Day: March 18, 2026

Just a few minutes after the doors of the Alaska Native Brotherhood/Sisterhood Hall in Haines opened, more than 80 people were in line for food.

Many had walked in with their own dishes to share in the final community potluck meal of the season, organized by the Haines Chamber of Commerce and local chef Travis Kukull.

By the time the night was over, more than 100 people came through – which is on track for the other two community potlucks. Kukull said people have contributed between 30 and 40 dishes each night as well.

Monday evening’s meal was co-sponsored by the Chilkat Forever initiative and the American Bald Eagle Foundation. Chilkat Indian Village (CIV) tribal councilwoman Shawna Hotch said they put out a call to Klukwan residents to share anything that showcased and celebrated their way of life, so potluck-goers wound their way by tables full of raffle items, everything from laser printed formline earrings and beaded abalone, to smoked and fresh-packed salmon, hand-tied flies, mugs from the Chilkat Indian Village and a guided voucher to the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center.

She said she saw a great turnout, and more people signing up to support Chilkat Forever, which is a group led by the CIV tribal council working to protect the Chilkat River, including fighting against the development of the Palmer mine project.
“We’re open to sharing our way of life and knowledge with people who are willing to learn,” Hotch said.
While the potlucks are over for the season, Kukull said he submitted a letter of interest to the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program seeking $90,000-$100,000 to host them once a week for six months over the next winter.

Kukull said the free event is healthy for the Chilkat Valley.

“We’re not necessarily forcing people to eat healthy during this thing, though there are healthy options. I think it’s more the wintertime gathering space, getting together, that interaction that you have with your community members that you otherwise wouldn’t have on a Monday or maybe not even for a couple of months,” he said. “It means a lot to people.”

And, he said, at a time when economic pressures are increasing, he appreciates being able to give people a free option.

“Everyone has a right to affordable, nutritious foods. In rural parts of Alaska this is becoming increasingly untenable. If you don’t practice subsistence or farm, and you’re on a tight budget, then there is little assistance available to help feed your family. The potlucks are basic community stewardship, which addresses a real problem and invites everyone to participate,” he said.

The post More than 100 gather for final winter potluck, organizers seek funding to expand program appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Two assembly members say their use of Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence engine could be a model for future local government use; others have raised questions about errors in the document.

Assembly members Kevin Forster and Gabe Thomas last week introduced a package of potential regulations for heavy industry dubbed the “Safety Belt.” It’ll serve, they say, as a wide-ranging “menu” of policy proposals that have been put into place elsewhere in the state. The proposals range from toxic-materials-handling regulations to requirements for specific consultation with local tribal governments. 

Forster acknowledged after last week’s assembly meeting that the two used AI to help generate the 35-page package.

In interviews this week, Forster and Thomas described Gemini as a key tool for both research and drafting of the package. 

The initial research phase consisted of compiling heavy-industry regulations already on the books elsewhere in the state. Forster and Thomas said they leaned on personal experience, for instance Thomas looking for regulations in Tok after personal trips to the town. 

Forster spent time pulling from Juneau’s code — a neighbor and often a model for Haines’ municipal government. 

That step, pulling sections of code, involved Gemini. For Juneau, Forster said he prompted the AI engine to “give us some examples that could work (in Haines), and break down in layman’s terms what they did and the strategy behind them.”

That resulted in ideas for regulations like requiring heavy industry to pay all administrative costs associated with their business, which he said could have, for instance, paid for a Haines Economic Development Corporation mine-impact assessment done in 2019. 

Forster said they also fed broader prompts into the engine, like asking “what kind of precedent is there in the state for municipalities regulating heavy industry.” 

In addition to sourcing and distilling possible regulations, Thomas said Gemini helped write the package that was posted for the public, though he emphasized he and Forster “shifted it, changed it, worded it differently,” after getting the engine’s results. Forster described interactions with Gemini as a “constant back and forth.”

