Daily Sitka Sentinel

December 28, 2021, Community Happenings

Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum Winter Series 

The Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum will host its ‘‘Share Your Culture/Share Your Research’’ winter public program series in January.

Five public programs remain, including artist talks, a storytelling event, an earring-making class, and Chilkat weaving demonstrations. All are available on Zoom and links to attend and more details are at the Sheldon Jackson Museum, www.museums.alaska.gov, and the Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum Facebook page. Call (907) 747-8981 for more information. 

The next event, a presentation by local author Jan Steinbright and artist Robert Hoffmann (Tlingit), will be held 2-2:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8, on Zoom.

In the talk “A Writer, an Illustrator, and a Mouse,’’ they will share information about their second collaboration on the children’s book, ‘‘Raven House Mouse Goes to Culture Camp.’’ The book will be released in February 2022. The story takes the famous Raven House Mouse, Kagaak, up the Chilkoot Valley out of Haines to attend Lkoot Kwaan, a Tlingit culture camp founded by Austin Hammond, leader of the Sockeye Clan.

To join the Jan. 8 Zoom meeting go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82493457455?pwd=bzdQWFA4cE1CNEF4aHdwVGVYTGVjUT09; meeting ID: 824 9345 7455; passcode: 968622.

The remaining winter series events run 30-45 minutes long and occur on Saturdays. They will be presented by artists selected from a pool of applicants and held on Zoom. The events are: a 2 p.m. Jan. 22 earring-making class with Jessica Towns (Alutiiq/Sugpiaq), contact the museum for a materials list; a 2 p.m. Feb. 5 artist talk and weaving demonstration with Laine Rinehart (Tlingit); and a 2 p.m. March 12 storytelling event with multimedia artist Allison Akootchook Warden (Inupiaq); and a Chilkat weaving demonstration and “call to weavers” by Lily Hope (Tlingit) at 3 p.m. on March 26.

The Sheldon Jackson Museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and is closed holidays. Winter admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, and free for ages 18 and under and active duty military and their families (with an ID). Call (907) 747-8981 with questions. 

Mountain Goat

Season to End

Mountain goat registration hunt RG150 on Baranof Island will end Dec. 31.

To date, 26 mountain goats have been harvested (19 males, 7 females) this season. Poor weather conditions during much of the season limited hunter participation and prevented the annual survey.

Unsuccessful hunters and permittees who did not hunt are reminded to return their completed hunt report to ADF&G, or report online at http://hunt.alaska.gov, by Jan. 15, 2022. Those who fail to report will not be eligible to receive any registration or drawing permits next regulatory year.

For information, call the Sitka area office at (907) 747-5449.

Ocean Wave

Quilters Meet

Ocean Wave Quilters will meet 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 4, at United Methodist Church and via Zoom.

Monthly meetings, September through June, are open to all, members or not. Those wishing to pay the $25 dues receive a monthly newsletter, discounts on classes and other benefits.

   For information call President Sarah Jordan at 907-738-7272.

Unit 4 State Deer

Season to End

The Sitka black-tailed deer state hunting season in Unit 4 will end Dec. 31. The federal subsistence deer season for federally qualified hunters continues on federal lands within Unit 4 until Jan. 31, unless closed earlier by the U.S. Forest Service district rangers.

Federal subsistence hunters will need to obtain a valid 2022 hunting license to continue hunting into January, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said.

Deer harvest tickets issued for regulatory year 2021 continue to be valid for the January federal season.

Hunters who obtained deer harvest tickets, including federal subsistence hunters and those who did not hunt, must return completed hunt reports to ADF&G or report online at http://hunt.alaska.gov, within 15 days after the close of the season. Beneficiaries of proxy hunts are responsible for reporting deer harvested on their behalf.

Heavy snowfall in December has made deer readily available to hunters on beaches. Hunters are reminded that state land ownership extends to the mean high tide line. For a harvest to be legal in January, both the hunter and the deer must be above the mean high tide line.

Biologists are anticipating higher than average deer mortality rates this winter, though the full extent won’t be known until spring surveys are conducted. Hunters participating in the January federal season are being encouraged to target older bucks and fawns which are the age classes most likely to succumb to winter weather.

Contact the USFS Sitka district office at 747-6671 for questions regarding the federal subsistence deer season, or federal land maps. Contact the Sitka ADF&G office at 747-5449 regarding the state deer season.