Articles written by Mary Koppes
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 34
Locals express frustration with Kake Road project development
PETERSBURG – About 15 Petersburg and Kupreanof residents attended a meeting last Thursday night to hear about and voice their opinions on recent developments on the Kake Access road project....
Southeast fishermen benefit from healthy halibut stocks
While the pink salmon harvest is coming in below expectations for price and quantity, the commercial halibut fishery is going strong for Area 2C, Southeast Alaska. A quota share update from the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC)...
Local humpback obtains longest re-sighting record
A humpback whale that was first sighted in Lynn Canal in 1972 was re-sighted by researchers earlier this month feeding off Cape Fanshaw in Frederick Sound. The 44-year span between the two sightings...
Show me the money:
At the polls on Oct. 6, Wrangell voters will be determining whether or not local public officials should be exempt from state financial disclosure requirements. Now Petersburg is considering a similar exemption, with an ordinance to put the...
Summer service canceled for inter-island ferry service
The Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT) has cancelled the scheduled summer sailings of the M/V LeConte that would have utilized the South Mitkof ferry terminal near Petersburg due to maintenance-related delays of the Alaska Marine Highway...
SEAPA bond resolution passes with amended wording
Petersburg Borough Assembly members passed an amended resolution to allow Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) to move forward with refinancing of existing 2009 bonds and a proposed $7 million bond sale to fund an expansion of the Swan Lake... Full story
SEAPA asks for refinancing support from member utilities
Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) CEO Trey Acteson spoke before the Petersburg and Ketchikan borough assemblies last week and the Wrangell Assembly on Tuesday to update the communities on the progress of the Swan Lake expansion project and... Full story
Southeast falls below-average in snowpack survey
Findings from the Alaska Snow Survey Report released February 2015 show that snowpack across the state of Alaska is below normal, and snowpack in Southeast is less than half the normal rate. The USDA'...
Petersburg to host inaugural SE Commercial Growers conference
PETERSBURG – The first-ever Southeast Commercial Growers Conference will be held in Petersburg Feb. 27- March 1. The event will bring together commercial food and flower growers from across the region to swap ideas and information about how to run...
Weaver pleads guilty; released to Hawaii on bond
PETERSBURG – Petersburg resident Mark Weaver, 59, has pled guilty to one of two felony charges brought against him following an explosion last July in the rock quarry behind the airport. Weaver faced two counts of Possession of Unregistered...
TAC reviews public comments on timber harvest transition
PETERSBURG – Members of the Tongass Advisory Committee (TAC) met Jan. 20-23 in Juneau to continue discussions on their recommendations to be considered as part of a new Secretary of Agriculture forest plan that focuses on transitioning timber...
Kake mayor pleas for local support for power intertie
PETERSBURG – Though many of the thirty individuals who showed up at the public meeting held last Wednesday to discuss the Kake-Petersburg Intertie (KPI) expressed their support for the project, a spirited discussion also ensued about the various...
Tye Petersen sentenced to 12 years on child pornography charges
PETERSBURG – On Jan. 7, former Petersburg School District Maintenance Director Tye Petersen was sentenced to 12 years in jail, followed by 25 years of supervised release for Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography. U.S. District...
Monitoring program yields quicker warnings against shellfish hazards
PETERSBURG – A new phytoplankton monitoring program being done by Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) will help alert recreational and subsistence shellfishers to harmful algal blooms in the area more quickly. “There are types of phytoplankton...
TBPC to be recast as advisory committee
The Wrangell and Petersburg Assemblies will soon vote on an ordinance that will turn the Thomas Bay Power Commission (TBPC) into a member appointed advisory committee, activated only at the behest of both assemblies. The TBPC oversaw the Tyee...
Public comment opening for Kake-Petersburg Intertie
PETERSBURG – The U.S. Forest Service will soon be accepting comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Kake-Petersburg Intertie, a proposed electrical transmission line...
Southeast gillnet and purse seine task forces meet in Petersburg
PETERSBURG – The Southeast Alaska Drift Gillnet and Purse Seine task forces met in Petersburg on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, to review the 2014 season and discuss the 2015 season. On Tuesday, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) bio...
TAC members identify common ground in timber transition
Tongass Advisory Committee (TAC) members compiled work-group draft recommendations for the Tongass National Forest’s timber management plan amendment at their Nov. 19-21 meeting in Sitka. Present at the recent meeting was USDA Under Secretary of...
SEAPA receives clean audit; grant activity up in 2014
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) board members met in Petersburg Nov. 13-14 to discuss the results of their annual audit and other business. Independent auditing company BDO performed this year’s audit, which followed both generally...
Three Southeast towns rank in top 20 largest ports of 2013
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries has released its annual report of commercial fish landings in 2013. The report outlines the top 50 ports by pounds of fish landed and value of fish landed. Nine of the top 20 major...
Hatchery rebuild progressing, minimal impact anticipated
PETERSBURG – With a crew working six days a week, construction at the Crystal Lake Hatchery facility is moving along on schedule. “We’re basically on schedule, which is a little bit surprising for a construction project,” Bill Gass said with...
Local halibut trends differ from coastwise average
PETERSBURG – The Petersburg Vessel Owners Association hosted a presentation by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) exploring long-term halibut trends. IPHC Executive Director Bruce Leaman and quantitative scientist Ian Stewart...
TAC members look at social impact of old-growth timber transition
PETERSBURG – The Tongass Advisory Committee (TAC) heard presentations from Forest Service and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials and discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with an impending transition to young-growth...
E-waste program recycles 15,000 pounds of local electronics
PETERSBURG – Petersburg Indian Association’s first-ever e-waste program sent 15,000 pounds – a full 40-foot shipping container – of electronics to Seattle to be recycled. The program ran June 30 to Aug. 30 and offered locals free disposal of...
Kake power intertie features at Southeast Conference
A Kake-Petersburg Intertie (KPI) project update was given during last week’s Southeast Conference in Wrangell. The KPI includes a proposed electrical transmission line that would connect Kake to a SEAPA (Southeast Alaska Power Agency) substation...