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Friday
June 21, 2013
Giants Bubble Netting
Two humpback whales bubble netting between Mountain Point and Herring Cove recently during the Annual King Salmon Derby. Whales create bubble nets to corral and contain planktonic prey into a small area so that they can more efficiently scoop them up in their large filter-feeding mouths.
Front Page Photo By JEAN BROOKS
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Ketchikan: Gravina Access Project Open House and Hearing Presents Six New Build Alternatives By MARY KAFUFFMAN - The Alaska Department of Transportation will host a public open house and hearing on Wednesday, July 17, 2013, at the Ted Ferry Civic Center in Ketchikan. Alaska Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration representatives will be on hand at the open house to answer questions about the new Gravina Access Project Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and provide information on the environmental review process.
Alternative C3-4 – Airport Bridge with 200 feet of vertical navigational clearance. The construction costs in 2008 dollars is estimated $240 million.
Graphic courtesy ADOT&PF
The Draft SEIS presents the potential environmental impacts of six build alternatives for Gravina Access and a No Action Alternative. The representatives will also receive oral testimony at the public hearing. Comments on the new Gravina Access Project Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) will be accepted during the open house and hearing.
The purpose of the Gravina Access Project is to improve surface transportation between Revillagigedo (Revilla) Island, home of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, City of Ketchikan and the City of Saxman, and Gravina Island, the location of the Ketchikan International Airport and adjoining lands that offer recreational and development potential.
The opening of the Gravina Island Highway also provides access to some private lands and the Ketchikan Gateway Borough’s developable lands north and south of the airport reserve, and to the Bostwick Lake Road and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service’s timber lands. According to information provided the Alaska Department of Transportation,, the need for improving access is threefold:
• To provide the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and its residents more reliable, efficient, convenient, and cost-effective access for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians to Borough lands and other developable or recreational lands on Gravina Island in support of the Borough’s adopted land use plans.
• To improve the convenience and reliability of access to Ketchikan International Airport for passengers, airport tenants, emergency personnel and equipment, and shipment of freight.
• To promote environmentally sound, planned long-term economic development on Gravina Island.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) made the new 2013 Gravina Access Project Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) available today for public review and comment. During the 45-day comment period, the public has a right to provide feedback through written comments or through public hearing statements. Comments may be the most important contribution from citizens. The 45 day public comment period will close August 13, 2013.
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The Alaska Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), developed the Gravina Access Project to improve public access between Revillagigedo Island and Gravina Island. In 2004, the department and Federal Highway Administration issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement identifying a preferred alternative that would require two bridges across the Tongass Narrows at Pennock Island. The 2004 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) examined nine build alternatives and the No Build Alternative. The nine build alternatives included six bridge alternatives and three ferry alternatives. The Final EIS which was distributed to the public and federal and state agencies on July 30, 2004, identified Alternative F1 as the FHWA’s and DOT&PF’s Preferred Alternative. Alternative F1, selected in 2004, would have crossed Tongass Narrows via Pennock Island with two bridges: a 200-foot bridge over the East Channel and 120-foot bridge over the West Channel. FHWA issued a Record of Decision on September 15, 2004, and identified Alternative F1 as the Selected Alternative. However, three years later, in 2007, then-Governor Sarah Palin directed the department to look for the most fiscally responsible alternative instead of proceeding any further with the project. Given the change in the proposed action, the Alaska Department of Transportation was then required to prepare a new SEIS in order to propose a new course of action.
Although the F1 project was halted, the 2004 Preferred Alternative F1 included a road segment on Gravina Island to connect the bridge over West Channel to the Airport Access Road. The road segment, referred to as the Gravina Island Highway, started approximately 3.4 miles south of the airport runway and continued north to the intersection of the Airport Access Road and Lewis Reef Road. The DOT&PF had moved forward with construction of the Gravina Island Highway prior to Governor Palin’s announcement and completed construction of the highway in the fall 2008. The Gravina Island Highway is now open and provides public access to lands on Gravina Island.
Now in 2013, during the new process, the department has identified six "reasonable" build alternatives in the new Draft SEIS, which comprise of two bridge and four ferry options that would improve access to Gravina Island from Ketchikan. The department will now review and use the public’s comments as a basis for selecting a preferred alternative access to include in the Final SEIS. - More...
Friday PM - June 21, 2013
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Southeast Alaska: Teen dies in "dune buggy" crash - Alaska State Troopers reported that 17-year-old Paulette James of Port Protection suffered fatal injuries while operating a "dune buggy" style ATV Thursday afternoon.
Klawock-based Troopers on Prince of Wales Island were notified of the fatal ATV crash in the Lab Bay area near Port Protection at approximately 4:47 pm Thursday. Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) from Klawock responded to the scene and began an investigation.
The initial investigation revealed the ATV had rolled over into a 25 foot embankment with two people on board. The second occupant was identified as 58-year old Kenneth Morfeld of Port Protection. It was reported that James, who suffered fatal injuries, was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. - More...
Friday PM - June 21, 2013
Alaska: NOAA reminds whale watchers to heed 100-yard rule - The owner and operator of an Alaskan charter vessel has been fined $5,000 for coming too close to a pod of humpback whales, in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The violation was investigated by NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement and prosecuted by the Enforcement Section, NOAA’s Office of General Counsel.
Administrative Law Judge Susan L. Biro handed down her decision June 13, 2013, finding that Geoffrey A. Wilson, owner/operator of Alaska Yacht Charters, was reckless in approaching within 100 yards of a pod of humpback whales in his charter vessel, Alaska Story, on July 16, 2010.
