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On the Three Lakes trail system south of Petersburg, hikers can follow miles of mostly boardwalk pathways around lakes and trees that lead deep into the Tongass National Forest on Mitkof Island. Some sections of the trail system got upgraded this summer, with help from seasonal workers contracted by the U.S. Forest Service. Recreation Specialist Tyler Shaw said some of the wooden boards that make up the Three Lakes trail system were installed in the 90s. That style of trail is called...
Petersburg's Rainforest Festival is back, after several years with dispersed year-round programming but without the customary fall festival. Taking place mostly on the weekend after Labor Day, September 3-7, the festival will once again offer an immersive celebration of local ecology, art, science, and locally harvested food. "We're really excited to have it back," says Sunny Rice, one of the festival's organizers. "While the dispersed events were lovely, it left us kind of without a Rainforest...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, parent agency of the U.S. Forest Service, announced Wednesday that it is moving ahead with plans to rescind a rule that has restricted logging and construction on millions of acres of federal lands in the American West for more than two decades. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a written statement that the agency intends to open public comments Friday on its proposal to end the so-called “Roadless Rule,” an act that will affect as much as 45 million acres of federal land as well as mil... Full story
The opportunity is growing for home builders in Petersburg to use locally milled Tongass timber in their new building projects. The sawmill on Falls Creek Road - Alaska Timber and Truss, owned in partnership by Brett Martin and Mike Duman - is offering complete home and cabin kits using locally harvested timber. The operation produces solid wall and timber frame cabin kits and larger stick-built home packages. "The cabin kits are kind of more of a traditional size ... generally speaking, under...
"The best architecture reflects someone's worldview." This idea was one of the first things to come to mind for Linda Millard when describing the home she designed for herself and her husband Sam Bergeron on a quiet, wooded lot along Sandy Beach Road. Tall trees rise around the house that the two-a practicing architect and contractor-designed and built themselves; its charred-wood exterior blends into the deep tones of the Tongass rainforest, while broad windows open out toward the water...
The U.S. Forest Service has received approval to resume aviation operations in Southeast Alaska after a flight moratorium that halted much of the forest management work across the region's remote federal lands. "The Tongass National Forest has recently received approval to move forward with securing aviation support for its work," Paul Robbins Jr., Public Affairs Officer for the Tongass National Forest told the Petersburg Pilot on Friday. "Due to the geographic layout of Southeast Alaska and...
The recently passed budget reconciliation bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump last week, does not include U.S. Senator Mike Lee's (R-Utah) withdrawn proposal that could have potentially sold off areas of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests and parts of the Interior in Alaska. But even so, the Petersburg Borough is going on the record against selling public lands. At a meeting on Monday, assembly members and community members voiced support for the borough resolution that formall...
The U.S. Forest Service will seek to repeal a rule that has effectively blocked the logging of almost a third of America's national forests, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told a meeting of Western governors on Monday in New Mexico. The "Roadless Rule" has blocked the construction of new roads in wild areas of most states' national forests since 2001, when it was imposed in the closing days of President Bill Clinton's presidency. "In this administration, we are taking a look under the... Full story
A U.S. Senate committee has proposed selling more than 3 million acres of public lands in Alaska and several other Western states to support new housing development. The idea has alarmed conservation groups and others in Alaska who fear portions of, say, the Chugach or Tongass national forests, and other treasured areas would be auctioned off to developers. The proposed language in the budget reconciliation bill was released last week by the Republican leader of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. The...
What started as casual airplane conversation between strangers last fall blossomed into a community harvest this week that supplied Petersburg's traditional weavers with a year's supply of yellow cedar bark. Juneau-based Alaska Native artist Lily Hope was flying from Seattle to Juneau in November when she struck up a conversation with her seatmate, Brett Martin, co-owner of Alaska Timber and Truss, the Petersburg sawmill located on Falls Creek Road. Hope recalled, "He said, 'Oh, you use yellow...
May 1, 1925 – Some of the school children while playing ran across a cache this week in the brush in which there were over 100 pint bottles full of liquid at first thought to be beer. The news caused a wild stampede and soon the woods were full of those only too anxious to sample the goods. During the stampede one or two other small and select caches were discovered, and the rule seemed to be “finders keepers.” In a short time the city and federal officers were on the scene and the bottles were removed to the commissioner’s office, where t...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s transition report to the Trump administration accuses the Biden administration of carrying out a four-year assault on Alaska’s economy and that the Trump administration needs to repair the damage. Somehow in the equation for what constitutes creating economic opportunity and being pro-Alaska, the massive Willow project doesn’t count. Nor does the $10.1 billion in public investments in clean energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing. Nor does aiding Alaska’s visitor industry in a time of post-pandemic need. What about b...
It has been a very busy year filled with lots of successes. I hope all have had great and joy filled holidays, and I wish for you each a very happy and safe celebration as we welcome in the new year. Below is a brief summary of many of the accomplishments achieved in 2024 and a few things I am looking forward to working on in 2025. January started off with huge transitions after a record-breaking voter turnout and a resignation resulted in five, out of seven, new Council members being seated. The Council has been filled with seven citizens...
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...
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,...
On Friday, Oct. 11 Tongass Federal Credit Union hosted a silent auction and fundraiser to support Humanity in Progress a Petersburg non-profit focused on helping people within the community access food and basic needs as well as assisting those experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. "Tongass reached out to us because they said they have a mission of 'people helping people' and were going to be hosting their annual meetings here in Petersburg this year and the local staff in town had...
Travis Kukull receives a lot of messages from friends, family, and randos up and down the Upper Lynn Canal every year around this time. “People text me pictures of things all the time.” They take pictures of fungi and send them to Kukull’s phone to see if they’re edible. But Kukull is the first to admit he doesn’t know everything and that he’s not a scientist. “I’m just a chef, but I am a mushroom nerd,” he said. It’s true – Kukull has been a chef for 25 years. Right now, he owns Malo Nista Catering in Haines. But his fungal fascination reigns...
