KHNS - Haines

The federal government says 98% of rural Alaskans catch, hunt or gather at least some of their food. And much of that happens during the school year.

Now, students in Skagway are calling on their school district to adopt a policy that would let them take part in those activities — without it potentially counting against them.

The push originated with Ryder Calver, who is the treasurer of the Skagway student council. Calver said he’s gone moose hunting almost every year since he was six years old. But in his experience, taking part in an annual moose hunt eats up most of his allotted absences in one go – leaving little room for other absences later on.

“I’m gone for around 10 days each time, and the school only allows you to miss 15 days total per semester, whether that is a trip, you’re sick, excused or unexcused,” Calver said. “I got the idea to add a buffer.”

So this fall, Calver teamed up with Student Council Senior Parliamentarian Sam Munson to write a resolution they hope will push the school board in that direction.

Right now, students can be penalized after their fifteenth excused absence – unless they get a waiver from the superintendent or school board. The resolution makes a case for allowing students to take up to 7 “subsistence days” per semester, which wouldn’t count toward the 15 day limit.

The board’s policy committee took up the issue during a recent meeting. Munson, Calver and Student Council President Lina Hischer spoke, saying the policy should specifically provide flexibility around subsistence activities.

The fact that the current policy doesn’t do that “negatively affects kids who do subsistence hunt or gather,” Hischer said. “We want to make it more even, or equal.”

During the meeting, Skagway School District Superintendent Josh Coughran said the policy could be updated to mention subsistence activities – and to allow students to proactively request days off for a moose hunt or other trip that wouldn’t count against their attendance record.

In that case, he said subsistence days could be treated like travel days for sports or debates – which don’t count as absences.

“We know they’re not in school, but it’s on a school-sanctioned event. And so this would be the school sanctioning subsistence activities and not counting it against families,” Coughran said.

The board is set to discuss the issue at a meeting this week.

Coughran said in an email on Monday afternoon that it’s still “early days” for the idea. If the board decides to move forward with the proposal, it would go back to the policy subcommittee and then return to the full board for consideration.

Disclosure: Sam Munson, the student council parliamentarian, is the son of KHNS News Director Melinda Munson.

Before juvenile salmon make their way to the sea, they grow and feed in freshwater, including wetlands, for anywhere between a few months and several years.

But new research finds that as air temperatures rise with climate change, the water that flows through coastal Alaska’s ponds and marshes is warming rapidly, too. That could spell trouble for Pacific salmon, which can’t grow – or live – in waters above certain temperatures.

“I’ve never really hoped so much that I might be wrong,” said Amaryllis Adey, a researcher at Virginia Tech.

Adey is a co-author of the report, which was published in December in the journal Nature. The researchers compared nine years of water and air temperature data from 20 ponds near Yakutat and Cordova. They found that the water was keeping pace with increases in air temperatures.

That’s notable because it marks a departure from what’s happening with other freshwater ecosystems as temperatures rise, Adey said.

Past research shows that rivers and streams are warming more slowly than the air due to a range of factors, including that they move quickly and benefit from glacial runoff. Wetlands, meanwhile, are typically shallow, still, and more spread out across the landscape – leaving them more exposed to the air.

“It was really stark,” she said. If “one degree of air temperature results in one-degree increases in water temperature, that could be really concerning in the future.”

The researchers’ next step was using the historical data to model what might happen in the decades to come.

The researchers looked at two possible scenarios. One was a future in which humans continue producing greenhouse gases at the current rate. Adey called that the “business as usual scenario” and said it resulted in a “drastic increase” in water temperatures.

“It was like up to 22 degrees Celsius by the end of the century,” Adey said.

That’s about 71 degrees Fahrenheit, which is really warm – and dangerous – for these wetland ecosystems. Coho salmon, for instance, stop growing at around 68 F. And death becomes likely once temperatures surpass about 73 F.

Adey says it’s certainly possible that salmon would adapt. But if they can’t shift the timing of their migrations or habitat use, she said, “they won’t be able to continue to grow and survive in these systems that are very economically and culturally dependent on them.”

The second scenario was less grim. If humans continue emitting at current rates for another decade and then begin reducing carbon emissions, water temperatures would still rise. But they would be less likely to reach dangerous levels.

The study looked specifically at two areas – the Yakutat Forelands and the Copper River Delta. But the results have far-reaching implications, including in Southeast Alaska.

“We’d expect that there’s going to be kind of similar responses across that coastal region,” she said.

