Southeast

Some Sealaska shareholders are pushing for a change in corporate decision-making. They say the current discretionary voting system favors board incumbents, and slows change. Managers of the Southeast regional Native corporation say the current system works well.Related Link: Read the proxy statement, and hear a report on 2009’s term limits vote.

Sealaska has started a new division to focus on economic initiatives in Southeast Alaska. It shares the name of the regional Native corporation’s lands-selection effort. But officials say it will have a wider focus.Related Link: Read the Haa Aani CEO’s job description.

Sealaska will distribute almost $8 million to shareholders in April. The Southeast regional Native corporation has about 20,000 tribal members, more than half living outside the region.Related Link: Learn more about Sealaska dividends.

Sealaska says a survey it conducted shows more than half of Southeast Alaskans support a lands-selection bill it’s trying to push through Congress. The poll shows support increasing when residents learn more about the legislation. But opponents say they’ve found out enough to know it’s a bad idea.Related Link: Click here for links to earlier…

The federal government is giving the Sealaska Corporation close to a million dollars to thin second-growth forests on Prince of Wales Island. The Forest Service also plans to thin trees using federal stimulus money. But they’ve got different aims.Related Link: Click here for more information and earlier reports.

Sealaska Corporation says alleged threats made by its board chairman will not derail efforts to get a lands-selection bill through Congress. Albert Kookesh, also a state senator, was part of a corporate delegation visiting a recent Craig City Council meeting. Sealaska officials pushed local leaders to support its proposed takeover of valuable timberlands on Prince…