“This decision is very timely because it’s the height of whale watching season,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Brown of NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement’s Alaska Division, which investigated the incident after witnesses aboard another vessel came forward with photographic evidence. “Perhaps other vessel operators will be more aware of these necessary protective regulations as they strive to give their customers the best on-water experience possible.” - More..
Friday PM - June 21, 2013.
Ketchikan: Two Southeast Communities Awarded Federal Woody Biomass Grants - Two Southeast Alaska communities have been awarded $178,000 in grants for renewable energy projects. Under the grant program, the Chilkoot Indian Association in Haines will receive $35,000, and the Ketchikan Gateway Borough will receive $143,363, which will be used to fund the design and engineering work for biomass boilers at the Ketchikan International Airport and Ketchikan High School.
U.S. Forest Service U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced yesterday the awarding of
The Woody Biomass Utilization Grants which encourages the clearing of dead trees and other potential forest fire fuel from national forest lands to create renewable energy for heating and electricity, and protect communities and critical infrastructure from wildfires.
The projects will use woody material removed from forests during projects such as wildfire prevention and beetle-killed trees, and process woody biomass in bioenergy facilities to produce green energy for heating and electricity. The awardees will use funds from the Woody Biomass Utilization Grant program to further the planning of such facilities by funding the engineering services necessary for final design, permitting and cost analysis. - More...
Friday PM - June 21, 2013
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Update in Progress
 Open Letter: Man-made dangers lurking in unexpected places By Tina R. McPherson - Yesterday afternoon (June 16th), after stopping on Connell Lake Road, we let our dogs out of our truck to cool off in the river next to the road. The next five minutes proved nearly fatal to one of our dogs, as we saw him thrashing about with a beaver snare tightly wound around his neck. He was having difficulty breathing, and we had to pull his front paws up on a log to keep the noose from getting any tighter. The snare is made of cable, so a knife will not sever the line. We were fortunate to have a cell phone, we called the State Troopers who arrived at the scene and saved our dog's life. - More...
Wednesday PM - June 19, 2013
RE: Taxation & Spending By Douglas J. Thompson - I just read Mr. Arriola's letter to the editor on the subject of local government and our various comments about it. I would like to clarify a few points. I have run for Ketchikan city/borough government (at the time they were combined positions). Out of seven running two of us chose to put forth concrete proposals of what we wished to accomplish upon election. So I am on record with positive solutions. In my letters due to limited space I often just assume the reader can figure out the right approach when the current wrong one is highlighted. I feel I have offered my services and as an American have the right to cry foul when I see it in government. - More...
Wednesday PM - June 19, 2013
U.S.Immigration legislation By Al Johnson -
Mike Harpold submitted a 'Point of View' to the Ketchikan Daily News, encouraging our congressional members to look closely with a read of the Senate immigration legislation, which in his opinion lacks any real enforcement or assessment of the root problems that have plagued immigration law for some time. and make substantial changes to address these weaknesses. - More...
Wednesday PM - June 19, 2013
Replace IRS With FairTax By Dr. Walter Wesley Snyder V - Now is the time, more than ever, for us, The People, to act and let our Congressperson hear our voice. The IRS' recent incident is a catalyst that We must use to remove unfair taxes imposed on us, The People. In fact, we should remove the IRS from the tax picture as it is only used for political and social control. - More...
Wednesday PM - June 19, 2013
Sign up to vote on the oil-tax giveaway By Bella Hammond -
People across the state are gathering 40,000 petition signatures, needed by mid-July, so Alaskans can vote to reject or approve the recent oil tax giveaway. While it makes no sense to give away billions of state dollars for nothing in return, there is a larger issue -- another attack on the Permanent Fund. - More...
Tuesday AM - June 18, 2013
Help Needed By Sandy Harris -
Karen Galloway needs your help. She was in an accident on May 27th and has 3rd degree burns from this accident. She has been unable to work since because of the severity of the burns and it is not known when she will be able to return to work. - More...
Tuesday AM - June 18, 2013
Taxation & Spending By Ken Arriola -
Just to weigh-in a little on the Municipal Tax/ Budget issue as of late. To Mr's Hanger, Thompson, Dial, Plute and Johnson...... when your names start appearing on the election ballot, perhaps those Elected Officials and the Voters might start taking you seriously. - More...
Tuesday AM - June 18, 2013
Thank you By Heather Muench -
The Ketchikan Humane Society wishes to thank the incredibly generous individuals and organizations who have been so supportive of us over the past two months. Since we rely entirely on donations to support our rescue work, our low-cost spay and neuter program, and our free feral cat altering program, none of what we do could happen without this support. Our goal is for every animal in Ketchikan and Southern Southeast Alaska to be loved and wanted. We have made great progress in reducing the numbers of animals abandoned or euthanized in our community every year. Because we are a 501(c)(3), all donations are tax deductible, and since none of our volunteers or foster families are paid, all monies can be used for care for animals. - More...
Tuesday AM - June 18, 2013
Sealaska One Step Closer... By Dominic Salvato - I take exception to Congressman Young's comment concerning the Sealaska bill (S-340), Sealaska One Step Closer to Receiving Their Full Land Entitlement June 13, 2013 "The legislation will ensure that Sealaska Corp. continues to meet the economic and cultural needs of its shareholders"... - More...
Tuesday AM - June 18, 2013
Abortion By Glenn Mollette -
Celebrating family on these summer holidays or any day is always a special day. However, all holidays are tough days for many. While millions celebrate others wonder about what might have been. Some have lost a child while others made tragic decisions to end a life. - More...
Tuesday AM - June 18, 2013
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