In their eyes, the heavy-lifting Gemini did was what made the package possible, allowing for a home-run swing on big, comprehensive policy options in a borough short on government capacity and resources. 

“We’re just two good old boys from Haines,” Thomas said. “We’re just trying to figure out how to protect our home.”

“Is (the draft legislation) at the same place as if you hired an administrative assistant and they spent a month and eight- or ten-thousand taxpayer dollars on it? No, it’s probably not at that same place,” Forster said. “But it’s the most robust thing we’ve gotten so far to start a community discussion.”

Some question the trade-offs made for the sake of efficiency. In a public comment at last week’s assembly meeting, former assembly member Natalie Dawson said she frequently works with AI, and saw errors in the document characteristic of the technology, or at least improper use of the technology. 

“AI models do a very poor job of interpreting legal cases, and there were some comments made about specific legal cases in that document that are not correct,” Dawson said. 

Another section of the Safety Belt lays out a timeline for the public hearings and votes on the package. Next to each event on the timeline is a “reference” to policies or sections of code requiring or justifying the event. 

In one instance, the document cites a section of borough code, 2.04.070, that doesn’t exist. When prompted to summarize the nonexistent section of code, Gemini writes a full summary, but links as its sole source the assembly documents about Safety Belt. If told that the section doesn’t exist, Gemini responds that “upon closer inspection of the actual Haines Borough Code, Section 2.04.070 does not exist.”

In another section, members of the public are instructed to connect input to the “Chilkat Valley Vision.” But there’s no indication of what the Chilkat Valley Vision is, and it doesn’t appear in other borough documents like the Comprehensive Plan.  

Forster said they were aware of the possibility of these errors, including when the AI engine gave them a version of a Skagway ore-containerization regulation that hadn’t passed. Forster said he noticed and directed Gemini to re-search for the version that had passed. 

But largely, the two sponsors are leaning on the Safety Belt’s status as a “draft” document. When asked about Dawson’s statement that she had found multiple errors characteristic of AI in the document, Thomas responded that “none of (the document) is set legislation.” 

“We just wanted something to start the discussion,” he added. “These are all things we’re explaining we can do as a community. We just want the community to have the discussion before something happens.”

There are multiple timelines at play with the Safety Belt. One is the prospect of heavy industry on the horizon. Getting regulations on the books before significant tree cutting or mining arrives — being proactive, rather than reactive, as Thomas puts it — is a major goal. 

The other timeline is more definite, and likely happening far sooner. That’s this October’s election: Forster and Thomas have laid out their timeline in such a way that the regulations can make it onto the ballot as a ballot measure for voters to decide on this year. 

The rationale, Thomas said, is that Forster’s term is expiring. 

“I want to be able to champion it with him,” Thomas said. Thomas described himself and Forster as partners from opposite sides of the aisle — a display to the community that the regulations are a pragmatic middle ground. 

“Him and I, we see eye to eye on a lot of things and don’t see eye to eye on other things, but we can work together. After the next election I don’t know if I’ll have someone to help me champion it.”

Aiming for this year’s election introduces a set of tight deadlines for ironing out the rough edges of the draft document. 

Borough Code requires the assembly take a final vote approving a ballot initiative at least 40 days before the election, in this case late August. All public hearings and amendments would have to go through before then. 

The schedule for the approval process the assembly signed off on last week sets an April 9 deadline for an initial round of public input on the draft. 

The Haines Borough Planning Commission is then set to hold a Safety Belt public hearing some time in June. The assembly’s public hearings are planned for July, before a final vote in August. 

If public input at hearings does result in substantive changes, assembly practice is to schedule additional public hearings to ensure the public can consider the final form of the bill, borough clerk Mike Denker said. For instance, recent cell-tower regulations went through six public hearings due to repeated amendments. Those additional public hearings, however, are not required by borough code, Denker said. 

The package will also go in front of the borough’s lawyers for a legal review. 

Beyond the results of the October election, the Safety Belt could serve as a test case for AI use at the borough level. 

