Syndicated

Gov. Bill Walker has signed legislation he says will provide more timber for Alaska’s mills. But it probably won’t be that much of an increase.

Walker inked Senate Bill 32 at Viking Lumber, in Klawock, on Southeast’s Prince of Wales Island. State officials say it’s Alaska’s largest operating mill.

Its owners have said they’ll have to shut down next year if they can’t harvest more timber, a claim challenged by the Forest Service and some environmental groups.

At the signing ceremony, Viking’s Kurt Dahlstrom said the bill will help.

“What it allows is the state to negotiate large timber sales with customers that want to saw the lumber. So this bill’s good for us because in the future we may be able to pick up a very big sale from the state that will last us a year or two,” he said.

State timber sales are often small, since there’s a limited amount of forest available.

The governor signed the measure July 19 in front of about 25 mill workers.

He said it’s part of a larger administration effort.

“To me it’s all about jobs, it’s all about economy. So I will be extremely aggressive, I have been, on everything I can do to make sure this young man has plenty of timber opportunities to make this mill an ongoing generation of successes,” he said.

Walker and others say the bill will help the state replace Tongass National Forest timber, which has been less available in recent years.

But Regional Forester Beth Pendleton, in an earlier interview, pointed out that Viking is logging one substantial timber sale and can bid on others so it has enough logs to stay open.

The bill removes some limits on state sales.

Division of Forestry Director Chris Maisch said that allows his staff to negotiate terms guaranteeing more logs go to mills, rather than export.

“It allows us to consistently use this authority anywhere statewide. So it really doesn’t change the length of time or the amount that could be sold,” he said.

Read the state forest plan for timber sales.

The legislation is not without critics.

Many environmental groups have called for an end to logging, to preserve fisheries habitat and allow the forest to store more carbon, slowing climate change.

Southeast Alaska Conservation Council attorney Buck Lindekugel said it’s unfortunate the bill focuses on the Klawock mill. He said SEACC’s examination of Forest Service records shows it’s been shipping too much of what it logs overseas.

“We think there’s a little irony involved here where the state is going to be spending more money at a time of fiscal distress to make state timber available to Viking Lumber when the records show that Viking has been exporting nearly 55 million board feet of timber cut from the Tongass over the past six years,” he said.

State Forester Maisch said overseas sales are part of logging in Southeast. That’s because foreign buyers pay more than in-state mills.

“So some of the wood could find its way into the export market. But that will help the mill because they’re getting a big return for those logs. They’ll saw the ones that they can make money on and still will make money on any logs that are not sawed there,” he said.

He said the way the bill changes negotiated-sales rules will reduce the amount exported.

SEACC’s Lindekugel has his doubts.

“It’s really tough to predict how this is going to make a difference. But we know it costs the state a lot of money to offer these timber sales. So, it’s no free lunch,” he said.

Maisch said the rule change will actually save the state time and money. But he said it will reduce revenues, since fewer logs will be going overseas.

The state department of Health and Social Services on Friday announced the first known case of the Zika virus in the state.

It belonging to a patient treated at the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium’s Mt. Edgcumbe Hospital in Sitka.

The patient, a man from the Midwest, had traveled in Central America. He then came to Alaska, where he began to experience unusual symptoms, said Katy Pugh, a registered nurse and an infection prevention specialist at the hospital.

“He came to our emergency room here at Mount Edgecumbe Hospital for evaluation. He had a rash, a fever and conjunctivitis, his eyes were red, irritated and red,” she said.

The patient was evaluated and the Zika diagnosis was confirmed by a lab test. The man did not require hospitalization.

“He was given educational information about the Zika virus, and then he was released from our care,” she said.

The patient has returned home to the Midwest, and SEARHC officials said there is no risk the virus will spread to the public. The patient was exposed to a very limited portion of the hospital, which has been thoroughly disinfected.

Pugh said the hospital is prepared, though, if this were to happen again.

“If we had another patient with Zika who came to the hospital, we would follow the same procedures. The community is safe, the appropriate procedures were followed, and there should be no cause for alarm in the area,” she said.

