KCAW

Eric Jordan examines the underside of his troller, the I Gotta, from the bow of a Harbor Department skiff. Jordan volunteered his boat to test the slings on Sitka’s new Travelift, which is the essential piece of Phase I of a publicly-owned boat yard at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park. Further work is needed before boats can routinely use the yard however: A washdown pad will not be installed and operational until late summer. (KCAW/Woolsey)

Seeing Eric Jordan’s troller, the I Gotta, rise out of the water on the new Travelift, with the words “City of Sitka” painted across the massive upper beam, was an impressive site – for the few people who endured the wind and the rain to see it.

Although it was just a demo to test the slings, and the I Gotta was lowered back into the water not much later, it was still the first. Unfortunately, the board of the Gary Paxton Industrial Park was inconveniently stuck in their advertised meeting back in town, and didn’t get to watch.

Park director Garry White filled them in on the play-by-play. The grouting to secure the piles that support the Travelift pier had just cured that morning, after a long wait for warmer weather.

For White it was a good day, but one he hoped had arrived sooner. 

“Things are moving along,” said White. “I wish they were moving faster, but, you know, at one of the public meetings we said, ‘Let’s, let’s try to get this right instead of fast.’ And so we’re at the last few minutes here. The good news is, construction is done, the machine’s here, and once we get this operating agreement finalized, hopefully the pricing comes down to where some folks are a little bit happier.”

The operating agreement is being finalized with Kodiak-based Highmark Marine, who won the bid to manage the new facility. But other than the Travelift, there’s nothing to operate yet. Still missing is a permanent washdown pad, where boats will be sprayed down with high-pressure hoses after they come out of the ocean. White said rebar for the concrete would not be available, delaying the pad possibly for months.

In the following exchange, board member Lauren Howard asked White if that timeline could be refined.

Howard: “I know you don’t have a number, but like before we said maybe June. So now we’re thinking September? You say months for the rebar, that’s very ambiguous. Two months, five months?”

White: “Well,it  depends on how we can get through the appropriations to get the funding to get the rates lowered, and then finalize the contract with Highmark. I’m assuming that’s going to take a couple months. They told us from the time we pulled the trigger on the wash down (pad) until we get it constructed, is three months. We’re hoping that’s going to happen faster. So I’m thinking, August. I’m hoping.”

Howard: “I’ve had a lot of people call and ask when they can start scheduling. And I’m like, ‘I don’t know, June, July?’ So just a reference point of where they can think. A lot of people are planning. They’re trying to plan when they’re going to haul their boats. They want to haul here. So they want to have an idea of what they should be planning for.”

White asked board members to consider the option of spending $15,000 on a contract to install a temporary washdown pad, or to wait and spend the money on permanent upland improvements.

Among the audience members attending the meeting was Cooper Curtis, the CEO of Highmark. He had been in meetings earlier in the day to work out a plan that would lower the proposed rates to haul out boats and park them in the yard when it’s completed.

Curtis said the meeting had been productive, and while he couldn’t disclose the strategy they had discussed, he said, “It’s a good improvement. It will simplify the process, reduce the cost, which is what we’re all looking to do.”

The post Have lift, will travel — but not until fall appeared first on KCAW.

Izzy Haywood with the 2024 Paths to Prosperity finalists. (Spruce Root photo)

Izzy Haywood is the competition manager for Spruce Root’s Path to Prosperity contest.

Applications are now open for the 2025 Path to Prosperity Business Competition — an annual business development competition for businesses with a positive economic, environmental, and community impact on Southeast Alaska. This competition awards $20,000 each to two winning businesses annually. 

This year’s competition cycle is open to Alaska Native entrepreneurs and introduces a STEM/TEK track, providing specialized support for businesses in science, technology, engineering, and math-related (STEM) industries and/or using traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). Entrepreneurs who do not have STEM- and/or TEK-related businesses are eligible to apply and participate in the competition. Learn more and apply at spruceroot.org

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The Sitka Tribal Council and Sitka Assembly meet twice a year for a meal, and to cover topics of mutual interest. During their May 12, 2025 meeting, the two bodies covered Redoubt sockeye, urban bears, and several other issues. (KCAW/Woolsey)

Sealaska selected 11 acres in Redoubt Bay, under a provision of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act – 14 (h)(1)c – which allows regional Native corporations to apply for title to historical places and cemetery sites across the state.