“This is a different way to go about it and it’ll be a learning process about whether it’s appropriate or not,” Forster said. 

The post Despite errors, drafters see promise in AI assistance on new regs appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Californian Ross Tester has made a career hurtling off mountain faces across the world.  Standing above the Chilkat Valley’s Little Jarvis Glacier Friday morning was something different. 

From the starting gate of the 27-year-old skier’s Freeride World Tour run, Tester said the steepness of the pitch meant the mountain “rolled over” out of sight below him, meaning he was dropping in mostly blind. 

“A little scary,” is how he described it afterward. 

“A lot of the time we’re skiing stuff that’s a lot more low-key, whereas around here it’s such sustained, steep pitches. It’s very, very different from what a lot of us normally ski.” 

Down below, Craig Loomis watched the run at the Harbor Bar, where a TV showed a helicopter shot of Tester — just a speck and smudge of powder on the otherwise blank mountain face. 

It made Loomis emotional, seeing on the international broadcast the peaks he grew up on, around places like Big Boulder, Little Boulder and Muncaster creeks. As a kid, Loomis said he’d crawl on his stomach to look over the edges of the alpine spines. Never did he imagine people going over on skis and snowboards. 

It was Loomis who, late last winter, kicked off the start of a long chain of events: Stopping into the Fogcutter to practice for the Aaron Nash memorial pool tournament, he got to talking with someone who introduced him to a Freeride World Tour executive who also happened to be in the bar. 

Some time down the line, after communication between the Loomises and Freeride CEO Nicolas Hale-Woods and negotiations back and forth with the borough, freeriders were dropping in a couple thousand feet above the Klehini River.

Of course, it wasn’t just the pool-table brokering. Freeride and Hale-Woods had reason to come back to Haines after last holding the world tour in town in 2017. Hale-Woods this week called the Chilkat Valley’s terrain “some of, if not the best, mountains in the world.” 

Another ingredient in Freeride’s return was $75,000 Haines Borough residents paid in borough funds to the company, making it financially viable for it to stage an event in Haines. Still, according to the budget in the company’s contract with the borough, it expected to take a loss on the event. 

The borough’s payment has prompted questions about what kind of return residents might see on their investment. Some during the watch party at the Harbor Bar expressed frustration while watching the event. 

“Look at this,” resident Suzanne Vuillet-Smith said, pointing at the shots of the terrain on the broadcast. “We don’t need to beg people to come here.”

It’s true, many of the freeriders said, that they did not need to be begged to come. The existing skiing fame of Haines throws some doubt into the idea that the event might be impactful marketing for winter tourism in Haines.

Tester said he had been hearing specifically about the skiing in Haines since he was 10 years old, and called finally making it a “dream come true.” 

Chris Volkmann, a non-Freeride heliskier in town and a ski-patrol member at Alta in Utah, said he didn’t imagine the competition would be a big increase in exposure, at least in the big-terrain skiing community. 

“Everyone who does this knows Haines is the best,” he said.  

There was also an idea that Freeride would arrive with an influx of cash. Last year, in materials sent to borough officials, the world tour estimated it would add $416,000 in local spending the week of the event. 

Some businesses in town reported hot weekends, like Pioneer Bar and Bamboo Room owner Christy Tengs-Fowler, who said the weekend “helped pay the bills in the middle of a tough month.” 

But Freeride’s stay was shorter than expected, with competition happening two days early to catch a short window of clear weather, and athletes quickly left town afterward. Many said they were eager to get home after months of constant travel. 

While hard economic numbers aren’t yet available for this year, the last time Freeride came to Haines in 2017, direct spending appeared minimal: sales tax revenue from the month of the competition was lower than the same month the following year, without any ski and snowboard competition. 

But some say the benefits go beyond just heliskiing or short-term dollar amounts. That includes Loomis, who sees the tour as a symbol for the type of tourism economy he’d like to see grow in the Chilkat Valley. 