Zika can only be spread through intravenous drug use or sexual activity. Though the virus is also spread by mosquitoes, Alaska mosquitoes cannot transmit the virus.

Zika is linked to birth defects and brain damage in newborns, as well as temporary paralysis – known as Guillain-Barré syndrome – in adults. There is no CDC recommended treatment for the Zika virus, just rest, water, and nourishment. Symptoms can be mild and usually only require rest and care.

Bristol Bay is home to the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world. Over 132 years of commercial effort, now more than 2 billion salmon have been harvested from the Bay’s waters. In fact, the 2 billionth salmon was landed sometime, by someone, on July 6, 2016.

It fell to Bob King, the longtime news director at KDLG and now avid fish historian, to announce this milestone in an essay he penned last fall.

“Since the canned salmon industry came to to Bristol bay in 1884, fishermen have landed 1.99 billion salmon, 93 percent of which were sockeye.” King wrote. “It took 95 years for Bristol Bay to produce its first billion salmon, the two billionth fish will come just 38 years after that.”

King had been quietly watching the numbers for years. After the Deptartment of Fish and Game issued the forecast for the 2016 salmon run to Bristol Bay, he knew this would be the year. Fish and Game confirmed King’s tally, and decided that the 10,033,455th salmon harvested this season would mark two billion. As the run took shape, it was clear that salmon would be landed on Wednesday, July 6, an appropriately cool and rainy day in Bristol Bay.

At Dillingham’s Kanakanak Beach, set netters were headed out for an opener.

“We caught it this morning, about two o’clock!” said Coffee Point set netter Corey Evans, with a common response. Evans also offered reflections on the fishery and the milestone shared by many too.

“It’s impressive it’s gone on for this long and I think it says something about the management, that we can keep it going like this,” Evans said. “You see a lot of fisheries that have trouble through the years and this one seems to be going pretty strong. That’s pretty nice to see.”

I let Steve Becker, another Coffee Point set netter, know about the famous fish soon to be harvested.

“Really? I’m going to catch it,” he said, not missing a beat.

“How do you know it’ll be you?” I asked.

“How does anybody know who it’s gonna be?” Becker said. “It’s gonna be me.”

That’s exactly the point King reinforced in his essay.

“Whoever catches the 2 billionth salmon will never be known. Fishing will probably be fast and furious when next year’s catch tops 9 and a half million,” King wrote. “Anyone can claim credit for catching the 2 billionth salmon. And everyone should.”

“Yeah we’re going to catch that, then we’re going to mount it, frame it, sell it on eBay,” Kyle Belleque said. Belleque fishes with his family at Coffee Point. What does the milestone say about the Bay?

“It’s an ecological wonder, I mean, it’s a magnificent display of raw nature,” Belleque said.

On Wednesday afternoon, salmon were picked from gill nets in Ugashik, Egegik, Naknek-Kvichak, Togiak, Igushik, and Nushagak. The milestone fish came from somewhere, anywhere in Bay.

Matt Shawcroft and his four kids put their net in the water just after two o’clock. Maybe they caught it.

“We are picking the 2 billionth fish in Bristol Bay today!” Shawcroft said, rallying his troops to the cause. “Any one of these fish we pick could possibly be fish number two billion. So this is a special day in Bristol Bay.”

As they stretched their net from shore, a hundred pounds of sockeye filled the meshes, and generations two and three of Shawcroft set netters began picking them out, laying them in the brailer bag’s icy brine.

“Ok it looks like Emma got fish 2 billion. James you might have to be fish two billion and one,” Matt said.

“How do you know that was 2 billion?” James asked his dad. “Maybe it was fish … nine million … nine hundred … and ninety nine ….”

The rain turned from a drizzle to a downpour. Perfectly typical summer weather in Bristol Bay.

“Alright James, so we hit 2 billion today. You picked out one of those. What are the odds you’ll be here to pick the 3 billionth?” I asked.

“576 to 1,” he quipped, eliciting a few chuckles.

“Do you want to stick with this business long enough to pick the 3 billionth in another 30 years?”

