Sorted by date Results 1381 - 1405 of 7954
Federal and state leaders have appointed 19 experts to a special task force responsible for creating a science plan to better understand Alaska’s salmon, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service announced. Task force members must address sustainable management and a response to the recent crashes in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. The group was chosen in accordance with the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act that passed and was signed into law late last year. The law calls for most members to be appointed by...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - A pod of killer whales repeatedly rammed a yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar last month, damaging it enough to require Spanish rescuers to come to the aid of its four crew members. It was the latest episode in a perplexing trend in the behavior of orcas populating the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula that has left researchers searching for a cause. Spain’s Maritime Rescue service said that killer whales repeatedly ran into the Mustique, a 65-foot vessel sailing under a U.K. flag, late on May 24, rendering its rudde...
The Polynesian Voyaging Society vessel Hōkūle’a had been scheduled to arrive in Wrangell on Monday, June 26, but due to the crew’s exposure to COVID-19 in Juneau the vessel delayed its departure from Angoon by a day. The plan is to leave Angoon on Friday, June 23. The vessel is now scheduled to arrive in Wrangell on Tuesday, June 27, a day later than originally expected. Rapid PCR tests have been conducted, none of the crew have symptoms and all are feeling well, according to a revised schedule from the crew. Barring any other delays, the Hōkūl...
The first draft of the borough budget for next year includes a 24% reduction in the property tax rate, authorizes nearly $7 million in general fund spending and reflects recent rate increases for water, sewage, power, trash pickup and harbor fees. Borough officials and assembly members met for a work session June 6 to discuss the draft budget. Assembly members made suggestions to Borough Manager Jeff Good about the community’s goals and explored opportunities for cost savings. Good plans to investigate the feasibility of these suggestions, w...
A Washington state-based conservation group whose actions have already caused the closure of the Southeast Alaska king salmon commercial troll fishery is now planning to ask the federal government to list several Alaska king salmon stocks under the Endangered Species Act. Last month, the Wild Fish Conservancy formally notified the state of Alaska of its plans to file the ESA petition for multiple populations of king salmon — also known as chinook — in Southeast, Southwest and Cook Inlet, just outside Anchorage. If successful, experts said the...
In 2022, after years of community advocacy for the position, the state Office of Children’s Services (OCS) put a caseworker in Wrangell. However, borough officials will reconsider covering half the cost of the state position, citing budgetary concerns and questions about whether the position meets the community’s needs. OCS seeks to protect and advocate for minors in unsafe living situations. Before caseworker Jennifer Ridgeway transferred to Wrangell from Petersburg last year, the borough had not had an OCS caseworker in the community sin...
A nearly four-year sailing journey will launch on Thursday from Juneau - and Wrangell is part of the itinerary. The Polynesian Voyaging Society is setting sail in the Hōkūleʻa as part of its Moananuiākea circumnavigation of the Pacific Ocean, touring Southeast before continuing on. It will tentatively arrive in Wrangell on June 26. Members of the Wrangell Cooperative Association are preparing for the arrival of the 16-member Hawaiian vessel which will stop in Angoon, Kake and Petersburg bef...
Summer presents an important economic opportunity for businesses as tourists and other visitors sweep through Wrangell. However, many businesses are struggling to find the staff they need to take advantage of the season’s full potential. Staff shortages have prevented City Market from transitioning to its expanded summer hours. “We have just enough staff here right now that are available to have one shift,” said store director Kristina Decker. Summer hours bring a noticeable bump in sales, but the store just hasn’t had the capacity to open an...
Many of Wrangell's totems have fallen into disrepair and need rehab work or replacement. Thanks to a $20,000 donation from the Wrangell Tlingit and Haida Community Council, the Wrangell Cooperative Association tribal council will be able to move forward with plans to carve two new totems while repairing older ones. Last Saturday, Sue Stevens, president of the WTHCC, presented Edward Rilatos, WCA tribal council president, with a check that will go toward the work. The funds came through a grant...
Up until last year, Southeast Alaska's Mitkof Island was home to a creek with some unique salmon: They only turned left. Officially, anyway. There is a fork in Ohmer Creek, on Mitkof Island. On the west side, the state's Anadromous Waters Catalog, or AWC, reported the presence of all five species of wild Alaska salmon, as well as Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout. On the east side of the fork, according to the AWC, there were only steelhead. One afternoon last summer, U.S. Forest Service fish...
When Lt. Jon Tollerud gave his first sermon in Wrangell, there was one person in the congregation, and it was a newspaper reporter covering the story of the new pastor in town. Now, three and a half years later, an average of 20 congregants gather to hear the weekly message, and Sunday will be the last one given by Tollerud and his wife, Lt. Rosie Tollerud, as they have been transferred to Fairbanks by The Salvation Army. In their time here, the Tolleruds have not only increased the number of...
The Department of Economic Development is conducting an online survey to learn more about what the community would like to see at the former 6-Mile sawmill property, which the borough purchased last summer for $2.5 million. “Can we narrow in on aspects of development,” Economic Development Director Kate Thomas said last week. The 10-question survey follows up on a town hall meeting last December — attended by close to 40 people — at which community members tossed out and tossed around multiple uses for the waterfront property. The borough...
More than 100 salmon trollers packed a Sitka meeting on June 7 with sharp questions about the future of their fishery, facing what could be an unprecedented full shutdown of this year’s chinook trolling season. “I’m optimistic, but I’m also scared as heck,” said Eric Jordan, a lifelong fisherman and Sitka resident at the standing room-only meeting with federal National Marine Fisheries Service officials. The closure of the king salmon fishery in Southeast would be economically devastating, according to many in the region who rely on the valua...
