Southeast

On a sandy beach in a state park in Ketchikan, a group of local beachcombers encountered something ominous: shells of two invasive European green crabs, shed as part of the creatures’ growth process.

That discovery, made during a June 6 beach survey that was part of a class held by the University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan campus, led to more in the community.

It makes Ketchikan the newest known Alaska beachhead in a northward invasion of non-native crabs that are known to wreak havoc on native species and habitats.

European green crabs, first confirmed to be in Alaska when their shells were discovered in 2022 on Annette Island in the far southeast corner of the state, are likely here for good, said the UAS professor who was one of the class instructors and helped lead the beach surveys.

“They have continued to spread. They will continue to spread,” said Barbara Morgan, who is based in Ketchikan. “They are expected to spread through Southeast Alaska, probably most of Southcentral — kind of the southern coast of Southcentral. And maybe, depending on water temperature and how tolerant they are to the colder water temperatures, they might go up into the really southern part of the Bristol Bay area, too.”

In time, they could threaten some of Alaska’s most important habitats for salmon and other fish.

The crabs eat salmon fry, juvenile native crabs like Dungeness and other fish, and they mow down eelgrass beds that are important Alaska fish habitat.

“Green crab could potentially damage Alaska’s multi-billion dollar fisheries industries, especially for salmon, crab, and mariculture operations,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned.

European green crabs were first found in waters of the U.S. East Coast in the 1800s, believed to have been transported in ships’ ballast water. In 1989, the first green crabs were discovered in U.S. West Coast waters, also believed to have been carried accidentally in ballast water. Over the following years, they spread northward. The first sightings in British Columbia were in 1998.

The Alaska first discovery, at Annette Island, was about 30 miles south of the beach site where Morgan’s class found the crab shells in June. And last summer, green crab shells were found at Gravina Island, just west of Ketchikan.

An eventual discovery in Ketchikan was largely expected. But the precise site of the June 6 discovery — at Refuge Cove State Recreation Site — was a bit surprising because of the nature of the site, Morgan said.

Green crabs generally prefer estuarine areas, places where freshwater and saltwater meet, and places with thick eelgrass, she said. But the Refuge Cove beach site is sandy and not an estuary, and thus not considered to be a prime spot for the crabs.

Crabs’ upper shells, called carapaces, are discarded periodically as the animals grow and need larger shells. Discovery of the molted shells suggests that the invasive crab were in the larval stage when they were pushed by currents north to Alaska, Morgan said.

After the first two shells were found during the class survey, the discoveries in the community “snowballed,” with additional shells found at Refuge Cove, plus more at other sites along the Ketchikan road system, she said. It is likely that there are more at other sites that are less accessible for surveys, she said.

How to respond?

The species’ name can be confusing because the crabs are not necessarily green, Morgan said. They can be brown or yellow or reddish, or a mixture of colors, she said. Meanwhile, some native crabs that do belong in Alaska are green, including kelp crabs, and should not be mistaken for the invaders, she said.

The “European” part of the name is not accurate, either, she said. “Yes, they came from Europe; they’re not in Europe anymore,” she said.

Morgan and other invasive species experts are trying to spread awareness — and the message about what the crabs look like. Telltale signs come from the shape of the shells, which have three bumps between the crabs’ eyes and five spikes on either side.

The Metlakatla Indian Community, a Tribal government on Annette Island, has been particularly active in combatting European green crabs.

The Tribe established a detection program in 2020 and made the first discovery of shells in 2022, as well as the Gravina Island discoveries last year.

Through its program, the Tribe has also trapped thousands of European green crabs. The total had reached about 3,000 as of last summer, according to the Department of Fish and Game, and it continues to grow.

In just the past month, the Tribal team trapped over 300 of the live crabs on Gravina Island, said Ian Hudson, a fisheries biologist who coordinates the Tribe’s European green crab program.

“This year there has been an explosion in numbers, and we’re not at all surprised that Ketchikan is finding carapace,” he said by email.

Metlakatla’s efforts are highlighted in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s 2023-2028 plan for combatting European green crabs. That plan lays out steps for prevention, early detection, rapid response and control.

But by now, full prevention may not be possible anymore, Morgan said.

