Giving Tree
Dear Editor: The Giving Tree sponsor, the United Methodist Church, would like to thank each person who purchased gifts for children and elders in our community who were in need, made a donation of wrapping paper, and money. Your overwhelming generosity made it possible for gifts to be given to SAFV, Youth Advocates, SEARHC, Sitka Community Hospital Long Term Care, and the Pioneers’ Home. Thank you to Wells Fargo Bank for hosting year after year. Also, to Lauren, Zaide and Zia Allen for putting up the tree and to Lauren for organizing and delivering gifts, Carol Potrzuski, Nancy Young, Jackie and Don Neros, Janice Michael, Jane Seesz, and to Pastor Ferdie Lienado thank you also for delivering gifts Also, a big thanks goes to the Shriners who gave a generous donation. It is such a joy to live in a community where so many are so giving.
Wishing all of Sitka a Blessed New Year.
Julia A. Smith
Giving Tree Volunteer
United Methodist Church of Sitka
Deer Limit
Dear Editor: A story from KFSK aired on Raven Radio one morning last month about a proposed Board of Game/Petersburg Local Advisory Council recommendation to lower the bag limit for deer on Kupreanof Island that had me talking back to my radio. Let me explain why. The story concerned the state’s proposed management response to the reduced population of Sitka Blacktail deer and lower hunter success on the island. In this case Fish and Game cited hard winters, predators and loss of critical winter deer habitat as probable causes of the population reduction. The proposal to limit deer harvest on Kupreanof was not what caused the issue for me. It was the additional proposal that because of the lower deer population and the expected additional loss of winter deer habitat due to the pending Tonka timber sale that the next proposal was predator control. Basically we are trying to repair the problems we caused through logging of old growth (loss of critical habitat and deer population) by generating other problems (loss of predators).
Unlike most of the area where Sitkans hunt (GMU 4), Game Management Unit 3 has a history of restricted hunts. It was closed entirely from 1975 to 1979, and had a one or antlered-deer-only 2-week season in the ’90s. Deer populations on these islands are consistently lower than those on other islands. The combination of more severe weather and multiple predatory species might keep these populations consistently lower without the additional impact of logging old growth. It seems that the short-term gain from a timber sale does not balance the decades long reduction in deer habitat, the downstream effects of which are severe deer harvest limits and predator control.
Thanks,
Kitty LaBounty, Sitka
Earthquake
Dear Editor: The January 5 earthquake off Dixon Inlet and resulting tsunami warning is a reminder of the challenge that Alaskans face in being prepared for natural and technological disasters. Our remoteness and fragile logistical infrastructure highlight the need for communities and individuals to be prepared to meet their sustenance needs during an emergency. Meeting these needs requires the ability to have and provide food until help can be brought in from outside if necessary. The food must meet the needs of those who are healthy and those who may need food appropriate for vulnerable populations. Food also must be stored in a safe secure location, which is not vulnerable to earthquakes, fires, floods, so that it will be available when necessary.
The Alaska Food Policy Council’s Emergency Preparedness Workgroup is working on developing tools and recommending policies to help Alaska communities and individuals to become prepared to meet their food needs and remain resilient in the face of an emergency.
To learn more about what food and water you and your family need to have on hand for emergencies, visit www.ready.gov/build-a-kit or stop by your local fire hall and pick up an emergency supplies list. To learn more about the work of the Alaska Food Policy Council, visit the alaskafoodpolicy.blogspot.com or our facebook page.
Ron Klein, Darren Snyder
Co-chairs, Alaska Food
Policy Council,
Emergency Preparedness
Workgroup
