Southeast

The Sealaska Lands legislation would transfer ownership of dozens of parcels in the Tongass National Forest to the regional Native corporation for economic development. The company wants to use these Native future sites for eco-tourism, energy and transportation development. Residents and business-owners using these lands are worried about the potential impact on some of their favorite Southeast spots. Joe Viechnicki reports, as part of a CoastAlaska series on the lands issue.

Among the most vocal critics of Sealaska’s land selection bill are conservation groups. They point to past logging practices by the regional Native Corporation and others, which have removed large stands of trees from Southeast Alaska, and say the region can’t support much more in the future.

Most say they want Sealaska to get its land entitlement, but that it should be within the boundaries set by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Sealaska officials defend the corporation’s environmental record, and say the bill will allow them to be an even better steward of the forest. Casey Kelly has more as part of our series on the Sealaska legislation

We’re taking an in-depth look this month at Sealaska’s lands bill, which will soon be reintroduced in Congress. Among its components is the selection of about 200 sacred sites. In this segment of our six-part series on the legislation, KCAW’s Ed Ronco explains what the sacred sites are, and why they’re included in the bill.

If the Sealaska lands bill doesn’t clear Congress, the corporation says it could be forced to shutter its Southeast timber operations in three years. Many industry insiders say those operations are pivotal in keeping Southeast’s remaining mills and loggers working. Some say they’d also like to see Sealaska mill more of the trees it cuts in Southeast. As part of our six-part series on the Sealaska legislation, Deanna Garrison talks to the timber industry about its perspectives.

The New Year will bring a new fight over Sealaska’s lands-selection legislation. The bill, which will be reintroduced in the new Congress, could determine the future of tens of thousands of acres of Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.

Backers say the measure will revitalize a troubled timber industry and help villages struggling to sustain their economies. Opponents say it will destroy valuable wildlands and hurt tourism, subsistence hunting and commercial fishing.

This month, CoastAlaska reporters are taking a look at some of the controversies surrounding the bill, which was a major issue in last year’s U.S. Senate race. In our first report, Ed Schoenfeld examines why Sealaska is seeking new land selections.

About 25 elders in Hoonah got an early Christmas present from Sealaska Corporation yesterday when free firewood was delivered to their doorstep. Casey Kelly has more.

Sealaska Corporation employees with help from the Hoonah High School basketball team deliver firewood to elders in the Southeast Alaska village community. (All photos by Casey Kelly/KTOO).