With millions of European green crabs on the West Coast, and with currents that continue t send their larvae north, it is highly unlikely that all incursions could be prevented, she said.

“Even if we get rid of all of them in Alaska, we would need to build a fence across Dixon Entrance, a fine net. And that’s obviously not going to happen,” she said, referring to the maritime border site between Canada and Alaska.

Instead, she said, “functional eradication” like what the Metlakatla Indian Tribe is doing with trapping is likely to be increasingly important, with focuses on key sites important to native species like salmon and Dungeness crab. Baseline surveys can help identify those areas that need to be most protected, she said.

Part of a wider invasive threat

While the European green crab is considered to be among the world’s most damaging invasive species, it is not the only one that threatens Alaska’s environment and fishing industry.

Another example is elodea, a freshwater plant often used in aquariums. First found in Eyak Lake in Cordova in 1982, it has spread to other lakes and streams in Southcentral and Interior Alaska. Potential economic losses — to commercial sockeye salmon and to recreational floatplane pilots — could be well over $1 billion, Tobias Schwoerer, a University of Alaska Fairbanks economist, estimated in a 2017 study.

Invasive northern pike in Southcentral Alaska, which have proved to be persistent, also pose ecological and economic threats. The fish prey on salmon, trout and other native species. The Department of Fish and Game has a program to remove invasive pike and try to limit their spread.

For now, much of the work to combat nonnative species is coordinated by the Alaska Invasive Species Partnership, a coalition of government agencies, university experts, nonprofits and community organizations.

The partnership has advocated for years for the establishment of a more robust organization within state government, an invasive species council, to organize wider protection and rapid response, if needed.

Bills pending in the Alaska Legislature would do that. One measure, House Bill 191, made it through one committee. A Senate version, Senate Bill 174, had two hearings.

In past years, similar bills progressed through the Legislature but failed to make it to final passage. The most recent was in 2022, when a bill to establish a state invasive species council passed the House by 33-2 margin but failed to reach the Senate floor before that session’s adjournment.

Proponents hope results in the coming session will be more successful.

The sponsor of the current House bill, Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, worries not only about green crabs moving their way through Southeast Alaska but also invasive plants like knotweed that have appeared in important community spots like Harbor Mountain.

“Each year, there’s more knotweed and less salmonberries,” she said in an interview late in the session. She hopes the bill will win final passage next year, she said.

Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, is another proponent of an invasive species council.

He said he has been aware of invasive species since his childhood in Cordova, where he and a friend earned money from a neighbor by killing invasive black slugs at about a nickel apiece. Later, as a member of the Anchorage Assembly, he worked on efforts to remove invasive chokecherry trees, which were introduced as ornamentals but have since crowded out native species along the city’s greenbelts.

Dunbar acknowledged concerns that an invasive species council would cost the state money because it would require a dedicated employee in the Department of Fish and Game. But he argues that failing to set up such a council would cause more expense in the long run.

“I would say, we can’t afford to not prevent invasive species from entering Alaska,” Dunbar said in an interview near the end of this year’s session. “It is very expensive to have invasive species to start pushing out native species.”

Correction: The article incorrectly stated the number of hearings that Senate Bill 174 had. It had two.

Steve Kroschel over the last two decades has offered tens of thousands of visitors close-up views of animals including wolves, moose – and a brown bear named Kitty.

But on a walk through the Kroschel Films Wildlife Center in Mosquito Lake on Friday morning, the property was quiet. The animal enclosures appeared empty. Save one – it held a mink.

The critter, it seemed, was left behind after Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game arrived at the property on Thursday, executed a search warrant and seized 39 animals. No charges have been filed, but a copy of the warrant provided to KHNS by Kroschel’s attorney indicates he’s under investigation for crimes including animal cruelty.

Dennis Seifert, who lives down the road and sometimes helps out at the center, stopped by on Friday at the request of center staff.

“I’m just feeding the weasel that the cops missed,” Seifert said, after tossing a dead quail into the enclosure and filling a water dispenser. “We didn’t think they were going to get them because there’s underground tubes that run all around the property for them to travel in.”

The raid comes amid a years-long saga between Kroschel and the state of Alaska – namely, the Department of Fish and Game.

