Haines had fewer visitors in 2021 than in any other year for the last two decades, except 2020, according to a report compiled by Haines Borough tourism director Steven Auch. But Auch and members of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) are optimistic that in 2022 the borough could see a return to pre-pandemic tourism levels — or […]
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Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly approves motorized trail application, introduces yurt ordinance
The Haines Borough Assembly in December approved an application for a state grant to fund a motorized recreation trail near Lily Lake Road. The assembly voted 4-2 in favor of the application, with assembly members Caitie Kirby and Tyler Huling opposed. The trail would be a two-mile loop geared towards residents learning to ride ATVs, snow machines, […]
Posted inNews
Borough holds public hearing on motorized Lily Lake trail
Borough staff heard public input last week on a proposed grant application for a two-mile motorized trail near Lily Lake Road. Comments reflected disagreement about the project, with some residents voicing support for more recreational opportunities near town and others expressing concerns about ecological impacts and conflicts between motorized and non-motorized users. The trail – […]
Posted inNews
Haines Index for 2021
Haines Friends of Recycling recycled eight, 40-foot vans of paper, plastic, metals and electronics and a 24-foot van of fish nets totaling 200,000 pounds. The Haines Borough Public Library lent out 30,390 books, DVDs and magazines. People used the library’s internet services 19,508 times and used its rooms for programs and meetings 734 times. Olerud’s Market Center […]
Posted inNews, Housing
Could a Sitka housing program work in Haines?
A nonprofit in Sitka is building “perpetually affordable” homes to combat a housing shortage and keep young people from leaving town. Members of Haines’ housing working group are wondering whether a similar program would suit the borough. The Sitka Community Land Trust (SCLT) has built and sold three cottages in the last two years, with […]
Posted inNews
2021 sees rebuilding, recovery from disaster, pandemic
Recovery and rebuilding were the watchwords of 2021 as residents navigated life in Haines among the wreckage left by the December storms and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Also in this year’s news, the borough secured a $20 million grant to repair the Lutak Dock, a new borough manager was hired, incidents of bear and human interactions, including […]
Posted inNews
Proposed yurt regulation advances to assembly
The Planning Commission voted 5-2 to forward to the Haines Borough Assembly a draft ordinance that would codify definitions of yurts and container homes and restrict them in the townsite. The proposal, which was recommended to the commission in November by the Government Affairs and Services (GAS) Committee, would allow yurts in the townsite’s rural residential and […]
Posted inNews
At-home COVID tests available at administration building
The Haines Borough is now providing at-home COVID-19 tests for residents who have returned from travel. “The focus on returning travel is to acknowledge that with very little community spread, the greater concern for transmission is people traveling to Haines,” read a Dec. 15 statement from the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The borough is limiting test kits […]
Posted inNews
Residents launch food policy project
Will hold public workshop in February A team of local residents is launching an effort to collect information about food production, storage and supply in the Upper Lynn Canal. The effort is part of a project, led by the Homer-based Alaska Food Policy Council and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to improve food production […]
Posted inThank You Letters
Thanks for help with Main Street Holiday Tree
A very special thank you is in order to all the people and organizations that helped with the Haines Borough Holiday Tree on Main Street this year. From timing, to weather, to the craziness that is the holidays, many things fell in our way. But, as we always do, the community came together to make sure the […]