Sealaska made the Redoubt selection in 1975, but the formal conveyance took decades.

To the surprise of many, the Sitka Tribe supported Sealaska’s selection. The two organizations signed a management agreement in 2013 spelling out how they would work together, once the transfer was complete.

That’s now happened, and the Tribe’s CEO Lisa Gassman said Sealaska would be back this summer to expand that original agreement.

“They need to acknowledge that the lands that they own under traditional Lingít law, the Kiks.ádi were the true owners of Kunaa and therefore they believe that tribal citizens should be the direct beneficiaries of this land,”said Gassman. “What they have talked about is ensuring that fishing still happens out there. They understand – and that’s why they got this land – was because it was fishing had historically happened out there.”

And fishing is still happening at Redoubt. For over twenty years, the Forest Service has fertilized Redoubt Lake, producing a run of sockeye salmon that typically reaches the tens – and sometimes hundreds – of thousands. Scores of Sitkans take the 17-mile skiff ride to dipnet in Redoubt Falls (and now to set seine nets). Tribal Council member Steve Johnson said the Tribe and Sealaska had to be clear that fishing will continue unimpeded.

“We know that Redoubt is a very important subsistence area to a lot of us,” said Johnson. “And I mean so much food goes into so many freezers in this town from that area, and so we want to make sure that we’re transparent in our dealings with it, and that access and things will be preserved.”

Although continued federal funding for lake fertilization is a question mark, council members assured the assembly that the Forest Service would continue to have an easement to install and operate the weir at the top of the falls. Additionally, council member Lillian Feldpausch noted that Sealaska and the Tribe would keep policies in place, particularly the prohibition against dogs on shore.

Other issues discussed by the Tribal Council and Sitka Assembly:

1. Update on Katlian Ave. sidewalks and the demolition of Daginaa Hit (CBS and STA will cost-share the demolition.

Urban Bears

The rule about dogs at Redoubt is meant to protect pets against harmful interactions with bears, which are abundant at Redoubt. And they’re abundant back in Sitka as well, and much more active earlier in the season than in past years.

Council member Martha Moses expressed her continued frustration at the wide disparity between the relatively small fines paid by residents cited by the Sitka Police Department for leaving garbage out, and the $320 citations handed down by troopers for illegally feeding wildlife.

Tribal chair Yeidikook’áa said she felt privilege was involved, as many residents simply did not have a garage, or adequate freezer space, to store garbage until collection day.

One bear has already been killed by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game this year in Sitka. The recent record of 14 kills in Sitka was set in 2021. Council member Lillian Feldpausch felt 2025 was off to a bad start.

“When the bear is breaking down a shed, a garage, and if their garbage is secure, what’s next?” she asked. “The house? It’s going to be a bad year. It just feels like a bad bear year.” 

Feldpausch said she respected bears, “but I think we need to be a little more aggressive.”

Council member Lesa Way thought a 24/7 bear-proof dumpster at the transfer station would aid residents like her who want to be responsible about garbage after work hours.

“It would be so nice to have just a dumpster out in front that at five o’clock or at seven o’clock at night, when I’m done (with work) and I’ve got to get rid of garbage, that I could just take it up there,” said Way.

Sitka municipal administrator John Leach liked Way’s idea. He said that the city was already experimenting with bear-proof dumpsters.

“We heard great things about the system they put in place at the Trooper Academy, and that’s why we’re trying the dumpster thing,” said Leach. “We had a couple of those dumpsters available in the harbor system – the roll-off units – so we’re keeping those in a centralized location that hopefully gets the garbage away from the homes. And if the bears try to get into the dumpsters, they’re not going to be able to get into those dumpsters. And we’ll pick those up once a week.”

Leach said staff would monitor the new dumpsters throughout the season, to determine if they are something the city should adopt in the future.