The facility has been around since the early 2000s. By Kroschel’s count, it draws between 8,000 and 10,000 people every year.

Once inside, visitors are greeted by decorative piles of bones, and enclosures fastened with fencing, posts and hand-written warnings. Wooden planks on the moose enclosure, for instance, read: “Stay Back! Will Kick!” and “Do Not Touch Moose.”

A recent inventory report from Kroschel said he had 59 animals. But the state of Alaska is ultimately responsible for managing wildlife – including captive game. In fact, some were placed at the facility by Fish and Game, including a moose calf in 2022 and two minks in 2023, an agency spokesperson said.

But Fish and Game staff say they’ve been concerned about the facility for years, and more recently have asked Kroschel to address everything from what they say are inappropriate feeding practices to insufficient enclosures.

Kroschel, meanwhile, says he’s complied with the requests and that his facility is safe for both humans and animals.

“The [Alaska Department of Fish and Game] has wanted to get rid of me, and shut me up and shut me down for years. Three years,” Kroschel said in a phone interview on Monday.

“But I’ve been doing this for 24 years here in Haines, licensed and operating. No one’s ever gotten bitten, and there’s not been anything egregious has happened,” he added.

Animal welfare, feeding, hygiene concerns

Kroschel acknowledges that there have been some incidents. In 2023, for instance, a moose escaped from its enclosure and wandered off the property. And in 2021, a bear broke into the facility and killed two moose.

Then, last August, Kroschel’s federal license lapsed. The Chilkat Valley News reported at the time that it was later reinstated, but in the meantime, Fish and Game revoked his state educational permit. The agency did so on the grounds that he didn’t have the required federal license – and pointed to a long list of other concerns.

“The underlying problems have to do with animal welfare, basic care and feeding, hygiene, those kinds of things. And also security,” Mark Burch, who serves as the assistant director of Fish and Game’s Division of Wildlife Conservation, said in an interview in mid-June.

Kroschel contends he’s done everything the regulators have asked him to do – from fixing and expanding enclosures, to adding new fencing and more.

In April, Kroschel reapplied for the state permit. But in a May 2 letter seen by KHNS, Fish and Game said staff had reviewed the new application and identified more concerns.

Among them: Kroschel reported using pool treatment chemicals to clean animals’ drinking water, which the department said could be toxic if consumed regularly.

“I encourage you to realistically assess if you can meet the requirements listed below, and if not, please advise us of that. If the issues are not corrected by June 15, 2025, I will not issue a 2025 permit,” Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang wrote in the letter.

Michelle Bittner, an attorney who has been working with Kroschel on permitting issues, said she and Kroschel responded to the agency’s concerns in late May. That included by clarifying that Kroschel had used small amounts of chlorine dioxide to clean water receptacles, and by submitting a positive report from a veterinarian, who visited the property earlier that month.

When Bittner followed up on the status of the permit on June 21, Vincent-Lang replied that the Fish and Game was coordinating with other agencies and would have a decision soon, according to an email exchange seen by KHNS.

Bittner said that was the last communication from the commissioner before state wildlife troopers and Fish and Game staff arrived at the property on June 26, executed the search warrant and seized the animals.

An ongoing investigation

Alaska Department of Public Safety Spokesperson Austin McDaniel said he can’t comment further on the warrant, which is confidential, or potential charges mid-investigation.

But the warrant indicates the troopers were there to gather evidence related to animal abuse. It also says animals seized included Kitty, Kroschel’s brown bear, a moose, three wolves and three lynx.

Kroschel said that when he returned to the property after the fact, he found a range of animals had been left behind – including the mink, and an injured fox. He added that the warrant has some inconsistencies.

“Where the hell did they get three lynx? There’s two lynx. So either they don’t know how to even identify a species, or they can’t count,” he said.

Fish and Game spokesperson Shannon Mason declined to answer a list of questions earlier this week about the decision to remove the animals, and where they are now.

But the agency said in a statement on Tuesday that it had relocated 39 animals from the facility – and that some were left behind. The animals were then transported to Anchorage. Two animals died during the operation – a wolf, before transport, and a snowy owl, which was euthanized once in Anchorage “due to pre-existing health conditions,” the statement said.

