August 15, 2014 – Bear festival ready to go, with or without star attractions
On the eve of the Chilkat Valley’s first bear festival, one group of guests was conspicuous by its absence early this week: bears.
“The bears aren’t here,” said Ann Puffer, an organizer of the two-day event that starts at Harriett Hall Friday evening. “Speedy (a 10-year-old sow ear-tagged #235) is the only one that’s been active at the river this year.”
But don’t worry yet, it’s still early in the bear season, said Anthony Crupi, regional bear biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, who has studied brown bears along the Chilkoot River since 2000.
“This is about when things start to pick up. At this point in the year, we typically have one or two bears. I know we have two adult females out there and at least one cub,” said Crupi, who will share information about the local bears at the festival Friday night, including six years of data from radio-collared Chilkoot bears.
By the third week in August, there are usually four or five bears along the river, Crupi said. Numbers increase until peaking in mid-September, when 15 or more individuals can be counted on a single night, he said.
Worries about missing bears aren’t unique to Haines this year. Yakutat residents are saying the same thing. Sightings may be low because warm spring temperatures generated abundant vegetative browse.
Also, last year’s pink salmon return on the Chilkoot River – at 8,195, the lowest number since 1996 – wasn’t good for cub survival.
As of press time Wednesday, 11,000 pinks had passed Chilkoot weir according to fisheries biologists in Haines.
This time of year, brown bears might be along the Chilkoot Lake shoreline, Crupi said. Almost 100,000 spawning sockeye salmon have escaped into the lake, an unexpected jump from a run that was projected to be below the 10-year average escapement of 65,287 reds. Fish and Game aims to get between 38,000 and 86,000 spawning sockeye in the lake each year.
This year’s large sockeye escapement may be attracting relatively more bears to Chilkoot Lake, Crupi said.
“In July and early August, most bears are on the lake or somewhere else. They’re on walkabout for the best places where sockeye spawn,” Crupi said. “The berries are also good right now and it’s about 10 days before the pinks (salmon) ripen up and spawn.”
The “Celebration of Bears” festival is a free, family-oriented event to learn about bears and participate in fun activities.
August 12, 1999 – Daughter finds mom after 13-year search
Stephanie Slosson’s 13-year quest to find her birth mother ended in April, and the two are visiting face to face for the first time in 31 years.
“I’ve been searching for years, mostly through the Internet. I finally hired a (investigator) and she was able to open records and contact my mom,” Slosson said in an interview this week.
Slosson, who was adopted shortly after birth, said she’d been searching for her birth mother for more than a dozen years. “Four years ago, I (got more serious),” she said. “I need to know my medical history, and (I was) curious. It’s just a basic need to know one’s roots,” she said.
Slosson’s independent search was complicated by laws in Washington, her birth state, that kept her from knowing her biological mother’s name, location of her home, or any information that could be used to discover her identity. “If I’d had more information, like if I’d had the decree of adoption (I could have found her), but my (adopted) parents didn’t keep that,” Slosson said. Her mother was still living in Washington when she contacted Slosson.
The intermediary was able to locate Slosson’s mother with relative ease compared to Slosson’s independent attempts. “We had so little to go on,” she said.
After locating Slosson’s mother, the intermediary offered her a chance to sign forms that would allow the release of her name and personal information to Slosson.
When paperwork that would allow the two to obtain information about each other was filed, Slosson’s mother called her – on April Fool’s Day. “I thought: this must be a joke. It really must be a joke,” Slosson said.
Slosson’s birth mom, who asked to be identified as Maureen, said she was shocked and thrilled to hear from Slosson, as she had no idea what happened to her daughter after the adoption. “In those days, they didn’t tell you a thing,” she said.
Mother and daughter are visiting Slosson’s home in Haines this week. “We’re getting to know each other. (I’m getting to know) her life and family and pets…It’s a wonderful, joyful thing,” Maureen said. “Our movements and hands are quite the same.”
Slosson said she’s willing to help anyone else trying to locate a biological child or parent, free of charge. “I’ve got a lot of resources,” she said.
August 22, 1974 – Trouble on oiled waters
Haines got a “pilot-project-sized” taste last week of the fascinating possibilities that oil development can bring to a port, when a cruise ship left an oil slick in Portage Cove and created a flurry of employment for local people.
Nowhere near the size of the problem that could arise in Valdez should a major spill occur from one of the super-tankers which will carry oil from Valdez to other West Coast ports, the spill occurred some time Thursday prior to the Royal Viking Star’s departure about 6 p.m.
First noticed about 7:30 p.m. and reported by fisherman Dan Hale, the oil had come into the Small Boat Harbor in sufficient quantity to cause concern among the fishing and boating community and prompt harbormaster Ted Goebel to call the Coast Guard in Juneau.
The ship had notified the Coast Guard that it had inadvertently pumped “25 gallons of oil from bilges” over the side. While no official estimate of the size of the spill has been announced by the Coast Guard, estimates have run up to 500 gallons, and possibly 1,000.
Coast Guard officials said at press time that the evidence in the case has been gathered, that the case is still under investigation, and that a final verdict concerning responsibility has not yet been handed down.
If the ship is found guilty, a civil penalty will be assessed against the ship, a Coast Guard spokesman said. Maximum penalty is $5,000. In addition, the owners are responsible for cleaning up the environment.
As a result of their responsibility, the insurance company for the ship asked for a local person who would coordinate clean-up efforts, and Allan Gregg was chosen.
“Had there been a containment boom in the area,” Gregg said, “efforts could have been successful to contain and isolate the oil and prevent its getting onto beaches. However, the nearest boom available was brought by Coast Guard helicopter Friday afternoon, and by that time oil had contaminated the beaches and some 67 boats in the harbor – of which 44 were commercial boats.”
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Gregg directed efforts to clear oil from the water by using the boom and soaking up the oil with absorbent materials. At the same time, crews began to scrub the sticky oil from the boats in the harbor – crews of three went by skiff and two persons scrubbed using solvent and emulsifier on scrapers and scrub brushes while the third person kept the skiff positioned.
By 10 p.m. Saturday, 17 commercial fishing vessels had been cleaned and were able to leave the harbor. Sunday work started again at 6 a.m., and by noon – the start of the weekly fishing period – only six commercial fishing boats were left to clean. By 1:30 p.m., all the fishing boats that intended to leave the harbor to fish were ready.
“We had a very good turnout of local people,” Gregg said. “In general, they seemed to feel that an important job had to be done, and they came out, rolled up their sleeves, and did a terrific job.”
Sunday afternoon, Mike Mitchell, oil clean-up expert from Marine Oil Pickup Service (MOPS) of Seattle, who had been engaged by the ship’s insurance company, arrived and took charge of the operation with Gregg as his executive.
On Thursday, Mitchell said that the last few pleasure cruisers remained to be cleaned and that the boom had been removed from the water and scrubbed.
Oil on rocks of the boat harbor jetty and the beach was set afire by torch, and while the rocks are still dark and discolored, Mitchell said that the residual oil should not come off into the water at high tide.
The clean-up job was monitored by Coast Guard Lt. Bryant Nodine and Brad Waite of the state Department of Environmental Conservation..
Jeff David of the Lynn Canal Gillnetters Association said that the cruise ship’s insurance company has agreed to take care of fishermen’s claims resulting from the oil spill. David also said that while the association has secured legal advice, no suit is now contemplated.
“Allan Gregg has done an admirable job in getting the commercial fishermen out for the weekend fishing period,” David said.