The post Sitka Tribe says sockeye fishing at Redoubt will remain unchanged under Sealaska ownership appeared first on KCAW.

Actors Aiden LaFreniere and Rita Christiansen, and director Christian Litten, discuss this weekend’s performance of The Game’s Afoot, by Ken Ludwig. The show is a modern comic whodunit — but set in the 1930s. Performances are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, May 17.

The post A ‘comedy thriller’ opens this weekend at Sitka PAC appeared first on KCAW.

The 41st Julie Hughes Triathlon is coming up on May 17. The route includes a five mile run, a 14-mile bike ride, and a 1000-yard swim at the Blatchley Middle School pool. Youth participants will compete with shorter routes. Dean Orbison, Taryn Fleming, and Alicia Haseltine joined KCAW’s Peter Apathy to talk about the history of the event and what participants can expect this year. Listen to the full interview here:

Registration is open online at juliehughestri.com. In-person registration for those 12 and under will be 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Friday May 16.

The post Julie Hughes triathlon returns for 41st year appeared first on KCAW.

A Washington state-based conservation group is suing the National Marine Fisheries Service over king salmon – again.

The Wild Fish Conservancy filed suit earlier this month in US District Court to compel NMFS to complete its Endangered Species determination for king salmon in the Gulf of Alaska.

The group previously sued in 2020 to halt commercial trolling for kings in Southeast Alaska, to protect an endangered  population of killer whales in Puget Sound.

Nat Herz is covering the story for the Northern Journal. He spoke recently with KCAW’s Robert Woolsey. 

KCAW: Nat, what is the Wild Fish Conservancy asking for this time?

Hertz:  About a year ago, a little more than a year ago, the Wild Fish Conservancy,  – which is a Washington state-based conservation group – filed a petition with the Biden administration, asking for a determination that king salmon all across the Gulf of Alaska fit the criteria for threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. And there is a deadline in the Endangered Species Act that requires the federal government to act on those petitions within a year of their filing. And fast forward one year, plus a sort of legally-required notification period, and the federal government has not issued that finding yet. And so the Wild Fish Conservancy, with their lawyers that are battle-tested from previous conflicts in Southeast Alaska and across the Pacific Northwest, filed a lawsuit last week (5-8-25) to force the hand of now the Trump administration to issue a determination on this request to listing salmon as endangered or threatened. 

KCAW: This is a completely different lawsuit than the 2020 lawsuit the Wild Fish Conservancy filed to try and block Southeast trolling to protect Southern Resident killer whales?

Herz:  Fair to say it is separate. I don’t think it’s totally fair to say that it’s entirely unrelated. I think, from their position down there in Washington, they are looking at Alaska and saying, “These are species of fish have a bearing on folks down here in Washington State,” both because I think there’s some mixing of the fish and and their predators, but also, I think just because there are people in Washington state that visit Alaska and have a stake in the harvesting of these species, but I think it’s very clear that the Wild Fish Conservancy, which I think has done a lot of work previously on conservation in the Pacific Northwest, seems to be making Alaska and the Gulf of Alaska an increasing focus.

KCAW: Nat, in your article in the Northern Journal, you did have a response from somebody at NOAA who didn’t seem to say, “Oops, we goofed,” but more like, “Oh, we’re taking our time.”Herz: If I had to guess, I think there are entire law firms or attorneys that probably do a pretty good bulk of their business just filing these lawsuits against federal agencies that haven’t acted quickly enough on these Endangered Species Act petitions. I think it’s a pretty common thing that you have this 12-month deadline in law, but sort of from a practical standpoint, it’s not always possible for the agencies to issue their decision in that time frame. And so yes, the Federal official that corresponded with me about it basically was saying, “We’re working on it.” And there are also some state biologists that have  been attached to the team at the National Marine Fisheries Service that is reviewing some of the statistical data. And so it sounds like there is a robust review going on. Maybe that has been somewhat disrupted – I mean, there have been all kinds of headlines about the chaos at the National Marine Fisheries Service, specifically because that agency was really heavily targeted by DOGE (the Elon Musk government efficiency arm) and so I’m sure that has probably disrupted them a little bit. But I doubt that this is something that is not already on their radar, and something that is underway, as they (the NOAA official) said.

