The road out of Juneau is getting a little longer this summer. Crews are extending Glacier Highway, the capital city’s northernmost land route. It’s a step in what officials hope will be an approximately 50-mile highway, to the north and west along Lynn Canal. Transportation Commissioner Marc Luiken told the Juneau Chamber of Commerce on…
Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska
2012 ferry schedule reactions mixed
JUNEAU, ALASKA (2011-08-16) Reactions to the proposed ferry schedule for next summer are mixed. In general, communities like more service and dislike reductions. But it’s not that simple. The draft of 2012’s May-through-September sailing plan alters the fast ferry Fairweather’s routes. One change has the ship stop in Angoon twice a week during its Juneau-Sitka…
Mine drilling OK’d in two roadless areas
The Forest Service today (Tuesday) OK’d exploratory drilling at two Southeast Alaska mine sites. The work will be done in roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest. That means they needed approval from agency Chief Tom Tidwell. The Greens Creek mine is allowed up to three drilling sites totaling less than an acre. The operating…
Bill would allow gull egg harvest in Glacier Bay
A bill just heard by a Congressional committee would allow Tlingits from Hoonah to harvest seagull eggs in Glacier Bay. It would resume a tradition that ended when the former Native homeland became a national park. But it faces opposition from a nationwide environmental group. Tlingits used to live, hunt and fish in Glacier Bay,…
Angoon, Gustavus, Petersburg ferry sailings could change
Alaska’s marine highway plans some schedule changes next summer. The fast ferry will begin port calls in Angoon but have fewer stops in Petersburg. The main Lynn Canal ship will reverse its route, and Gustavus will double its sailings to and from Juneau. But most other routes will remain the same. That includes the new…
Ferry reservations staff could leave Juneau
State officials say they have no immediate plans to move the marine highway reservations office from Juneau to Ketchikan. But they confirm it is on a long-term list of possible system changes. The office remained in the capital city when most other headquarters functions were relocated about seven years ago. Ferry chief Mike Neussl says…