“I guarantee you, people watching this right now are going, ‘How can I get there? What do I have to do to see this pristine place?’” Loomis said. “As long as we don’t ruin it, as long as people want to see raw wilderness, this will last forever.” 

Likewise, borough tourism director Reba Hylton pointed to positive social media posts from Freeride athletes she said would help market Haines as an adventure travel destination. 

Loomis, an assembly member, is a vocal opponent of industries like large-scale logging and mining. In his mind, Freeride, and tourism focused on wilderness, bolsters that argument.

“To me, it’s unfathomable that we as humans don’t want to protect what we have here,” he said. “All the gold, all the timber, that’s nothing compared to what these (skiers and snowboarders) are feeling.”

The heliskiing industry has long had conflict with some conservationists in the area. But this weekend, it wasn’t just Loomis who pitched Freeride as a symbol for conservation in the valley. 

The Chilkat Indian Village’s Chilkat Forever initiative, which campaigns against local large-scale mining, posted on social media about what they said was the potential for the Palmer Project — a local mine exploration — to threaten “favored ski terrain.”  

Chilkat Indian Village tribal council president Kimberley Strong spoke at a Saturday night banquet for Freeride athletes and staff and delivered a related message. 

“When you were flying down those mountains … I was thinking about how when we look up at the mountains around us, especially when I’m in Klukwan, I was told that what we’re living in is a food bowl,” Strong said to the assembled competitors. “And you could see, all around you, the mountains that protect us and give us strength and courage to continue our way of life in the Chilkat Valley.” 

It’s not a consensus that Freeride is a symbol of an anti-heavy industry stance. Executives from the mining project were also in the banquet audience, and mine owner Viszla Copper’s logo was prominently featured on Freeride event branding after it contributed $25,000 to Freeride. 

But between mining and anti-mining, tourism and natural beauty, there did seem to be agreement that Freeride in some way symbolized what the valley was worth. 

Tengs-Fowler at the Bamboo Room talked about the different languages she heard flying around on the weekend — Italian, French, Spanish — all gathered at tables in her restaurant. 

When Freeride came to town in 2017, Tengs-Fowler’s son, Marty Fowler, worked for the competition as a photographer. After the event, Freeride asked him to stay on for the next competition in Verbier, Switzerland. 

The Fowlers then went on to Verbier, where Marty Fowler was with a camera on top of a peak in the Swiss Alps. Tengs-Fowler, meanwhile, was down below in the town center, surrounded by multi-million dollar chalets, she said, and a screen showing the competition. 

All of a sudden, on that screen in Switzerland a story or two tall, Tengs-Fowler remembers, a familiar sight popped up: “I’m standing there watching, and guess what comes up on the screen? The Pioneer Bar,” she said. “I got chills.” 

“Haines is definitely featured over there. I feel really lucky that people think of Haines that way and want to be here.” 

Same sentiment with Loomis: “I get emotional about being raised in this part of the world, about being an Alaskan. People envy us,” he said during the competition. Then he pointed at the helicopter shots panning up the long alpine spines. “People envy this.”

The pride will likely remain for some time, but what comes next? 

Freeride CEO Hale-Woods said whether the tour returns next year remains up in the air. 

“We would definitely like to come back. We’re going to debrief, check the return on investment for the borough and the media numbers, and the borough assembly will decide.” 

Editor’s note: The Chilkat Valley News’ Rashah McChesney partnered with the Harbor Bar to host the Freeride watch party. She did not take part in reporting on or writing about Freeride events as a result. 

The post Pride, and some frustration, from Freeride weekend appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Saturday, March 7

A caller on FAA Road reported flooding in the roadway. The borough Department of Public Works was advised and a Nixle alert was sent out.

Officers performed a follow-up report in the 300 block of Main Street.

An officer conducted a vehicle stop on the Haines Highway. A verbal warning was issued for headlights.

An officer conducted a vehicle stop on Main Street. A citation was issued for proof of insurance.

An officer conducted a vehicle stop in the 100 block of Third Avenue. A citation was issued for proof of insurance.