The post Wild Fish Conservancy files suit to keep its endangered species petition for king salmon on track appeared first on KCAW.

On Sitka’s Kaagwaantaan Street, overlooking a busy waterway where fishing boats unload their catches and float planes glide in to land, there’s an unassuming gabled house with faded red siding. If you peer underneath the house, you’ll see charred wood nestled next to newer lumber – evidence of a 1953 fire that damaged parts of the 19th-century structure. 

The house is called Kaxátjaa Hít, or Shattering Herring House. Xéetl’ee Katelyn Stiles, who is Kiks.ádi and of the Shattering House, recently walked around it and took note of the fire-damaged wood. For her, the burn marks are part of the house’s story. 

“I still see that as, you know, our history,” she said. “That’s where Xéetl’ee, my namesake, gave birth. So, yeah, I just find it all really beautiful how it is.”

Clan houses like this one have historically served as cultural centers for Lingít people – places where members gathered for meetings, ceremonies, and even to give birth. But earlier this year, Stiles –  whose great-great-grandparents lived in Shattering Herring House – learned that it was slated for demolition. 

“It will always be a clan house”

In Lingít tradition, clan houses are passed down matrilineally and belong to all members. In the western legal system, properties often go to a spouse or children, who don’t belong to the same clan, so houses can fall out of clan ownership. Sometimes multiple clan members are on the deed, making renovation or demolition more difficult. 

Lduteen Jerrick Hope-Lang knows those challenges firsthand. Hope-Lang is of the Point House, a Kiks.ádi clan house in Sitka that was passed down via will and demolished in 1997. 

In 2022, Hope-Lang worked with the Point House’s legal heirs to acquire the land. It’s now held on behalf of the Kiks.ádi clan by a nonprofit organization, the Katlian Collective, with plans to rebuild. And last year, he helped bring national recognition to Sitka’s Indian Village as a historic endangered place.

“These are precious, and they’re worth saving,” he said. “By preserving these things, we’re more able to accurately tell the history as we see it.”

The Shattering House fell out of clan ownership, but Stiles said that doesn’t change its cultural value. 

“In my opinion, if it was a clan house, it will always be a clan house,” she said.

“Emotional and terrifying”

In February, Stiles learned through a meeting of the Sitka Historic Preservation Commission that the legal owner intended to sell the Shattering House to a couple who planned to demolish it and build residential housing on the land. 

“It was, of course, very emotional and terrifying,” she said. 

Stiles helped gather community and clan members to testify against the demolition. They reached out to the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, asking for them to weigh in. She connected with Hope-Lang, who met with his board of directors, trying to identify ways to help.

 In a Feb. 27 special meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission, 18 people testified, mostly against the sale and demolition of the house. 

“It really sort of brought us together,” Stiles said.  “We want our, you know, grandkids and their kids to know who they are.”

During the meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission recommended against the demolition. But as Stiles learned, they couldn’t actually stop it from happening. 

City and Borough of Sitka Planning Director Amy Ainslie said that under the city’s general code, the city didn’t have authority to deny the demolition permit on the basis of historic preservation. In a March 10 letter to the Historic Preservation Commission, she wrote that she approved the demolition permit “with an extremely heavy heart.” 

“Everything happened so quickly”

But on April 22, the legal owner agreed to sell the property to Katlian Collective on behalf of the Kiks.ádi clan. Hope-Lang said the nonprofit was able to reroute funds intended for the Point House restoration project to buy the Shattering House. 

“I think the ultimate end goal is, we’re stronger with this house standing next to ours,” he said. “So it doesn’t feel like it really pulls away at the end of the day.”

He said they haven’t figured out exactly what happens next. 

“Everything was happening so quickly,” he said. “Now we’re kind of in the process phase of how it will be used, how it will be restored, and really the Katlian Collective’s goal in this is to support the clan and what it wants to do. And ultimately, we just didn’t want to see it demolished.”

Hope-Lang said he hopes to get Sitka’s clan houses listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He envisions a future where all the houses in Sitka’s Indian Village have been restored.  

