FIFTH OPENING – The Sitka seine boats Hukilau and Rose Lee pump herring aboard this afternoon at the end of Deep Inlet during the fifth opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. The opening was being held in two locations beginning at 11 a.m. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson) 

New RFP Sought For Managing PAC
27 Mar 2024 14:48

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The future of management and operations at the Perform [ ... ]

Seiners Get Second Day with 2 Areas to Fish
27 Mar 2024 14:46

By Sentinel Staff
    The Sitka Sound commercial herring sac roe fishery continued today with open [ ... ]

Braves Take Second in Last Minute Upset
27 Mar 2024 12:41

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
    After storming into the state 3A boys basketball brac [ ... ]

Tuesday City League Volleyball
27 Mar 2024 12:39

By Sentinel Staff
    The Queen Bees’ spotless season record ended Tuesday night with a 2-1 loss [ ... ]

Kodiak Alutiiq Museum Getting New Attention
27 Mar 2024 12:37

By SHIRLEY SNEVE
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House Hearing on Inmate Deaths Halted
27 Mar 2024 12:35

By CLAIRE STREMPLE
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Nominee to Bering Sea Council: Not a Trawler
27 Mar 2024 12:34

By NATHANIEL HERZ
Northern Journal
    Tribal and environmental advocates calling for a crackdown o [ ... ]

March 27, 2024, Police Blotter
27 Mar 2024 12:26

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 26
At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]

March 27, 2024, Community Happenings
27 Mar 2024 12:25

Big Rigs Sought
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Reassessments Raise Tax Bills for Sitkans
26 Mar 2024 15:22

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The city’s reassessment of taxable real estate, alo [ ... ]

Two Areas Opened in Herring Fishery Today
26 Mar 2024 15:21

By Sentinel Staff
The third opening in this year’s Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery was held Mon [ ... ]

Lady Wolves Rally to Take Fourth at State
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
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Edgecumbe Girls Close Out Season Up North
26 Mar 2024 14:58

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel ports Editor
    Competing in the state 3A basketball tournament in Anc [ ... ]

City League Monday
26 Mar 2024 14:55

By Sentinel Staff
    Playing in a competitive division City League volleyball game Monday evening [ ... ]

House Votes to Broaden Rules For Review Panel Memb...
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26 Mar 2024 14:51

By NATHANIEL HERZ
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Faster Internet Speeds In Rural Schools OK'd
26 Mar 2024 13:53

By CLAIRE STREMPLE
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Native Words Gathered In Environment Studies
26 Mar 2024 13:52

By YERETH ROSEN
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    In the language of the Gwich’in people of northeastern Alaska,  [ ... ]

March 26, 2024, Police Blotter
26 Mar 2024 13:49

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 25
At 7:48 a.m. a calle [ ... ]

March 26, 2024, Community Happenings
26 Mar 2024 13:48

Vietnam-Era Vets
Invited to Lunch,
Commemoration
American Legion Post 13 will host a luncheon 1-3 p.m.  [ ... ]

Sac Roe Herring Fishery Opens in Hayward
25 Mar 2024 15:30

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The 2024 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery got under [ ... ]

Projects on the Table For Cruise Tax Funds
25 Mar 2024 15:28

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The Assembly will start the annual process of determi [ ... ]

Braves Take Second at State after Close Loss
25 Mar 2024 15:23

By Sentinel Staff
    Competing in the 3A state championship title basketball game Saturday, the M [ ... ]

City League Games Continue
25 Mar 2024 15:11

By Sentinel Staff
    Playing through the afternoon Sunday, City League volleyball teams faced off [ ... ]

Other Articles

Daily Sitka Sentinel

McGraws’ Day-Tours Project Moving Ahead

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    A Sitka company hopes to offer wilderness activities such as paddleboarding and kayaking at the head of Silver Bay under a state permit in the next few years.
    The State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources has issued a preliminary decision to authorize a 10-year lease to Halibut Point Marine Services LLC for .4 acres of state-owned tidelands, currently used by the McGraw family for a private dock and cabin.
    “The applicant plans to use state-owned land to renovate and use an existing cabin, dock and float as a staging point for commercial day tours,” the state DNR notice says.
    Chris McGraw, manager of Halibut Point Marine, said plans are in the works to replace the private dilapidated cabin on the existing footprint and use the dock to offer day trips on paddleboards and kayaks, under a new company, Adventure Sitka.
    “With the growing visitor industry, it’s a good opportunity, a good location to do shore excursions,” he said.
    The 20x40-foot cabin was built in 1972 on state tidelands and was used by McGraw’s grandparents during summers. But it’s used rarely now. The dock has been recently replaced and is in good shape, McGraw said.
    The general plan calls for taking up to 20 passengers from the Halibut Marine dock to the area, for a tour experience in Silver Bay involving paddleboards or kayaks. If the McGraws are using a model similar to other excursion companies, the customers would be dropped off downtown afterward, and the company could pick up new clients.
    There are no plans for using the uplands for the business, he added.
    “We don’t have anything set in stone,” he said, noting that the company has not yet been granted a permit for commercial use.
    But McGraw said there is a need to provide more experiences, such as tours, to accommodate the growth in the cruise market.
    “We’re trying to develop something to increase shore excursions which helps promote the cruise industry here,” he said. “I think as our cruise ship traffic increases there needs to be new shore excursion products to give passengers new activities.”
    Cruise ship numbers are predicted to drop slightly next year, to 210,400, with a “good increase” expected in 2021.
    Given the lengthy permitting process, McGraw said he doesn’t expect to be able to offer the shore excursion to cruise passengers until at least 2021.
    Those wanting to comment may submit them to 400 Willoughby Ave., P.O. Box 111020, Juneau, 99811-1020, or by email to jacob.hall@alaska.gov.

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Matthew C. Hunter of Sitka recently returned from Cuba as part of a St. Olaf College International and Off-Campus Studies program. Hunter, a junior physics major at St. Olaf College, is the son of Robert and Kim Hunter of Sitka.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Eighth graders have returned from a visit to Juneau to see the Legislature. They had worked for it since Christmas vacation ... Clarice Johnson’s idea of a “White Elephant” sales was chosen as the best money-maker; Joe Roth won the political cartoon assignment; highest government test scorers were Ken Armstrong, Joanna Hearn, Linda Montgomery, Lisa Henry, Calvin Taylor and David Licari .....

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