the holiday fell on a Sunday this year, the celebration took place a few days afterwards. The celebration featured songs and dances from Wrangell’s JOM dance group, a song by Head Start students, and speeches about who Peratrovich was and why she was so important to the civil rights movement in Alaska. P...
Wrangell's advisory committee for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game met last Thursday evening, Jan. 16, to cover several important topics. The first of which was the election of new officers to lead the committee. The committee is made up of six seats, along with two alternates. Bruce Eagle, the vice-chair of the committee, had opted to not seek re-election. Nominations for the seats, otherwise, were completely open. Many people were nominated, with Wrangell resident Mike Lockabey...
Members of the Wrangell Fish and Game Advisory Committee and other local organizations met at the Salvation Army building on Dec. 11 to discuss how best to distribute this year's collection of moose meat. As hunters in the area may know, moose are legal to hunt with proper permits, but only certain types of moose are legal to kill. If an "illegal" moose is killed, the meat is confiscated and the hunter is fined. An email from Chris Guggenbickler, with the advisory committee, reported that they h...
The Wrangell Port Commission met for a brief workshop to begin discussions on two topics that Harbor Master Greg Meissner said would be important for the future. One was on potentially changing the fees that Wrangell collects from cruise ships, and the other was on how he could better handle derelict boats taking up space in the harbors. A spreadsheet was given to board members, comparing the fees that different Southeast Alaskan towns earned from visiting cruise ships. These fees could vary...
Running three-and-a-half hours long before even coming to an executive session, the borough assembly meeting on Oct. 22 saw a wide variety of topics covered. One of them was overseeing several appointments to various city positions. Patty Gilbert, recently re-elected to the borough assembly, was named the vice-mayor. There were two open seats on the planning and zoning commission, to which Terri Henson and April Hutchinson were appointed. Annya Ritchie was appointed to the parks and recreation a...
Donna McKay, assistant teacher at Head Start in Wrangell, was recently recognized for hitting the 30-year mark in her career. She was given a plaque last Monday, Oct. 14, in Fairbanks during an award ceremony. Head Start is an early childhood program that, according to their website, serves children from birth to five-years-old in 100 Alaskan communities. Starting her career this month 30 years ago, McKay said that she has helped to teach approximately 620 children. "By the 28th of this month...
“Unpredictable” is the way salmon managers describe Alaska’s 2019 salmon season, with “very, very interesting” as an aside. The salmon fishery is near its end, and a statewide catch of nearly 200 million salmon is only six percent off what Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game number crunchers predicted, and it is on track to be the 8th largest since 1975. The brightest spot of the season was the strong returns of sockeye salmon which produced a catch of over 55 million fish, the largest since 1995 and the fifth consecutive year of harvests topping 5...
Federal agencies are meeting now through next March to define U.S. dietary guidelines for 2020-2025, and a high powered group of doctors and nutritionists are making sure the health benefits of seafood are front and center. For the first time in the 40 year history of the program, the dietary guidelines committee has posted the questions they are going to consider. They include the role of seafood in the neurocognitive development in pregnant moms for their babies, and in the diet of kids from birth to 24 months directly, said Dr. Tom Brenna,...
Cheryl and Cynthia Karras wearing their brand new backpacks, which they received as part of the Wrangell Cooperative Association's back to school backpack drive. The WCA received over 130 backpacks full of school supplies from the Tlingit and Haida Central Council, according to Esther Ashton with the WCA, which they then distributed to children of Wrangell's native community. Ashton added that kids from Head Start to 12th grade got backpacks this year....
As the District 36 Representative, my primary assignment now in the Legislature is to serve as the Vice-Chair on the House Finance Committee. In that duty, I traveled to Juneau, Anchorage, Wasilla, and Fairbanks between July 15-18 in order to hear Public Testimony on HB 2001, the special session budget bill. During those three days of testimony, we heard over 600 people testify in person. During the month of July, we had over 2,300 Alaskans provide testimony to the House Finance Committee. Over 85% of the testifiers were in support of...
Last Thursday, June 20, members of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the Forest Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and local volunteers all converged on the beach of east Wrangell, near Channel Island, to dissect a dead gray whale that had washed ashore. Kate Savage, once a veterinarian in Wrangell but now working with NOAA, said that an Unusual Mortality Event is occurring all along the Pacific Coast, from Alaska to Mexico. There...
Last week, the Alaska House of Representatives passed a budget for the State of Alaska. As a member of the Finance Committee and the Chair of the Education & Early Development, Fish & Game, and Environmental Conservation Department Finance Subcommittees, I am a part of the budget process from the beginning until the end. For the past month, we have dug into each department budget, asking critical questions, and analyzing impacts of potential cuts. The budget was an intense collaborative effort;...
The Panhandle plans to be the next Alaska region to give new life to old fishing gear by sending it to plastic recycling centers. The tons of nets and lines piled up in local lots and landfills will become the raw material for soda bottles, cell phone cases, sunglasses, skateboards, swimsuits and more. Juneau, Haines, Petersburg and possibly Sitka have partnered with Net Your Problem to launch an effort this year to send old or derelict seine and gillnets to a recycler in Richmond, British Columbia. “We’re going to be working in a new loc...
The Nolan Center has a new exhibit available for public viewing. A collection of almost 50 "story dolls" currently sit in glass shelves at the center, depicting life of Alaska natives in the rural parts of the state. Cyni Crary, with the Nolan Center, said that the doll collection was put together by Jane Niebergall, of Anchorage. The dolls themselves were created by a variety of different artists. The Nolan Center is the first museum to show these dolls, she added. "She called and asked if we m...
December 19, 1918 Reappearance of epidemic of influenza now threatened in many parts of the country. The Surgeon General of the United States Public Health, however, has issued a warning. The epidemic persists widely. Everywhere the epidemic and other abnormal conditions created by war has left millions of people particularly susceptible to disease. Risks are aggravated by the fact that medical and sanitary facilities have been depleted to meet war needs and cannot be restored to normal for some time nor without concerted effort. In view of...
It was cold, the evening of Dec. 7, and at times rainy. That did not deter many Wrangell residents from coming out for Midnight Madness, however. Midnight Madness has been a Wrangell tradition for about 30 years, according to Stephanie Cook with the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. "I think it went pretty well, even though it was a little rainy and cold," she said. "There were lots of people who showed up and had fun." Front Street was crowded as people hung out, shopped, and sang Christmas...
Head Start hosted "Baby Raven Reads" this past Saturday morning. Baby Raven Reads, according to Community Liason Delila Ramirez, is a program by the Sealaska Heritage Institute to promote literacy and language development in native children. The program involved lots of fun activities for the children who attended, like listening to stories, singing, and playing games. Virginia Oliver (left) and Lu Knapp (right) were two of the volunteers helping the program last Saturday....
Baby Raven Reads is a program sponsored by the Sealaska Heritage Institute giving native children an opportunity to learn about their history and culture through stories, activities, and music, according to community liaison Delila Ramirez. The monthly program is in its second year, she said. The next reading day will be Sat., Dec. 8 at Head Start from 10 a.m. to noon.. "It promotes early literacy, language development, and school readiness for Alaska native families," Ramirez said. The target...