The board members of Haines Port Development Council are, for sure, an odd combination. All three have been on opposite sides of many issues in Haines for many years. The one constant for all three has been their interest in making Haines a better place. To that end we have created “Haines Port Development Council.”
You can see our web page at http://www.hainesalaskaport.com.
The only reason the port has not had more activity is it simply has not been advertised. Now with the increased mining activity all over the north it is time to advertise our Haines port. If only 10 percent of the proposed mining takes place in the Yukon, the spillover from other ports will keep the Haines port a very busy place.
The mines bringing ore to Haines to be shipped out through our port, one must remember, will need goods and supplies shipped in. So the ripple effect will help much to the economy.
The way ore shipping is done today is a clean business. Ore trucks are covered and the way ore is handled at the docks is clean. The trans-shipment of ore, goods and supplies may be cleaner than our treasured tourism business. After all, a comparative few trucks on the truck route is less disruption than a thousand or so people suddenly downtown. Also the transshipment will be year round not just summer. How many locals remember Haines with a year-round economy?
Bill Kurz