The Haines Borough Assembly heard from more than 40 people Tuesday about the University of Alaska’s proposed 13,000-acre timber sale, but more questions were raised than answered.
Assembly member Heather Lende said until the university sends a representative to Haines, the community is in the dark.
“I think that even by announcing this sale in the media before contacting us kind of put us on back heels,” Lende said. “And then to give us a very brief time to comment…I think we don’t even know. Right now the measurable timber, we don’t how much of that is actually going to be logged.”
Assembly member Sean Maidy, who is “personally not a fan” of the sale, said he didn’t know how the assembly could legally oppose the university’s plans. The timber the university plans to log is on private land in the borough’s general use zone where industrial logging is a use by right.
“What can I do to stop this? We’re supposed to uphold the code that we write,” Maidy said. “I don’t think we have ground to stand on.”
Several community members, including Donnie Turner, George Campbell, Doug Olerud, Chris Thorgesen and Gabe Thomas, asked the assembly to follow code; some warned about lawsuits. Sherri Maust asked the assembly to make good business decisions.
Assembly member Brenda Josephson, who is in favor of the sale, quoted Martin Luther King Jr., pleading with the assembly to follow code and uphold the rule of law. “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity,” she read.
Referencing the quote, Lende said, “Even commenting tonight for or against it would be acting with stupidity and ignorance because we don’t know. We don’t know so much about this timber sale,” she said.
Mayor Jan Hill said representatives from the University of Alaska, the state Division of Forestry and the Mental Health Trust land office will be in Haines at 6:30 p.m. on April 26 at the Chilkat Center to discuss the sale and answer questions.
Community and assembly members asked the borough to request the university extend its comment period that ends on April 19 until after representatives visit the community.
Josephson said she thought the borough didn’t have the authority to interfere with the university’s timeline.
Assembly member Tresham Gregg said he thought Haines hasn’t scratched the surface in building the tourism industry before industrial logging is introduced in the valley.
“We haven’t even started to make an economy with who we are and what we have,” Gregg said.
Some community members, like Thom Ely, said they were worried that clear-cut logging would negatively impact tourism. “I believe the borough has everything to lose and nothing to gain from this decision,” Ely said.
Haynes Tormey said tourists are interested and curious about logging because “it’s what makes Alaska Alaska.” Michael Hoy said the community can’t live on tourism alone.
Others like Tony Strong, Nancy Berland and Kathleen Menke expressed concerns about clear-cutting and threats to wildlife and salmon. Kip and Patty Kermoian, Heidi Robichaud, Dan Egolf and Katey Palmer said they preferred selective cuts over clear-cutting.
Rob Goldberg said he would like to see wood processing facilities come back to Haines to keep local timber in the valley.
Eric Holle said it’s a mistake to export the local timber to a foreign buyer. “Exporting unprocessed raw logs is like cutting your own throat,” he said.
Assembly member Stephanie Scott said she thought the borough shouldn’t rule out the possibility of introducing pellet manufacturing to town to keep some of the timber local.
Community member John Norton said he was concerned about the boom and bust cycle of logging communities. Jessica Plachta said a 10-year boom could cause a pretty big bust.
Assembly member Tom Morphet said a lot of the money in the community in the 1960s and 70s came from sawmills, not from logging.
But other community members like Elaine Bell, Ryan Cook, Jack Smith Jr. and Marty Smith disagreed and said this timber sale would provide needed employment, boost the economy and allow young families to stay in Haines.
“The forest is our garden,” said Jack Smith. “Do you guys let your garden rot on the vine? Our forest is ripe, we need to take care of it.”
Forester Roy Josephson said he thinks the assembly should start supporting business. Others accused the assembly of being “anti-anything” and not listening to constituents.
Morphet said the university must be in dire need of money to propose such a large sale on land that the institution has been holding onto for decades. He suggested the borough write a letter to the Alaska Legislature imploring them to adequately fund the University of Alaska. Most of the money from the timber sale would go to the university’s scholarship funds.
He also suggested the borough request the university postpone the timber sale past July, when representatives plan to complete the sale with an international buyer, to work out an agreement.
“It disturbs me that the university is not at this meeting,” Morphet said.
Gregg suggested the borough send a representative to the university before they visit Haines at the end of the month, but assembly members said they wouldn’t have a position to communicate to officials.
Lende read a statement from the Klukwan Village Council that said they object to the sale for a lack of information, and do not want raw resources to go to a foreign company.
Mayor Hill said she would draft a letter to the university asking them to extend the comment period until the end of April. She said she would also work with borough manager Debra Schnabel to incorporate her ideas to encourage the university to bring their best practices to Haines. She said Haines would be open to the idea of a land swap.
The letter will come to the assembly for approval at its April 10 meeting.