“I think it’s not outside the possibility of the 43 or 44 clan homes that existed there, that they couldn’t all be restored or rebuilt,” he said.

Stiles said she hopes to see the city and tribal governments collaborate on historic preservation of clan houses. She said it’s a “huge relief” that Shattering Herring House won’t be demolished — and that her young son will have a cultural space to grow up in. 

“He’s, you know, learning to sing and drum,” she said. “I’m so happy that he will have a clan house and know that he’s a part of that.”

Note: This story was corrected on May 12, 2025 to reflect that the Point House property was gifted to Jerrick Hope-Lang in 2022, not purchased.

Additionally, KCAW aired the following clarification: “In the original version of this story, we said that the Shattering Herring House fell out of clan ownership 25 years ago. While the deed to the property was indeed transferred 25 years ago, a clan leader continued to live in the house until about 2014.“

The post A 19th century Sitka clan house, once slated for demolition, will be restored  appeared first on KCAW.

Sitka High School’s mock trial team won their fourth consecutive Alaska championship in April. The program, which lasts several months, involves preparing for a fictional criminal case provided by the Alaska Bar Association. Team members Sarah Todd, Reagan Wingard, and Aiden LaFreniere joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss the program and their big win. Listen here:

The post Sitka’s mock trial team scored its fourth consecutive state championship in April appeared first on KCAW.

Angie Bowers, an assistant professor at the University of Alaska Southeast, joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss an upcoming Small Vessel Operator class starting May 19. The four-day course, open to beginners and experienced boaters, covers boat maintenance, safety, and emergency procedures. Listen here:

For more information, including a QR code to register for the class, click here

The post Registration now open for small vessel operator course appeared first on KCAW.

The NEA told the Sitka Fine Arts Camp that its project no longer “aligned with the priorities of the President,” which include celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and “fostering AI competency.” The camp serves roughly 800 students from 43 communities around Alaska each summer. It has received NEA funding almost every year since 2004. (KCAW file photo)

The National Endowment for the Arts notified the camp on May 2 that it was withdrawing $60,000 in funding it awarded last fall.

Camp director Roger Schmidt says the loss is not going to affect operations this summer as much as it will affect the future of the program.

“We’ve been receiving funding from the National Endowment since 2004 almost annually,” said Schmidt. “So if this is the beginning of the end, it’s going to have a really significant and continual impact on our ability toprovide high quality arts experiences to Alaska kids.”

The Sitka Fine Arts Camp opens in June. 800 elementary-, middle-, and high school students from 43 Alaskan communities and from around the country will transform the typically-quiet downtown campus into a hive of music, dance, theater, and visual arts. The camp provides $150,000 in financial aid to students, and will cover that obligation out of reserves. It will also cover instructor salaries out of reserves. For Schmidt, the bottom line is about the kids.

“We have seen that the arts and its intersection with youth is one of the most powerful ways that kids can feel like they matter, they can be heard, they can be seen, they can feel good about who they are as they form community and friends,” he said.

The camp’s funding request to the NEA is straightforward: “To support teaching artist fees in the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, a multidisciplinary arts camp for Alaskan youth.” In its termination notice, the National Endowment for the Arts stated that the camp’s project no longer aligns with the priorities of the President, which include celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, supporting the economic development of Asian-American communities, and making the District of Columbia safe and beautiful. There’s also language about disaster recovery, helping veterans, tribal communities, and “fostering AI competency.”

Schmidt says it’s not likely that the Sitka Fine Arts Camp could conform to anything on this list. For him, the unstated benefit of the camp is mental health, in an era when kids still feel the residual effects of the isolation they experienced through the pandemic.

“And we have kids coming from communities that feel like the camp is their home away from home,” said Schmidt. “It’s their lifeline. Is their favorite place on Earth. I think that’s just another way of saying it’s what makes them feel well.”

The camp also receives support from the Alaska State Council on the Arts, which itself is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, Schmidt says the camp has had a higher-than-usual number of cancellations – many the children of federal workers who’ve lost their jobs and are leaving Alaska, or are otherwise unable to afford camp.

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