“I don’t know.”

“But I bet you’ll be glad to know that it will be there, right?”

“Yeah I know it’ll be there, but I don’t know if I’ll be the one to pick it,” he told me. His older sister said she’d be the one to pick that next milestone, too.

The 3 billionth may be aways off, but not an unreachable goal for these young fishermen.

Skipper Howard Knutsen has been picking salmon from the Bay’s waters for the last billion plus. He also landed the milestone fish, pulled from near the mouth of the Ugashik River. According to CFEC records, at 86, Knutsen is the oldest actively fishing drift permit holder in Bristol Bay.

“It’s a great honor, it’s a big surprise,” said Knutsen, standing aboard the F/V Lady Helen, looking surprisingly serene, clean, and refreshed mid-season. 2016 is his forty-fifth year fishing these waters commercially.

One of Knutsen’s salmon got the VIP treatment, delivered straight to Governor Bill Walker’s doorstep in Juneau a day later. BBEDC’s Norm Van Vactor thought that’d be a nice gesture.

“One of the issues I’m sure that the governor’s dealing with is a lot of pros and cons and comments about the PFD,” Van Vactor said. “Well we can speak to Alaska’s other PFD, which is our Bristol bay salmon resource. Just like the financial PFD this is a resource that needs to be protected for generations and generations.”

The milestone salmon could’ve been a pink, a coho, a chum or a king, but in Bristol Bay, the overwhelming odds are that it was a sockeye. From the drift boat or set net skiff, it was sold to a tender or driven up a beach and ended up at a processor. Then it was canned, cut, frozen, or flown out fresh.

Icicle Seafoods’ Samantha Russell showed off the milestone fish after it had made its way into her plant late Wednesday evening.

“I’m pleased to announce that I’m holding the 2 billionth sockeye salmon to be harvested out of Bristol Bay,” Russell said, standing at the sorting line in Icicle Seafoods’ Wood River plant.

“That’s a good looking fish,” I asked.

“It sure is,” she said. “That’s about a ten pound round fish, a hundred percent scales, firm, number one quality.”

“Where will this end up?”

“We’re gonna pack this fresh and fly it out on Alaska airlines tomorrow, and this fish will wind up somewhere on the East Coast,” said Russell.

“So the 2 billionth Bristol Bay salmon is going to be on somebody’s dinner table this week?”

“It should be on someone’s dinner table by tomorrow evening,” Russell added.

When will Bristol Bay celebrate the next billion?

“With continued scientific management of the salmon resource, maintaining the fish’s natural habitat and a little good luck, Bristol Bay fishermen might look forward to catching its 3 billionth salmon in 2054,” Bob King posted in his essay.

By the time the 2016 season wraps up, this fishery will be another 25 or 30 million salmon closer to that next milestone.

The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday overturned the state’s parental notification law for minors seeking abortions.

The 2010 voter-passed initiative required an unmarried woman under 18 who wanted to terminate her pregnancy to notify her parents 48 hours before the procedure.

A woman could go to court and ask a judge for an exception, but would have to prove she was either mature enough to make the decision on their own, or that she was being abused.

The court deemed the law unconstitutional.

In the opinion, Justice Daniel Winfree wrote that the notification law violates the equal protection clause of the state’s constitution. Three justices agreed with that decision, but for different reasons. They argued it violates the privacy clause.

Laura Einstein is chief legal counsel for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest, one of the plaintiffs in the case. She said that they are gratified by the decision.

The organization knows anecdotally that most underage women do involve their parents when making these decisions, she said, but there’s a smaller group of women who can’t.

“The group that we were most concerned about protecting were the ones for whom notifying a parent was risky to their family situation either because it was an abusive household, it was an unsupportive household, [or] it was a place where there was substance abuse,” she said.

The only dissenting justice was Craig Stowers, who wrote that a judicial bypass was a “negligible hurdle” for young women since they would be provided with free legal counsel and could be excused from school for a hearing.

But Einstein with Planned Parenthood says those measures represent is a significant barrier. “At trial we produced a lot of testimony about what an onerous, daunting, intimidating, and time consuming option that is,” she said.

