Alaska Story Project

The socio-political landscape of Alaska.    

• Bill relates his early journey from drug & alcohol counselor to serving as DEC commissioner.    
• Ownership of Alaskan lands and resources: history and implications. 
• The Hammond era, the Alaska Permanent Fund, Exxon Valdez.   
• The socio-economic ramifications of Alaska's oil boom.    
• Present tense:  dwindling oil, severe state budgets cuts, and the impacts of Climate Change.  
• The push to open ANWAR, develop Pebble Mine, dramatically increase Tongass logging. 

Dan opens with Kurt relating his early years coming to Alaska.    

• The sinking of the classic halibut boat, the Lloyd. 
• Kurt's harrowing survival story  
• Dan and Kurt discuss an important mentor, poet Gary Snyder.   
• Kurt reflects on how his Alaskan experiences deeply inform his current work as both a wilderness kayak guide and mindfulness teacher.      

The remote small communities—outposts in Southeast Alaska.    

• Meyers Chuck, Point Baker and Port Protection, Port Alexander.   
• Dan tells a Wayne Short story of man-overboard and being saved in huge seas.    
• Wending their way north, stories of  Tenakee Springs, and out Icy Straits to Elfin Cove.  

Dan and Joe explore the Inside Passage from Puget Sound to Southeast Alaska.    

• Joe reflects upon nautical charts, and navigation.    
• Stories of crossing big waters in a small boat. 
• The vastness of the northern wilderness.     
• They discuss the indigenous native cultures of the Inside Passage. 
• Living close to the land working with the seasons.    

Dan and Joe talk about Joe's award-winning book Alaska Blues.    

• They discuss early years of becoming a fisherman and tender operator. 
• Heading north, early fishing stories, Point Baker, and building a cabin.    
• Dan and Joe discuss the tides, the forest, and a good bear story.