Other organisms, including algae and bottom-dwelling invertebrates, are also temperature sensitive, the study said. That means warmer water could be felt by the entire food chain, ranging from different fish species to migratory birds.

The state Department of Natural Resources is moving forward with its effort to overhaul the longstanding plan that dictates how it manages one of Alaska’s three state forests.

Agency staff are in Haines this week to meet with a range of local groups to solicit input for the new roadmap, which would open the entire Haines State Forest to logging — a major departure from the plan that’s been in place since 2002.

The effort began in 2024 after Gov. Mike Dunleavy directed the state Division of Forestry to boost the timber industry in Southeast Alaska – particularly in the Haines State Forest. The new version of the plan would also need to accommodate another Dunleavy policy: the sale of carbon credits.

But the major change is that the new management plan would allow for timber harvest in the entire forest, as opposed to about half of it.

“Prior to that it was 42,000 acres” available for harvest,” State Forester Greg Palmieri said in an interview earlier this week. “Well, now there’s 74,360 acres available for access for that type of resource management.”

A draft plan is in the works, but it hasn’t been released to the public yet. First, the agency will meet with local groups – including tribes, the Haines Borough and various advisory committees.

State Forester Greg Palmieri said those meetings will inform the draft, which should be released for public comment this spring.

“If we’re going to do this here, what do you think is the most appropriate way to do it, to protect the interest that you represent?” Palmieri said. “That’s the meaningful contribution that we’re trying to acquire at this time.”

Take the state forest land around Chilkoot Lake, which previously was not available for timber harvest. Palmieri said that the new plan could specify, for instance, that even though some timber harvest in that area may be on the table, clear cutting is not.

But at two local meetings this week that addressed the plan, participants focused more on the state’s process and its goal to boost logging than they did on any specific forestry recommendations.

One of those meetings happened Wednesday morning. Forestry officials met with a group that advises the state on how to manage the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. Some, including Bill Thomas, seemed supportive of the effort.

“People forget, if it wasn’t for the logging industry, you wouldn’t have access out here anywhere,” he said.

Others, including Haines Mayor Tom Morphet, questioned the intent of the plan revision and potential outcome for local people.

“The state I think is going to have to make a lot better job explaining why it wants to start logging on recreation lands,” he said. “What’s the benefit to the community?”

People also voiced confusion over the process – and how they were supposed to weigh in on the issue without seeing the current draft or specific questions from the state.

That sentiment also arose on Monday, during a meeting of the area Fish and Game Advisory Committee. The group had yet to meet with DNR about the plan, but members spent the bulk of its regular meeting discussing it.

“They want us to comment when we have absolutely no idea of what their specific intentions are in any of these areas,” said committee member Kip Kermoian. “We have more meetings, but I think we need to insist on, if they want us to make informed decisions, we need more information.”

The group had yet to schedule a meeting with the state agency, but it voted to send a letter noting that the state is required by law to consult with them on such matters – and that the group’s members don’t think that what’s happened so far amounts to good-faith consultation.

Both committees indicated they planned to provide more specific, forestry-related feedback in the coming weeks.

Avalanche professionals are warning backcountry adventurers to stay out of risky terrain after snow slammed the Upper Lynn Canal in late December.

National Weather Service data shows the storm dumped at least 44 inches of snow in Haines, making it the sixth snowiest five-day period in more than two decades. Other reports documented closer to six or seven feet.

“It was definitely one of the higher snowfalls you’ve gotten in five days, pretty much out of all your time that the station’s been there,” said Juneau-based meteorologist Edward Liske.

The dumping has created a risky situation in the backcountry that warrants extreme caution, said Jeff Moskowitz, the director of the Haines Avalanche Center.

His main message: “Avoid being in or around avalanche terrain.”

Earlier this week, Moskowitz dug a snow pit in front of Haines’ historic Fort Seward that confirmed his assessment. Standing chest-deep in the pit, he pointed out layers of snow stacked on top of each other, each representing a different storm.

There was a somewhat fluffy layer on top, from the snowfall in early January. Below that, there was a roughly three-foot-deep layer that was more compact, from the late December storm.

And then there was a thin, feeble layer of snow just inches from the ground that crumbled like sugar when Moskowitz ran his hand through it. That snow was on the ground before the big storm – it’s the layer that could collapse and trigger an avalanche under the weight of more precipitation, snowmachines or humans.