Einstein said even if a woman went to court and the judge excused her from school, her parents would still be notified that she was absent.

Anchorage Republican Sen. Mia Costello was one of the sponsors of the ballot initiative before she was elected to public office and said she’s disappointed in the ruling.

“As a parent and as an Alaskan and as an American, I think that we’re at a time right now where parental involvement and parental rights should be strengthened in our society rather than diminished.”

She said it’s a wakeup call for parents to be more involved with their children’s lives.

Costello said she will not pursue a similar bill in the next legislative session because she wants to focus on the state’s fiscal problems.

Rep. Don Young, Alaska’s longest-serving lawmaker, visited Sitka on the last day of the Republican National Convention. He was scheduled to speak to the Chamber of Commerce. But he first had to pass through a group of pretty disgruntled constituents.

Seven Sitkans clustered at the back entrance of the Westmark Hotel, awaiting Congressman Young and bearing signs written in black marker.

Andrew Thoms’s sign read, “Congratulations on your retirement.”

“It’s a not so subliminal message that it’s time for Don Young to pass on the reins of leadership to the next generation that’s going to have to deal with the issues that he’s not dealing with. Especially climate change,” he said.

Throughout his 44 years in office, Young has maintained his position that climate change is not caused by human activity and that guns shouldn’t be regulated. This bothers Don Muller, who said, “Well, NRA’s given [Young] an A+. You don’t get an NRA A+ by being open-minded about gun control.”

Leading the group was a Vietnam veteran, but he asked not to be named. The group circled the Westmark twice. Traffic on Lincoln Street took note. And, while a few passerbys offered fist bumps in solidarity, others weren’t so polite.

Muller: What did he do?

Vietnam veteran: He gave me the finger.

Littman: Seriously that’s…

And then, a car slows down, guy sticks his neck out of the window and said, “You guys are pissing me off. And doing a good job of it. Keep it up.”

I asked demonstrator Cindy Littman, “What is it like protesting in Sitka?”

She said, “It’s uncomfortable to be out here, but I would welcome an opportunity for someone to ask me about why I’m standing here and actually have a conversation about it.”

Littman wishes more members of Sitka’s liberal community had come out, but isn’t surprised by the low turnout. “People just don’t feel like he’s responsive at all. That was my first reaction. Was to not even bother to come out.”

 

And then, the moment everyone’s been waiting for. Congressman Young came up the sidewalk and seeing the protestors, grinned. “I’m glad you spelled my name right!,” he quipped. And after bidding them good luck, walked into the hotel.

Young soon took to the podium. He told Chamber of Commerce members that he doesn’t mind the presence of protesters. “That means I’m being recognized. They may not agree with me, but at least they recognize I’m alive and well. I noticed one sign said, ‘Enjoy your retirement,’ and believe me if I was to be beat or I was to retire, I’d enjoy it. I think I’m good for the state.”

This is a campaign year for Young. And his remarks circled back to why he’s good for Alaska and Alaska’s economy.

“There’s only one real wealth in this country, in this state and that’s resources. And the development of. The manufacturing of,” Young said.

Last fall, Young introduced a bill that gave the state access to 2 million acres of federal land for timber harvest (H.R. 3560). President Obama is unlikely to sign it if it passes. But Young was victorious more recently, adding five amendments to an Interior Appropriations bill that would rollback part of the federal management’s plan for Alaska in favor of state rules.

“No one else does that,” Young said. “That’s because of seniority and knowledge and people that play the game.”

Of his challenger for the single House seat, Democrat Steve Lindbeck, who is the former general manager of Alaska Public Media, Young said he’s not feeling much of a threat.

“[Lindbeck] is too old for the job. I’m 83 years old. He’s 63. But when he gets to my age he’ll be dead. And that’s the facts of life. And I’m good at this. I’m fired up. I’ve got a great new wife. And that’s up to you: in the Chambers and the business people in this community and the people of Alaska and those people who protest me, let them have it. I’m still here,” Young said.”

