There are still two vacant seats, but the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Advisory Council is scheduled to convene in mid-October.
At minimum, the 12-member council is supposed to meet quarterly, but it hasn’t had a meeting since 2022 according to a state meetings database.
The governor appoints people to the council, which is made up of members of the Haines Borough government, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and local tribes. There are also seats for business and industry, conservation and other state departments. Established in 1982, it is tasked with advising the state’s Department of Natural Resources on managing the preserve.
Membership waned in recent years and the council failed to reach a quorum when it tried to meet in 2023. Gov. Mike Dunleavy tried to dissolve it in early 2024. But the legislature rejected that order after a public outcry, including from representatives of the Chilkat Indian Village, Sealaska Corporation, and the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
All three testified that the loss of the advisory council, which includes two seats for local tribes, would mean no advisory body with Chilkat and Chilkoot people on it would be involved in decision-making on land both rely heavily on for subsistence activities.
One newly-filled seat is held by Andy Hedden, who said he was nominated by Haines Mayor Tom Morphet and then appointed by Dunleavy. A state database shows his tenure starting on Aug. 6, 2025 and ending July 1, 2027.
Hedden, who previously served on the council, said he does not have a ‘burning agenda’ for his time on the council but there is one thing he would like to see happen.
“I would love to see an update to the management plan,” he said.
When asked about the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation’s recent trespass notices posted on cabins and moose stands in the preserve and whether the council would be discussing them, Hedden said he hasn’t yet seen an agenda, so he’s not sure what the council will be discussing.
The Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve advisory council will meet on Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. via videoconference.
Current members of the council are:
- Tom Morphet: Haines Borough (Chair)
- Stephan B. Lewis: United State Fish and Wildlife Service
- VACANT: Upper Lynn Canal Fish and Game Advisory Committee
- Brian Willard: Chilkat Indian Village
- Danita Aguilar: Klukwan Inc.
- Rick Green: Alaska Department of Fish and Game
- Andy Hedden: Business and Industry
- William Thomas, Sr.: Chilkoot Indian Association
- VACANT: Haines Borough Assembly
- Jim Stickler: Conservation Organization
- Greg Palmieri: Division of Forestry, DNR
- Preston Kroes: Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, DNR