A state road project designed to upgrade and improve 22 miles of the Haines Highway is slated to begin spring of 2014, pending approval of the project’s environmental analysis. From miles 3.5 to 25.3, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration are proposing to straighten curves, widen shoulders, increase sight distances, replace the […]
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Reciprocal fish licenses under fire
The Upper Lynn Canal Fish and Game Advisory Committee will recommend the state discontinue its reciprocal fishing license program with Canada, but postponed discussion of how to deal with the reported overharvesting of Dungeness crab in Lynn Canal. During the Feb. 22 meeting, committee member Julia Heinz moved to write letters to the Board of Fish and Game […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
LCC right to recruit for board elections
Dave Werner’s letter correctly identified many issues that Lynn Canal Conservation (LCC) considers threatening to our fish, wildlife, and waters, including highways (road to Juneau), industrial-scale corporate logging, high-sulfide mineral deposits adjacent to anadramous waters (Windy Craggy, Constantine Mines), and hydro development at Chilkoot Lake. He could have included spraying herbicides along the Chilkat River, or damage to spawning […]
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Moose, dogs entangled in traps
A young cow moose that was reported trapped in a snare set for a wolf along the upper Chilkat River Jan. 3 was destroyed and donated to the Haines Volunteer Fire Department, said state trooper Ken VanSpronsen. VanSpronsen said the state Fish and Game biologists recommended killing the moose in the snare above Mule Meadows. “Based on […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Keep dirty mining trucks in Canada
Haines, wake up! The Chilkat River bridge needs attention! Since when? The powers that be in Haines evidently are dealing with the possibility of bringing in huge, heavy-duty trucks and the Department of Transportation seems to be going along with this future happening! I, for one, don’t need Canada to be using our town so they can […]
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Tracking eagles by satellite: Birds to wear ‘backpacks’
A new study is aimed at gathering more information on where the eagles that show up here in November come from, and where they go when they leave. For years, the pat answer to that question has been “other parts of Southeast Alaska, British Columbia and as far south as Washington state.” Science teacher Pam […]
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DOT planning beefier bridge, road for trucks
The Alaska Department of Transportation is designing the Chilkat River Bridge to the highest industrial standard in anticipation of possible large shipments, Haines Borough Manager Mark Earnest said during last week’s planning commission meeting. Chuck Correa, regional pre-construction engineer for DOT, confirmed the bridge will likely be designed to handle heavier loads, but clarified the final decision is pending a […]
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Eagle count finds 855, fraction of total gathering
How many bald eagles are in Haines this week? Counts conducted around the Chilkat Valley on Nov. 3 found 855, but that’s only a fraction of the total. Since 2009, surveys of eagles have been done by Haines High School science students, using spotting scopes at 10 locations along the local road system. The counts […]
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Study tracks salmon use by other animals
Eagles aren’t the only critters out there feeding on salmon. Dr. Taal Levi spent last summer in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve quantifying the importance of salmon to terrestrial wildlife. Levi set up 20 motion-triggered cameras along the Chilkoot River, at Herman Creek, along the Kelsall and Klehini drainages, in the upper Chilkat River and at […]
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Canal salmon value exceeds $15 million: Hatchery chum harvest soars
A hatchery chum harvest nearly 50 percent larger than last year’s record combined with the largest sockeye catch in 20 years propelled the value of the Lynn Canal drift gillnet fishery to $15.4 million in 2012. That made the local commercial fishing season among the most lucrative in the past 30 years. “It was a big year […]