“We have about a meter of really strong snow just sitting over this sugar,” Moskowitz said, calling it a “dangerous combination for avalanches.”

Starting Dec. 27, the situation prompted the center to issue warnings about high avalanche risk in the Haines area. Moskowitz said people should stay off slopes that are greater than 30 degrees – and avoid traveling beneath them.

“It’s just a tricky situation, because there’s lots of snow, and we want to go play,” he said. “But we still have this strong-over-weak layering in most places.”

In some places, he said, the weak layer may be buried so deep that a human or snowmachine wouldn’t trigger it. But in shallower areas, like near trees or rocks. the layer would be closer to the surface and more likely to trigger an avalanche.

“People could ride that slope numerous times until one person finds that weak spot,” he said.

The deluge has stopped for now. But the situation could get worse before it gets better, as temperatures rise and the top layer of snow consolidates into a heavier, thicker slab. New precipitation or other conditions could trigger a natural avalanche cycle, wiping that weak layer out.

“Otherwise, it’s a little bit like a ticking time bomb,” Moskowitz said.

Haines Avalanche Center

The Haines Avalanche Center is a nonprofit and the main source of avalanche information in the Chilkat Valley, which draws backcountry adventurers from around the world. Moskowitz emphasized the importance of donations, grants and borough funding to make that work possible.

In the past, the Haines Borough has asked nonprofits to apply for funding from a $100,000 bucket. But Haines Mayor Tom Morphet said that, amid a steep budget deficit, the assembly discontinued that grant process for fiscal year 2026, which runs through June.

That has meant less funding than usual for the Avalanche Center, which has just three part-time employees, including Moskowitz.

“Less funding means less staff time,” Moskowitz said. “And staff time means that locals who are avalanche professionals and have certifications are out there, digging in the snow, making assessments, posting that information publicly.”

The center posts a general avalanche information product every week, plus a weather forecast and season summary. They also issue advisories when avalanche danger is high, including three days in a row in late December.

But the center does not currently have the funding or staff capacity to consistently publish advisories when avalanche risk is low, moderate or considerable.

“What we don’t want, is that there’s an accident that sparks the public interest in supporting the Avalanche Center,” Moskowitz said. “We just need to maintain the services we provide and just keep it going year after year after year.”

Morphet, the mayor, said the borough and assembly are “acutely aware” of the center’s importance.

Moskowitz said people who recreate in the backcountry can help by paying close attention to their surroundings – and he urged them to send in their observations online.

That could mean details about a human-triggered or natural avalanche, about where the sun has hit the mountains on a particular day, or an observation that feathery crystals – known as surface hoar – have started forming on the snow’s surface.

“There’s very little information that we’re not going to find useful,” Moskowitz said. “All of that is very valuable, and it helps to inform this bigger picture.”

Haines and Skagway have suffered through weeks of bitterly cold temperatures and several feet of snow.

Snowfall in Haines has been so heavy that residents are worried about roof loads. Community members are caring for each other in these extreme conditions with shovels and the Internet.

When the National Weather Service reported snow depth of 36 inches over the weekend, Haines resident Sheri Loomis started making a list on Facebook.

She said people were returning from travel to find their vehicles buried.

“There’s not a shovel in their car,” she said. “It wasn’t that way when they left. And so requests started being put on social media, ‘Can someone help dig my rig out at the ferry terminal parking lot?’ And pretty soon, these other requests started coming on social media.”

Those requests vary from shoveling off roofs to clearing paths for heating fuel deliveries. Loomis organizes the list items and marks them when they are complete. Community members are rallying to tick off items, but as of Monday afternoon, 19 structures are requesting a service and Loomis expects the number to grow with more incoming bad weather.

“I just had the daughter of a 91-year–old woman contact me with a house right downtown that the roof needs clearing, and they’re very concerned of structural failure,” Loomis said. “Another one out at Lutak … The carport is in danger of collapsing on two vehicles. It just goes on and on.”

Haines Mayor Tom Morphet said that while this isn’t the most snowfall Haines has ever received, the timing has been brutal. It’s on top of the five feet of snow that fell last month.

“I think what we’re seeing is people who are exhausted, people who are burning up their fuel supplies or their budget for oil, now having to get out and shovel till they’re eating a lot of ibuprofen,” he said. “And just a lot of sustained stress. And that’s understandable completely, considering that this cold snap is one of the longer cold snaps I remember in my 40 years in Haines. It’s gone on now more than a month.”

