The U.S. Forest Service is seeking input on how it should manage Prince of Wales Island’s federally owned landscapes. The public comment period is open for a Landscape Level Analysis project, or an LLA.

The Forest Service held a public workshop at the Generations Southeast Building in Klawock on Wednesday. 

Ken Ostrom, Deputy District Ranger on Prince of Wales, says these public meetings satisfy requirements from the National Environmental Policy Act. That’s a federal law that requires the agency to evaluate social and environmental impacts of their actions. The meetings are also valuable in getting an understanding of community priorities.

“It’s just an interactive project,” Ostrom said. “It’s based on communications and in full disclosure of what we have planned. Sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know, and we need that feedback.”

The long-term plan includes sustainable recreation, like trails and campgrounds, water passage improvements for fish, and invasive plant management.

Ostrom says the invasive plant management projects on POW typically get the most pushback. He wants people to know that the Forest Service is cautious and strategic when using herbicides. Ostrom says last year, they only treated six acres out of over 3 million on the island. And the treatment areas are typically away from where people live. 

Ostrom says it’s important to be preventative with treating these invasive species. 

“Like I say, we do just a very little bit because we don’t have the invasive problems that they do in other places,” Ostrom said. “And so it’s better to be in front of it than to be chasing it.”

At the meeting, department representatives expressed concern about Canada thistle and other invasive species crowding out the plants native to the region. That can alter nutrients in streams, change stream temperatures and impact fish habitats.

At Wednesday night’s meeting, fish biologist Hannah Harris said the Forest Service’s 2026 schedule for the island is busy. Many of the projects planned are for stream restoration, something she says they’ve made a lot of progress on in recent years. 

“2025 was a year of change for the Forest Service, and continues to be,” Harris said. “But even with a lot of uncertainty and some delays, we’re able to accomplish some projects under POWLLA that we’re really proud of.”

The plan is a live, ongoing document that was initially drafted in 2019. 

Public comment opened on April 15 and is accepted until May 15. That can be submitted online or in person at the Thorne Bay or Craig Ranger Stations. 

The Forest Service will be incorporating public comment into the finalized draft plan next month when the comment period closes. The full plan can be found on the Forest Service website. 

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The Ketchikan Gateway Borough School Board on Wednesday approved the district budget for the upcoming fiscal year. It includes a cut of over 50 staff members and the closure of two elementary schools in an effort to cut back on costs and pay back millions in debt. 

Interim superintendent Sheri Boehlert told the school board that the budget is a compromise — meaning they’ve avoided cutting entire programs. But it’s come at a substantial cost. It includes a cut of over 50 staff members and the closure of two elementary schools in an effort to cut back on costs and pay back millions in debt. 

“We’ve scaled everything back so much that it almost feels like it’s totally cut, because we are making it nearly impossible to do the work that we know needs to be done,” Boehlert.

Boehlert said that includes cuts to the district’s central office, library programming, and mental health supports. It also includes a cut to Revilla, the district’s only alternative school, despite them gaining another grade next year. Ketchikan High School is budgeted to have 15 fewer staff members. 

Earlier this month, the board voted to close both Fawn Mountain and Point Higgins Elementary Schools. That will save the district an estimated $3.2 million. These cuts and closures are due to millions of dollars of debt to the borough, declining student enrollment and high operating costs.

Boehlert said after school populations shift with the reconfigurations, she expects the incoming superintendent will flex the budget and move some staff members across schools as needed. 

A handful of people voiced concerns about the proposed lack of school counselors and mental health supports.

“We do personal counseling… anxiety attacks, self harm, suicidal ideation, there are kids walking in with, you know, snot bubbles because they’ve gotten broken up with or a friend is being mean to them,” Natasha O’Brien, a retired school counselor, said at the meeting. “We got the notification from the state that Ketchikan was experiencing a suicide cluster of attempts. We’re cutting counseling in the wake of that. It’s just beyond me.”

The board later voted to replace one social worker position with one counselor position. They also voted to remove a curriculum director from the budget — a position in central office the board agrees is important, but has gone unfilled for years.

District administrators have struggled with being stretched thin and understaffed in the central office. But board members have said they’re not comfortable adding positions to the budget right now .

Interim Business Manager Lisa Pearce said she understands the perception of adding an administrative position when they’re cutting dozens of staff members and closing schools — but it might be imperative for sustainability. 

“I’m not going to say [your education system] is going to fail, but it is certainly going to lack even the luster of what you have this year,” Pearce said. “That can’t be done by principals who are managing buildings, that can’t be done by one superintendent. Those are investments for the future, so that you have someone who can lead your district in taking these programs forward.”