Kitty the bear has reportedly been transferred to the Alaska Zoo. Reached in Anchorage by phone on Wednesday, Kroschel said he visited the zoo and saw Kitty in an enclosure.

McDaniel, with the public safety department, directed all animal-related questions to Fish and Game. He added that troopers did not relocate any animals during their search for evidence and that he can’t provide a timeline for the investigation.

Kroschel, for his part, is still processing the raid – and potential criminal charges. He said the animals are his family and that he will continue working to protect them.

“How would you feel if your family was torn away from you and you didn’t even know where they went, how they are almost a week later?” he said.

In an aim to make some money in the interim, he’s working to launch a new tour attraction in Skagway. Pending permit approval, he said tourists will be able to purchase a ticket and spend 30 minutes with his reindeer. Unlike the other animals, they’re considered livestock – and aren’t managed by Fish and Game.

Skagway Borough Manager Emily Deach said in an email that commercial tourism activities in the borough’s industrial zone require a conditional use permit. Kroschel has submitted a permit application for the “feeding and viewing of reindeer for tourism.”

Deach said the Skagway Planning and Zoning Commission will review the permit application July 10.

The Haines Borough Assembly all agreed for once about plans for the Lutak Dock.

In a rare unanimous vote, the Assembly directed the interim borough manager to come back to their next meeting with a new contract that includes a smaller, less expensive dock. If approved, the agreement would also end litigation between the borough and the dock contractor.

After years of setbacks and frustration, Haines might be closer to having a new freight dock.

Interim Borough Manager Alekka Fullerton presented a modified concept proposal at the last borough assembly meeting to replace the deteriorating Lutak Dock.

“This concept will look familiar to you since it’s very close to the option 1B which was developed by R&M in 2017,” she said. “The main difference is that it’s a bit smaller. The dock will be a little bit smaller, and incorporates only the most essential elements.”

Fullerton said the new plan preserves the roll-on/roll-off function and fuel transfer operations. Depending on how far the money stretches, at least five cells will be encapsulated.

“After the seismic survey is complete and the required ground improvements are evaluated, it may be that the final design will allow us to include encapsulation of seven cells instead of five … we won’t know that until we finish the seismic design,” Fullerton said.

The guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the project is $25,400,000.

Harbor Master Henry Pollan answered concerns about losing uplands.

“We will lose a fair amount of our uplands,” he said. “My conservative estimates, it’ll be roughly 20 to 30% of our usable uplands will be ceded in this design. The other options were like 60 to 75% of our usable uplands. So this is the best case scenario that we can put together.”

Fullerton added it’s possible that at a later date, uplands could be reclaimed in a phase two build that is not yet funded.

The last approved design is still in environmental review. Fullerton said she did not believe the replacement design would need a new environmental review, but it might require a seismic study.

If the contract is approved, Fullerton said Turnagain Marine Construction will complete a 35-65% concept plan, which would be submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration so that work on the grant agreement can continue. In the meantime, Fullerton said she will take the new plan to Port & Harbors, Planning & Commission and a Town Hall.

Assembly member Gabe Thomas thought the new concept was a good landing spot for a community that has bitterly argued over the best way to replace the infrastructure.

“This feels like it’s a kind of a medium compromise,” he said. “So hopefully we can just get the community behind it, and let’s get this thing built. Let’s stop fighting over it. There’s no mine.”

And it’s not just community members that have been fighting. Turnagain Marine sued the municipality after the company bought nearly $10 million in steel that the borough says the construction company was not authorized to purchase. The agreement would “release both parties from any claims related to any events prior to the execution of this change order.”

The roll call vote to bring forward a new contract was unusually verbose.

“Just on the record, I am going to compromise and I am going to say yes,” Assembly member Craig Loomis said.

And here’s Assembly member Cheryl Stickler: “Yes, yes, yes!”

Borough Clerk Mike Denker joked that there were a total of nine yes votes. There were in fact, six yes votes. The Assembly will see a contract at their July 8 meeting.

Skagway resident and historian Steve Hites says the Internet is wrong.

“If you look up on Wikipedia and the AI that generates online, they’ll say Ketchikan was the very first city because they call it ‘The First City,’ right? And it’s incorrect,” Hites said. “So don’t trust the computers and don’t trust your AI and don’t trust your Wikipedia … Skagway was the very first incorporated city in Alaska.”

