A sow and her two cubs splash along the Chilkoot River recently. Scenes like this have drawn large crowds of bear watchers, rekindling discussion of how best to manage the area.
August 1970
Stevens seeking aid for boat harbor
Senator Ted Stevens announced Thursday that the Corps of Engineers will give favorable consideration to the immediate improvement and expansion of the Haines boat harbor.
The announcement came by telegram reported by Juneau radio station KJNO to this newspaper.
“The facilities at Haines are reportedly among those most in need of improvement in the state at this time,” the Alaska senator said. “I have asked the Corps to give me an adequate recommendation of the need for improvement in the boat harbor,” said Stevens.
August 1995
Geddes gets $104 million to abandon Windy Craggy
Geddes Resources Ltd. of Vancouver will receive a government compensation package valued at $103.8 million in exchange for abandoning its mineral claims at Windy Craggy Mountain.
The deal was announced Friday by British Columbia premier Mike Harcourt and heralded by both government and mining officials as a productive end to a financial dispute that had lingered since the mine site was declared part of a provincial wilderness park in 1993.
Developers of the controversial copper mine, located 150 miles northwest of Haines, had planned to ship ore through the Chilkat Valley. The region has since been designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
August 2010
‘Bear jams’ and crowd control at issue
Volunteers and some residents who live near Chilkoot River are calling on law enforcement officials to start ticketing bear viewers and motorists who disregard the area’s rules.
State lawmen responsible for the area, however, are resisting that approach.
Bob Deck, a state campground host at Chilkoot, said traffic jams caused by bear viewers, or “bear jams,” have been commonplace along the one-mile stretch of riverside road since August and peaked Sunday when Canadian visitation jumped with the Discovery Day holiday.
In the two hours starting at noon, about 180 vehicles packed the road, bringing traffic to a halt. Unable to move forward or back, motorists simply parked their vehicles in the road, and headed for a look at the bears.