Board member Jordan Tabb proposed the amendment to remove the curriculum director from the budget. But he clarified it’s not because he sees the position as less important than others — and they’ve been in similarly difficult situations before.

“Like a few years ago, there was a situation where it was thought of as, ‘do we want preschool, or do we want principals?’” Tabb said. “And I think that was a very unfair way to categorize a challenging budget situation, because our administrators and our executives are very important.”

The 2026-2027 budget is required to be submitted to the borough by May 1.

At the meeting, the school board approved a partial list of teacher contracts, and more are expected in the coming month. 

The new superintendent, Kara Four Bear, will start on July 1. 

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Two tribal groups on Prince of Wales Island are asking the Federal Subsistence Board to reverse Ketchikan’s rural designation. The board’s decision last year to reclassify Ketchikan from a non-rural designation allows all residents to hunt and fish on lands once closed to them. 

The Craig Tribal Association and Shaan Seet, a tribal organization on Prince of Wales, submitted requests for reconsideration to the federal Office of Subsistence Management last July. Both cite what they say is the board’s failure to “fully consider the unintended consequences” of allowing 13,000 new subsistence hunters from Ketchikan to access Prince of Wales Island’s deer population.

The requests go on to say that the rural designation intensifies pressure on “a cornerstone of our food security, cultural practices, and economic sustenance.”

The board is set to vote Friday on whether the requests meet the criteria for a full reconsideration process. If it does, the Office of Subsistence Management will conduct a one to two year analysis of the request for reconsideration.

Ketchikan was granted rural status a little over a year ago, but the Ketchikan Indian Community worked for years to get rights to federally regulated subsistence activities. 

KIC argues that the rural designation allows its tribal citizens to exercise traditional subsistence practices. For years under a non-rural designation, people from Ketchikan couldn’t hunt or fish on federally managed lands and waters.

KIC chief executive officer Emily Edenshaw said advocating for Ketchikan’s rural status is a fight the tribe will never stop. She said Ketchikan has “always been rural.”

“We are not on the road system,” Edenshaw said. “We meet rural designation by every standard and more. We’ve had schools shut down. We’ve had a grocery store shut down. Cost of living is higher. Access to goods and services, health care. I mean, you name it, we meet that definition.” 

Craig Tribal Association President Clinton Cook declined to comment. But in the tribe’s request for reconsideration, Cook argues that the board expanded subsistence eligibility without mitigation efforts like harvest limits. 

Elders with both Craig’s tribe and Shaan Seet report that hunts were getting harder and the deer population was declining even before Ketchikan’s rural designation. A report from the Office of Subsistence Management states that Ketchikan’s rural designation will also have impacts on hooligan in the Unuk River and southern Southeast Alaska’s salmon populations.

Ketchikan’s tribe officially proposed the reconsideration of non-rural status in 2022. Ketchikan’s local governments supported it. The Office of Subsistence Management conducted a formal study, and their analysis was inconclusive on whether Ketchikan was more rural or urban. They said there was enough evidence to support both. 

But the subsistence board’s decision to reclassify Ketchikan as a rural community last year came as a surprise and went against the Regional Advisory Council for Southeast Alaska’s recommendation. 

The request for reconsideration of Ketchikan’s rural status is being considered by the board in a private executive session tonight. The Federal Subsistence Board will reconvene tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. 

Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.

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Here is a link to the Arts Council website.

KAAHC Facebook Page.

Phone: 907-225-2211

Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. 

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The City of Craig put out a survey last month asking for input on how they should manage the growing tourism on Prince of Wales Island. The results were presented at a city council meeting last week.

The survey was requested by residents and 188 people completed it. The city received 134 resident surveys and 54 non-resident surveys. Many said they want less tourism in town. Fewer said they’d like to see more. 

Andy Deering lives in Craig. He helped draft the survey and tally results. He’s skeptical of rising tourism in the community, but was still surprised with some of the results — like how people responded about tourism affecting their quality of life. 

“Only 14% said positively,” Deering said. “And I was actually expecting that number to be higher. I mean, I’ve heard all kinds of people grousing and griping about the tourism and particularly the cruise ship tourism, but tourism in general, but that number is pretty low.”

Many respondents also said they think tourism will affect fishing and hunting competition, exposure to health risks, and their personal privacy. Marine pollution is another top concern. Results also indicate people’s opinions vary based on the type of tourism —  more are in favor of independent travelers or charters than they are cruise ships.

There’s only one cruise ship dock on Prince of Wales Island, and it’s in Klawock. But many passengers spend their time on the island down the road in Craig. 