In 1900, the tiny valley of Skagway housed thousands of people, who remained after the heat of the Klondike Gold Rush cooled. Hites described what the town looked like.

“We were a growing, booming, extremely busy community,” he said. “Clubs were forming — the Eagles Club, the Elks Club, the photography club, the Skagway Alpine Club. There were children and mothers arriving. People were making Skagway their home.”

Hites said the focus would soon turn to Nome’s gold rush. But for now, Skagway was still king.

“But at that particular moment in time, with the railroad being completed, with the docks in place, the town was humming,” he said. You can imagine, it’s just after the solstice and the sun is up. It’s a beautiful time to be alive and a great time to be in Skagway, Alaska. Anything was possible.”

That year, Congress passed an act allowing cities in Alaska to elect a representative government. Skagwegians quickly petitioned Judge Melville C. Brown to incorporate the town.

“And this petition is still on file with the state of Alaska archives, signed by 91 citizens of our town – they only needed 60 to petition the judge,” Hites said. “And it described the boundaries, how many houses there were, and that there were, quote: 3,500 souls that lived in Skagway. That was a little bit much more than there were.”

On June 28, 1900, residents gathered for a vote at Skagway’s City Hall — which still stands today. It’s a small log cabin on Fifth Avenue, between a bakery and an axe-throwing shop. It’s wrapped in Tyvek to protect the deteriorating wood.

The vote to incorporate won by a 4-1 landslide, with 246 for and 60 against. John Hyslop, the chief engineer for White Pass & Yukon Route Railway, became the first mayor of Skagway.

And it came just in time to secure Skagway’s place in the record books. The vote to incorporate beat Juneau by one day. Ketchikan incorporated about two months later.

Hites said that anyone who wants to learn more about Skagway’s history, should turn to another local historian.

“Compliments to Jeff Brady for his amazing book, ‘Skagway City of the New Century,’ which much of this information I’m giving you is taken right out of …” Hites said.

Hites, who came to Skagway in 1972, started by washing dishes at the Golden North Hotel. He now owns a tour company and performs a one-man-show, with his guitar and harmonica, aboard cruise ships that berth in Skagway’s docks.

“I do a 40 minute production which covers 30,000 years of Alaska history, from the Ice Age right up through till now, including Alaska statehood,” Hites said. “…But  I believe it’s a way that we can tell people, after their day in town, why the ship stopped here. And why this place is important, in terms of Alaska’s story.”

And that story continues. Skagwegians interested in securing their place in the history books can gather for a town photo at Shoreline Park from 4 to 5 p.m. this Saturday. Gold rush costumes are encouraged. Refreshments and a self-guided historical walking tour will be available.

A Haines guide died on Sunday during a non-work-related rafting trip on the Blanchard and Tatshenshini Rivers.

The guide, Marin Pitt, was a 33-year-old Montana resident with more than a decade of rafting and guiding experience. She moved to Haines this spring to work for Chilkat Guides, an Alaska Mountain Guides & Climbing School, Inc. company.

Pitt was part of a group of 24 people on a personal trip, according to a statement released Thursday by the Yukon Coroner’s Service. One of four rafts flipped at the confluence of the two rivers after high siding on a rock, the statement said. Five people were on the raft including Pitt.

Alaska Mountain Guides Director of Operations Sabrina Harvey said in a prepared statement on behalf of Chilkat Guides that the group was experienced and prepared, and that all safety protocols were followed.

“Our hearts are with Marin’s family, friends, and the entire guiding community as we mourn the loss of a truly beloved team member,” the statement said.

Russ Lyman is a long-time local guide who helps train guides in the spring. He is not currently employed by Chilkat Guides and wasn’t on this trip. But he has run the same section of river several times. He said this trip has become somewhat of an annual occurrence.

“For the last several years, it’s happened every year around this time when that part of the river is running high, because it’s really exciting,” Lyman said. “Of course, it’s also when it’s most dangerous.”

Lyman said the trip is typically a three-hour run between the Alaska-British Columbia Border and Dalton Post and that it has class three and four rapids.