Officers performed a follow-up report in the 700 block of Fourth Avenue.

There were two EMS calls, one 911 hang-up call and six burn permits issued.

Sunday, March 8

A caller in the 200 block of Main Street reported an obstruction on the sidewalk.  An officer was advised.

A caller in the 1100 block of Mud Bay Road reported hearing an alarm at a neighbor’s house. An officer contacted the homeowner.
A caller on FAA Road reported a power line down in the area. AP&T was notified.
A caller in the 200 block of Main Street reported a possible violation of a protective order. An officer responded.
A caller in the 100 block of Main Street requested to speak with an officer regarding a civil case. An officer was advised.
A caller in the 200 block of Second Avenue requested a welfare check on a friend. An officer responded.
A caller in the 600 block of Haines Highway reported seeing two calves and a cow near the roadway and trails. A Nixle alert was sent.
A caller on the Haines Highway reported a semi-truck speeding toward town. An officer was advised.

Monday, March 9
A caller in the 50 block of Bjomstad Street reported firearms possibly missing or stolen. An officer responded.

Tuesday, March 10
A caller on Chestnut Road reported firearms possibly missing or stolen. An officer responded.
A caller in the 400 block of Main Street reported accidentally setting off a fire alarm. There was no fire.
An officer performed a follow-up report on Haines Highway.

Wednesday, March 11
An officer in the 900 block of Mud Bay Road performed a vehicle inspection.
A caller on Chestnut Road reported firearms possibly missing or stolen. An officer responded.
A caller on Piedad Road reported a moose in the area. An officer was advised.
A caller on Comstock Road turned in a found cell phone. The owner was contacted and picked it up.
An officer conducted a vehicle stop on Third Avenue and issued a verbal warning for taillight requirements.
An officer conducted a vehicle stop on Haines Highway and issued a verbal warning for taillights.
An officer conducted a vehicle stop on Haines Highway and issued a verbal warning for taillight and a citation for insurance and failure to register a vehicle.

Thursday, March 12
A caller on Four Winds Road reported a trespasser on private property. An officer was advised.

An officer performed a follow-up report in the 200 block of Main Street.
A caller in the 600 block of Haines Highway reported seeing two calves and a cow near the roadway and trails. A Nixle alert was sent.

Friday, March 13
An officer performed a follow-up report in the 100 block of First Avenue.
An officer performed a follow-up report in the 500 block of Main Street.
An officer performed a follow-up report in the 100 block of Main Street.
A caller at 18 Mile Haines Highway reported a theft from their home. An officer was advised.
Officers conducted a vehicle stop at Carrs Cove.
An officer conducted a vehicle stop on Main Street and issued a verbal warning for headlight requirements.
An officer performed a follow-up report on Union Street.
Officers in the 100 block of Main Street performed a building check.
Officers conducted a vehicle stop in the 200 block of Main Street and issued a verbal warning for headlights.
Officers on Second Avenue arrested a driver for driving while intoxicated.

Saturday, March 14
A caller in the 700 block of Small Tracts Road reported an altercation and harassment. Officers responded.
Officers in the 700 block of Small Tracts Road performed a welfare check.
An officer conducted a vehicle stop on Deishu Drive and issued a verbal warning for taillights.
An officer conducted a vehicle stop at 3.5 Mile Haines Highway and issued a verbal warning for headlights.

There were seven EMS calls, two 911 hang-up calls and 11 burn permits issued.

The post Blotter: March 7 – March 14 appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Multiple sources reported on Monday that the lovely early spring sunshine dancing through their windowpanes was illuminating all the crumbs, cobwebs, dust, and cat hair on their floors.

“At first I was delighted by the melting icicles and how the world seemed about to be reborn,” said local Molly Broom, “but then I saw a Girl Scout Thin Mint that had slid under the refrigerator. I thought I finished off that box like four months ago.”

Resident Jim Hoover reported being horrified at the state of his floors this morning. “This whole time I thought I was being rather fastidious. Then the angle of light changed and I found a dust bunny under the dishwasher the size of an actual bunny.”