The survey states that the City of Craig doesn’t control cruise ship schedules or passenger numbers. It’s still unclear what will be done with the results, but people seem to agree it’s a good starting point for how the town should approach rising tourism — even if some say a spike in visitors is inevitable.

Mayor Kasey Smith thanked city staff and community members for their hard work putting together the results. He wanted everyone to be able to voice their opinion before making decisions. 

“Now that we’ve done that, it is coming right around the corner,” Smith said. “So there are some decisions that you know are going to need to be made here relatively quick.”

One of those decisions, Smith said, is how and when they should give out access permits for public community areas. More people responded that they don’t want access permits granted for community areas like Graveyard Trail and Cannery Point. Several respondents indicated they’re worried about congestion on walking trails and increased foot traffic.

Smith said he wanted more discussion on access permits, but he pointed out they could be a useful way to get funding.

“We all agreed that we don’t want to use community dollars to promote tourism or maintain trails,” Smith said. “But we want to keep these trails up to date and in good shape, not only for people from out of state, but for ourselves. And one way to do that is through access grants. “

An overwhelming majority of survey respondents said they would support a Tourism Advisory Committee to provide community input and make recommendations to the City Council on tourism-related matters in Craig.

The idea for the survey emerged last fall, when community members and the city met in the Craig high school auditorium to air their grievances about the town’s rising tourism industry. 

The survey was available for around a month, and the deadline was early April. Results can be found online.  

The first cruise ship is scheduled to dock in Klawock in less than two weeks. Around 50 cruise ships are expected to visit the island this summer. 

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Hear about Rotary Interact’s “Splash of Color” run/walk coming up Sunday and Mental Health Awareness Month starts in May and there will be a Mental Health First Aid training. Stephanie Brissette and Lisa DeLaet give details, along with Rotary Interact students.

Here are links to KWC’s website and Facebook Page

The post Ketchikan Wellness Coalition Report appeared first on KRBD.

A Ketchikan man on Friday was found guilty of two felony assault charges after a stabbing in October.

Forty-five-year-old Justin William Carpenter was initially charged with one count of first degree assault after police say he stabbed his landlord over a disagreement about a laundry machine. Carpenter was later indicted on two first degree assault counts, one third degree assault count and one attempted murder count. Carpenter was found not guilty of the attempted murder charge.

Prosecutor Jackson Willard, an attorney who represented the state, said during his closing arguments that Carpenter tried to kill his landlord. He argued that Carpenter was the initial aggressor. 

“He was literally fighting for his life,” Willard said. “He had to grab Mr. Carpenter’s arms to prevent himself from being stabbed, even worse than he already had been.” 

Willard also referenced Carpenter’s testimony, saying that the landlord grabbed Carpenter’s arm while talking about laundry. Willard argued that stabbing someone is “not a reasonable reaction” to being grabbed on the arm. 

Carpenter’s attorney, Ariel Toft, said in her closing arguments that it was a case of self-defense. She argued that Carpenter was boxed in, grabbed from behind and wrestled to the ground by his landlord. 

“Remember when we discussed injury selection, that just because somebody uses force against someone doesn’t mean their intent is to hurt or kill that person,” Toft said. “Their intent may be to protect themselves, get somebody to stop hurting them, or get themselves some time to get away.” 

Toft also argued that the state failed to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. 

The jury’s verdict came after a weeklong trial at the Ketchikan Courthouse. Superior Court Judge Katherine Lybrand presided over the case. 

Carpenter’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 1 at the Ketchikan Courthouse. 

Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.

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An ADA Accessible Senior Transit Talk is coming up Thursday to learn about transportation options for seniors and those with mobility issues, it’s National Library Week so a great time to stop by the library, the Teen Advisory Group is making plans for the summer, and the children’s garden is starting to revive and is available to visit. Rebecca Brown discusses this and more.

Here is a link to the library’s website.

Here is a link to the library’s Facebook page.

Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.

The post Ketchikan Public Library Report appeared first on KRBD.

Republican Adam Crum announced in August his intent to run for the 2026 governor’s race. The Former Alaska Revenue Commissioner is one of nearly 20 candidates whose names will likely be on the ballot. 

Crum, who lives in Wasilla, recently visited Saxman for the city’s state of the community address. KRBD’s Hunter Morrison spoke with the gubernatorial candidate at the event to learn more about his run for office and goals if elected. 

Hunter Morrison: Adam, first things first. Why are you running for governor?

Adam Crum: I’m running for governor because I’m an Alaskan kid. Born in Homer, grew up in Anchor Point, and have a unique career background. 