Watching him speak was Young’s wife Anne, a flight nurse from Fairbanks. As for the presidential election, Young said he hadn’t made up his mind yet.

“Right up front, I’ve never been a Trump fan. I’m going to vote for him if I vote for somebody. I’m certainly not going to vote for Hillary because that’s another eight years of Obama. More regulations,” Young said. “[Obama’s] pumping out regulations by the thousands right now.

Young isn’t the only one concerned about the federal overreach. For while he was speaking, another protest formed a few yards away.

Six Sitkans are waving a variety of flags: American and others saying “Support our Troops” and “Don’t Tread on Me.” Jake Denherder said he organized the pop-up rally in response to the Don Young rally and it’s anti-gun messages.

“We already have too many gun laws in this country and I thought I’d come down and show everyone what I think,” he said.

Standing in the roundabout, Denherder has an assault rifle, a SCAR 17,308, slung across his shoulder. Dave Fowler saw Denherder, pulled over and joined in. Fowler said, “It’s not about hunting and it’s not about personal defense. It’s about being able to defend yourself against unruly government.

This protest, unlike the other one, is receiving a chorus of honking horns. But the groups are in agreement about one thing.

KCAW: Congressman Young, what do you think of him?

Fowler: He’s been there too long. He needs to go. We need fresh people. We need Tea Party guys in there.

It’s pretty unusual in Sitka to see so much political demonstration – from both parties – in one city block. But in a way, all these individuals, Congressman Young included, are exercising one thing: Our freedom of speech.

A Metlakatla resident is heading to the City of Brotherly Love next week as an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Gavin Hudson said he’s an unashamed progressive Alaska liberal.

“And the champion of American liberalism and progressivism today is Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont,” he said. “And I’ve been a fan of his for a long time, way before he declared his candidacy to be the Democratic nominee.”

So, when Sanders did declare his candidacy, Hudson said that inspired him to get involved with the Democratic Party. He said he and other like-minded friends attended the District 36 Democratic caucus in Ketchikan in support of Sanders, who won Alaska’s Democratic vote by a wide margin.

When it came time to choose the District 36 state convention delegates, Hudson said he put his name in for consideration, along with others who were interested in representing the region.

“We all got to give a little speech, and I just told them how passionate I am about Bernie, and who I am and where I come from and they seemed to like that and I got a lot of votes,” he said.

During that state Democratic convention, Sanders was formally endorsed, and awarded 13 delegates to Hillary Clinton’s three.

Hudson said he put his name into the pool of state delegates who wanted to represent Alaska Democrats at the national convention. He said there was a long line of candidates, and they had only two minutes to present their case.

“I talked about why Bernie is my hero, and how he’s been my hero for a long time and how I will never falter in my support of him and we will do everything we can to convince the Hillary people to change their vote for him and nominate him as the next president,” he said. “That seemed to go over well enough that I wasn’t voted in as a full delegate, but I was far enough up the list that I was qualified as an alternate.”

So, Hudson raised funds online to help pay his way to represent Alaska Democrats in Philadelphia. As an alternate, he will fill in if one of the delegates is sick or otherwise unable to attend an official function.

Hudson said he’d love to be the one to announce during the convention’s roll-call vote: “Madam Secretary: The great State of Alaska casts its votes for the next president of the United States Sen. Bernie Sanders!”

Hudson said he remains committed to his support of Sen. Sanders who, although endorsing Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has not formally conceded.

It’s unlikely that Sanders will become the nominee, though, and Hudson said when Clinton is, he will vote for her.

“I will plug my nose and eat my vegetables and pull the lever for Hillary if need be,” he said. “But it’s not over yet. I’m committed to this process. I was elected to do a job and I’m going to see it through to the end.”

During the convention, Hudson plans to attend various caucuses for rural, LGBT, and indigenous/Native American interests, and the young Democrats meeting. Then there are the evening floor speeches.

“Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. That is a powerful, powerful lineup of speeches,” he said.

Hudson said he plans to stay in Philadelphia a couple of days after the convention to see the city and some of its historic sites, such as the Liberty Bell.