And while everyone is hoping for a warm up, too much melting snow carries the risk of an avalanche.

“We’re kind of standing by and hoping and praying that when the thaw comes, it’s a gradual one and not a rapid one,” Morphet said.

While Skagway’s snow depth on Jan. 3 was 13 inches, nearly two feet less than Haines, residents have been having their own issues. The intense cold has caused numerous frozen pipes and broken furnaces. Skagway has no plumber, so residents reach out to whoever is available to help.

Fuel is burning faster than normal, so Skagwegians are reminded to frequently check their heating oil levels, even if they recently had a refill. On Sunday morning, shortly after midnight, the Petro Marine Services truck was out making emergency deliveries.

Morphet cautions residents to keep their heating vents clear. And the Haines Fire Department asks residents to find their closest hydrant and shovel it out.

“We understand, I think, in the north, that weather can be fatal,” Morphet said. “And it’s a serious thing.”

But so far, he said, the Upper Lynn Canal is doing okay.

Sheri Loomis asks that other Haines residents continue to keep her abreast on what tasks are completed so she can update the request list.

“I’m just really overwhelmed with and have so much gratitude for the people that are helping others right now,” Loomis said. “It could be a matter of saving someone’s house. And it’s wonderful how people get together in times like this and put everything else aside.”

The forecast calls for snow continuing through Thursday and then turning to a mix of rain and snow next weekend.

The state is in the early stages of crafting a new plan to guide decisions about Southeast Alaska transit for the next two decades.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities aims to draft a plan for Southeast by the end of summer 2026 and finalize it by this time next year. The document will cover all communities from Yakutat to Metlakatla.

Jill Melcher, DOT’s Southcoast planning chief, said the new version would mark the first complete overhaul in more than 20 years.

“The last adopted plan was in 2004 and an unofficial update was done in 2014 that captured changes over 10 years,” she said. “Our region has changed significantly since 2014, and it’s time for an update.”

Agency staff say that in the early stages, a handful of themes have already emerged. They range from ferry reliability to resiliency amid climate change.

Now the state is asking for public input, both via email and during town halls.

During two virtual open houses this week, residents raised a long list of specific projects and broader issues – many revolving around more reliable ferry service and the Cascade Point ferry terminal project.

Mike Jackson, in Kake, raised sporadic ferry service in his community. He said the state has said Kake rarely gets ferries, in part because the terminal can’t accommodate larger ships. He said there’s been talk about updating the terminal with new catwalks to change that.

“So that is one of the things we talked about doing here,” Jackson said. “But if there’s a way to better serve Kake somehow, we sure would appreciate it.”

Participants also talked about the need for float plane dock maintenance and more airport parking. One raised the need for restoring ferry service from Ketchikan to Prince Rupert, British Columbia – an idea the state is studying now.

Haines local Patty Brown asked about the state’s ongoing study of what it would cost to build a road on the west side of the Lynn Canal that would, at least in theory, better connect Haines and Skagway to Juneau. She wanted to know how that might be incorporated into the 20-year plan.

Southcoast Region Director Christopher Goins replied that the study would wrap up in January.

“Based on that, we’ll look at the data, work with this team and depending on what we see from leadership, include or not include that moving forward,” Goins said.

But it was a related project that kept coming up during the town hall: the Cascade Point ferry terminal. The state says building a new terminal north of Juneau would cut costs and ease travel between Haines, Skagway and the capital city.

The idea has drawn fire from residents in all three communities, who say the state should prioritize improving ferry service instead.

When Wendy Anderson of Skagway made that point in the town hall’s virtual chat, Goins responded that the agency does believe the terminal would reduce travel times. But he stressed that Cascade Point would not replace the Auke Bay terminal for most passengers.

“There will be mainline service that continues up once a week,” Goins said. “What is moving would be the trips to Haines and Skagway from Cascade Point.”

At least two other comments came in regarding Cascade Point. One dubbed the planned terminal a “shameful waste of taxpayer dollars” that would be “harmful” to the general public.

The other asked about the funding that has already been allocated to the project – and whether more will be set aside soon. Goins responded that the state currently has a design-build contract and is carrying out the required public comment and environmental processes.

“If we ultimately can’t make it through that process for various reasons, then the project would not go forward, and the second part of that contract would not be fulfilled. Plain and simple,” Goins said.

Agency staff and contractors thanked participants for their insight and encouraged the public to keep them coming. Comments can be submitted at SEATP@DOWL.com.