Right now, I’ve got two little girls. If they were to leave the state, I don’t think they’d come back, because I don’t see an opportunity set for them. I think Alaska has had far too much managed decline, and we haven’t actually seized the day. When I talk to people all around the state, particularly people south of 50, we haven’t had major projects in our age group for kids that have grown here. We’ve seen and heard about things that have been promised or talked about but have never pulled the trigger. And I think Alaska needs to finally just realize we need to take control of it ourselves and to build. We have to make sure that we are building the infrastructure that keeps our communities healthy, but it also allows opportunity sets for the private sector to thrive. So I’m running because I want to build what’s next for Alaska. 

HM: Tell me about your prior work experience and why you think it would be helpful if elected governor. 

AC: I joke on the campaign trail that no rational person would have taken my career path. So when I came back, I worked for my family company. It’s Northern Industrial Training, so it’s grown into the largest post-secondary training provider in the state. It’s known primarily as truck driving and welding. I have a Master’s in science of public health, and that was what got me into service to step up and help run the Health Department. It was the largest department in the state, $3.5 billion operating budget, 3,500 employees. Is there a way you can actually make sure you have good health policy staff around you? But having worked on large, multi-billion dollar capital projects as well as ran organizations, could I look at this and help make it better? 

At the end of that, the largest reorganization of state government since 1983 occurred under me. We split the Department of Health and Social Services in half. It was kind of failing in how we provided answers to vulnerable populations on the child welfare side, to our senior side, to the Pioneer Home and the Psychiatric Institute. That occurred, and we created the Department of Health and the Department of Family and Community Services. After that, I told the governor I was done. And he said, “Hey, I have a revenue position opened up.” And so I stepped up, moved over to the Department of Revenue. So it’s that combination of being an entrepreneur, having a business, running the largest organization in the state, and then understanding where all the funds in the state are invested. That’s why I think I have a unique skill set in order to be governor. 

HM: If elected, what will be some of your top priorities as governor? 

AC: We’re going to build. Alaska has had managed decline. Since 2014, we’ve had a stagnant population. We haven’t had any real major projects. It has been very, very stale. The goal is to actually diversify our economy to make sure that we actually have durable economic development, that we don’t have these booms and busts, that people flood in, the economy super heats, the supply chain comes in and then when the projects die off or prices change – they leave. What I want to do is to make sure that we are covering our gaps in the system. That includes things around infrastructure. These are new roads and bridges. Roads to resources. These are transmission lines that we have to have. We have to modernize our grid. So on the rail belt, which is 70% of the state population, the first thing I would do on day one is actually build a transmission line north from Beluga to Healy. And that would give the state the first loop. We don’t actually do enough when it comes to bonding or doing creative tools to bring revenues into our state. And I want to focus on that. I’m going to focus on the capital budget, and we’re going to build Alaska. 

HM: We’re here in Saxman. What brings you down to the area?

AC: Down in Ketchikan, I appreciate this area. There’s so much that is going on, and this was an opportunity to come here in Saxman. And I just joked with the mayor that I got a crash course in Saxman 101, because you got to hear everything they have, from housing issues to workforce issues to their sewer and water, as well all of the other community events. I grew up in a very small town, and I understand that sometimes those unique problems get overlooked by people who live in the cities. And it’s important for me to actually come and hear those, because these are fixable problems. And a lot of this can be helped and provided for just by better coordination. That was one thing that I’ve been able to prove throughout my career in public service, is you can enable teams to coordinate together and get measurable outcomes in a shorter time frame. 

HM: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your run for governor? What some of your priorities might be if elected? Or anything along those lines? 

AC: I’m a businessman and I’m a public servant. I’ve had this unique background of putting these things together. But first of all, I’m an Alaskan. That means that we actually pull together. Alaska is such a small town, there is no six degrees of separation. We’re two degrees separated from just about everybody in the state. It is a giant small town. Every area of the state and every region matters. I do believe rising tide raises all boats, and I want Alaska as a whole to thrive. And you can work on major projects in one area, but you can also simultaneously keep other ones moving along. It doesn’t have to be an either/or scenario. You can organize your government in such a way that we are all going to thrive and we are all going to benefit from projects. You know what, Alaska? It’s time to move on our own and take control of our own destiny. So it’s one of those. You can either settle for managed decline, or you can build what’s next, and that’s what I’m going to do. 

Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.

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Hear about some of the nearly 500 jobs available in the Ketchikan area and other services offered by the Job Center. Reed Harding gives details during the April 20 report.

You can contact the Ketchikan Job Center at 907-225-3181.

Here is a link to find jobs on the State of Alaska website.

Here is a link to the Rapid Response site offering support to employees who are fired or laid off.

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