A nine-year-old source, who wished to remain anonymous, sobbed to reporters that she had been tasked with sweeping the kitchen before being allowed out to play, but no matter how hard she cleaned, everything still looked dirty.

The post Beam of Spring Sunshine Revealing How Dirty Floor Is appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported this week that a resident brown bear, currently asleep on Chilly Ridge, had just broken the regional record by hitting the ‘snooze’ button on his alarm clock for the six hundredth consecutive time.

“Bear 681, better known as Fishy McBreath, is truly a marathon hibernator,” said state biologist and alarm-clock technician Harold Nerdington. “We originally started outfitting the radio collars with tiny alarm clocks back in 2005 to increase bear productivity metrics, and track circadian rhythms. But they just hit snooze over and over.

McBreath soundly beat out the previous record holder, a 700-pound sow named Big Bertha, who hit snooze 486 times before crushing the device between her vise-like jaws.

The post Local Bear Hits Snooze Button for Six Hundredth Time appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

The natural beauty of this valley is what ultimately drew me and has kept me here. 

I love that I can walk a few minutes from my home and be surrounded by jaw-dropping beauty. I believe the benefits of this cabin will far outweigh any of the negatives. 

With both land and water access this cabin will provide local families the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful part of the canal year-round. It allows our elders and those of us who have limited mobility the chance to camp.  

As a mother of two teenagers, I can tell you that Haines can feel very small and confining in the winter.  Having this cabin will provide a safe and healthy opportunity for our youth to get outside and enjoy this amazing piece of beauty. 

I am so grateful for all of the work that Haines Huts has done for our community, especially the wonderful Tukga Hut.  Let’s continue this forward momentum by making this amazing place we all call home more accessible to all.  

Here’s to more cabins and trails in the Chilkat Valley! 

Jess Crowe 

The post Yes to Twin Coves cabin appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

After this past weekend’s Freeride event, I’ve been reflecting on just how many people it takes to make something like this happen. 

I wish I could thank everyone individually, but that would likely require a full-page ad in the paper — and I’d still worry about missing someone. What I can say is that events of this magnitude simply don’t happen without a community willing to come together, lend a hand and support one another along the way.

I feel incredibly grateful to live and work in a place where that spirit is so strong.

A special thank you goes to my small but mighty team at Visit Haines. The long hours, creativity, and dedication that went into making this event successful cannot be overstated. It is truly a privilege to work alongside people who care so deeply and show up at all hours to get the job done.

To everyone who helped in big ways and small — thank you. Your support made this event possible.

With gratitude,
Rebecca Hylton, Haines Borough Tourism Director

The post Thank you for the work and support of Freeride event appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.

Please join me Saturday, March 28, for what will likely be the biggest national day of protest in U.S. history.  

I prioritize attending the Justice for All Rally because I abhor the unnecessary cruelty and violence of ICE — the smashing of car windows, the dragging of people out of their houses without court-issued warrants, and the use of excessive force which has resulted in three murders of American citizens and many more senseless deaths in ICE detention facilities.  

Please read the Fourth Amendment.

I prioritize attending to protest an illegal, undeclared war with Iran.  Please read Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution that gives Congress the exclusive power to declare war.

I prioritize attending because justice for more than 1,000 victims of childhood sexual abuse and trafficking is being stonewalled to protect pedophiles.

I prioritize attending because I fear we have lost our Constitutional checks and balances. The framers of the Constitution aimed to safeguard against the concentration of power, ensuring each branch could limit the others, and prevent tyranny.

I prioritize attending because the SAVE Act will disenfranchise millions of eligible citizens from voting — an intentional act from the man in the White House who will stop at nothing to retain power.  Please remember January 6, 2021.

If you share any — or all — of these concerns, please join me at Tlingit Park at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 28.

Dena Selby

The post Prioritize joining demonstration for national day of protest  appeared first on Chilkat Valley News.