The state of Alaska will keep its membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nonprofit network that helps states keep track of registered voters and reduce fraud, an official at the Alaska Division of Elections confirmed June 7. Eight Republican-led states have withdrawn from the multistate partnership, known as ERIC, since far-right groups and former President Donald Trump began attempting to discredit the group in 2022. Earlier this year, Carol Beecher, the new director of the Alaska Division of Elections, said during a...
An engine room fire on a small cruise ship in Glacier Bay on June 5 resulted in nearly 70 passengers and crew being transferred to a much larger cruise ship nearby, according to the U.S. Coast Guard and the disabled boat’s owner. No significant injuries or environmental impact were reported. The engine fire occurred at 7:23 a.m. on the 178-foot Wilderness Discoverer, according to a press release by UnCruise Adventures, which owns and operates the vessel. The boat has capacity for 76 guests, plus crew. “We are relieved to confirm that there hav...
Competitors made of the toughest stuff have less than a month to train for the Tongass Toughman Triathlon in Wrangell. Triathletes put their endurance, strength and fortitude on display in a contest which covers a combined 72.2 miles of water, pavement and earth. The race, which will unofficially kick off the Fourth of July festivities throughout town on July 1, starts with a swim of 1.2 miles to City Dock from a starting point out in Zimovia Strait. Once athletes reach the dock and change out of their wetsuits and into their biking gear,...
Allen Rooney has been running the shooting competition during the Fourth of July festivities in Wrangell for eight years now. But for him, it’s more of a firearm safety activity than a shooting competition. The free event will take place on July 3 from 8 a.m. to noon at the shooting range down past the golf course off Spur Road. Though Rooney is judging entrants on speed and accuracy, he’s more interested in the safety education he brings with it. “This is a firearm safety activity,” he said. “It’s like anything when you’re dealing with...
The U.S. Coast Guard investigation is continuing into the May 28 charter fishing boat accident near Sitka that left four people dead and one still missing and presumed dead. The body of the Sitka-based boat captain was recovered June 8, leaving only passenger Robert Solis, 61, of California, still missing. Alaska State Troopers reported that 32-year-old Morgan Robidou’s body was recovered by divers from the Sitka Fire Department. Troopers said Robidou was found in the Low Island area in Sitka Sound as crews worked to salvage the outboard m...
The U.S. Forest Service again this year is making available permits for unguided visits to the Anan Wildlife Observatory, limited to four per day. The permits must be requested in person at the Wrangell Ranger District office, up to one week in advance. Permits, at $10 each, are required for visiting Anan from July 5 through Aug. 25, when the popular bear-viewing site is limited to 60 visitors a day on guided tours. The four unguided visitor permits are in addition to the 60. “These (four) permits are for people arriving with their own means o...
This is a good time to introduce you to a project we have been working on this past year. We received a fellowship with the National Folklife Network to introduce the world to our rainforest life. The initiative from the National Endowment for the Arts launched in spring of 2022. The goal was to bring together artists, community knowledge-keepers, cultural organizers and advocates committed to strengthening communities through sharing heritage arts, folklife and traditional practices. We were...
The Southeast Alaska summer commercial troll season for coho and chum salmon will open on July 1, but no chinook retention will be allowed, the state Department of Fish and Game announced May 30. The prohibition on troll-caught kings is due to the ongoing lawsuit by the nonprofit Wild Fish Conservancy against the National Marine Fisheries Service. Still, Alaska trollers are holding out hope that king salmon fishing will open as usual on July 1 if the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals grants a stay of last month’s U.S. District Court order t...
A fishing adventure turned tragic for a family when disaster struck one of the two Sitka boats they chartered over the Memorial Day weekend, leaving three people dead and two missing despite a search over hundreds of square miles of ocean. The tragedy tore the Tyau family apart: Two sisters and one of their husbands are dead, while the other’s partner and the boat captain remain missing a week after the 30-foot aluminum boat was found partially submerged off an island near Sitka. Authorities on May 29 suspended their search after more than 2...
A few months ago, passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight trying to get to Wrangell were stranded in Petersburg due to a mechanical problem. Thanks to a local tour operator, the castaways were picked up and brought back to Wrangell in less than an hour. For many years, Wrangell skippers have been offering shuttle services as a quick and affordable means of traveling between the two communities. Last Saturday, Zach Taylor, owner of Muddy Water Adventures, teamed up with Summit Charters and took...
Due to funding cuts and a staffing shortage, the Senior Center has suspended its hot lunch service and limited the number of bus rides it can offer to elders. The changes will remain in effect until the center can hire two new employees — a cook and a bus driver. “Because we are short-staffed, we have to make some changes to our schedule to keep the center going,” said Senior Center manager Solvay Gillen. Hours have been cut to Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with shelf-stable lunches available for pickup from noon to 1 p.m. Dine-...
On a recent Saturday, Devyn Johnson brought her children and their friend to the Rainbow Falls trailhead at 5 Mile. They met with a curious hiker and prepared to trek up the path to the top, about six-tenths of a mile away. Before starting on the journey, Johnson found a large slab of rock weighing between 20 and 30 pounds and put it into her backpack. That’s the difference between hiking and adding a rucking element to it. Every weekend, rain or shine, the Wrangell Parks and Recreation department hosts a rucking hike in various places around t...
