4 Sitka Groups Among
Grant Award Recipients
Royal Caribbean Group and the Alaska Travel Industry Association Foundation have partnered to assist four Sitka organizations in their pandemic recoveries.
They gave money to more than 60 tourism businesses and community organizations.
Sitka recipients are the Alaska Raptor Center ($25,000), Brave Heart Volunteers ($7,500), Sitka Bike and Hike ($7,500), and Allen Marine Tours ($40,000).
With funding coming from Royal Caribbean Group, the ATIA Foundation accepted grant applications from businesses and nonprofits across the state and is currently awarding more than $745,000 to more than 65 of them.
“Even as tourism rebounds, communities that rely heavily on the industry have struggled to pull out of a nearly two-year pandemic-induced drought,” ATIA President and CEO Sarah Leonard said. “It’s really something seeing our partners at Royal Caribbean Group step up and support them.”
Recipients can put the money toward immediate needs, like staffing or equipment.
“Alaskans are known for coming to the aid of their neighbors and we understood the importance of being there for the community in a time of need,” said Wendy Lindskoog, Royal Caribbean Group’s associate vice president of Government Relations, Alaska. “Even as we start up cruising in July, a partial season cannot make up for the losses over the last 16 months. We knew we had to find the resources to help local businesses and nonprofits supporting the well-being of Alaskans.”
Cup’ik Artist
Neva Mathias
At SJ Museum
Cup’ik artist Neva Mathias through Aug. 12 is artist-in-residence at the Sheldon Jackson Museum.
Mathias will work most days between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and will offer several public programs including a seven-part grass basket-making class from July 31 to Aug. 10, and an artist recap talk 2:30 p.m. Aug. 7.
Mathias’ basket-making class is full, but individuals may call the museum at 747-8981 to request to be put on a waitlist and for additional details. The classes are currently set in-person at the museum. Students will be distanced and masks are highly recommended, the museum said.
At the artist recap talk, Mathias will share some of the examples of works created while working at the museum. Limited space is available to attend the talk in person by calling 747-8981. Those preferring to attend the talk via Zoom can access the meeting at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84654712340?pwd=M2JTbHF2OTNObDI2Mm5nOUNPV2taUT09; Meeting ID: 846 5471 2340; Passcode: 437015.
Mathias began making baskets in 1979. By 1985, she was practicing her art form in expert fashion. She learned from her mother how to make baskets and dolls and how to prepare the raw materials. Her dolls, which she makes during the winter months, are made using seal and rabbit fur, seal skin, and kuspuk materials. She collects grasses for basketry, made during the summer while she is at fish camp, from the beaches of Hooper Bay.
The Sheldon Jackson Museum is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday until Aug. 1, when hours will switch to 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission fees for adults is $9, $8 for ages 65+, and free for ages 18 and younger and Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum or Alaska State Museum members.
The Sheldon Jackson Museum is compliant with state mandates pertaining to Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museums. For information on COVID-19 health mandates and advisories, visit https://covid19.alaska.gov/health-mandates/
Sportsman’s Group
Sets Celebration
Sitka Sportsman’s Association will hold its 30-year anniversary celebration of the Robert B. LaGuire Memorial Building 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Aug. 7, at 5211 Halibut Point Road.
The group has been equipped with an indoor shooting range since 1991 and hosted thousands of events, pistol leagues, training and open shooting for members and the public since its opening. All were made accessible by trained Range Safety Officers who volunteer their time for these activities.
The public is invited to meet and tour the facility at 10 a.m. Speakers will be at 11 a.m., followed by a noon hotdog lunch. Mini Match ‘‘action shooting’’ is 1-3 p.m. Participants should take their handgun of choice and equipment.
For information, contact April Ault at 738-4559. The Sitka Sportsman’s Association is a non-profit organization. Its members continue to volunteer to provide range activities and other activities in the community, the association said.
The association is selling $10 raffle tickets for a round-trip gift card for two, Sitka to Juneau, donated by Sitka Seaplanes. Tickets will be sold at SSA on beginning at 9 a.m. on Aug. 7 until the drawing at 1 p.m. The winner need not be present.
On Dean’s List
More than 400 students, including three Sitka residents, were named to Fort Lewis College’s dean’s list for the spring semester.
They are Marlis Boord, public health major; Asa Demmert, exercise physiology major; and Sophia Eastham, sociology and human services major.
These students took at least 15 credits of gradable hours and achieved a 3.60 or higher grade point average.
Science Center
Fellow Buma
Lists Activities
Dr. Brian Buma is scientist in residency fellow at Sitka Sound Science Center.
Buma is an associate professor in the department of integrative biology at University of Colorado, Denver; affiliate professor with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and senior scientist at the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center.
He is a National Geographic Explorer and Explorer’s Club Fellow. Buma was faculty at the University of Alaska Southeast from 2013 to 2018, and still conducts the majority of his work in Southeast Alaska, including coordinating the longest running
ecosystem development study in the world in Glacier Bay.
While in Sitka, Buma is interested in talking to community members about his work relevant to Sitka. He will meet with community members at large, special interest groups, and will work with students in the field.
Scheduled events include: an interview on Raven Radio, 8:15 a.m. Thursday, July 29; Brews with Buma, Harbor Mountain Brewery, 5:30 p.m. Thursday; KIFW 1230 AM interview, 8:30 a.m. Friday, July 30; behind-the-scenes beach bonfire Q&A on yellow cedar, 5:30 p.m. Aug. 5 (register at sitkascience.org); Thimbleberry and Heart Lake hike, 9 a.m. Aug. 7 with Sitka Trail Works (sitkatrailworks.org/weekend-hikes).
Email Jacyn (jschmidt@sitkascience.org) with questions.
Buma is interested in the process of change in natural systems. In particular, his work focuses on disturbances like fire, wind, and landslides, and the subsequent change in species composition and ecosystem functioning. His work spans from Alaska to Chile, generally focusing on high elevation and high latitude forested systems, species migration, and carbon/water cycling. As a National Geographic Explorer (story feature in the June 2021 magazine), he is also interested in science communication, historical ecology, and telling stories to the public about the natural world. His website can be viewed at brianbuma.com.
Buma started as a conservationist in Hawaii, then a wilderness backcountry
goat researcher in Washington state, before moving into forest disturbance, carbon, and climate change ecology around the world.
In Sitka, Buma has worked to quantify the relationship between landslides and forests. In one of his recent publications, Buma and his collaborators found that landslides in Sitka had shorter run outs as compared to landslides of similar volumes globally, likely due to large quantities of standing trees and large woody debris within the flows. His work illustrates the roles of debris flow and vegetation in long-term landscape change and carbon transport, while also demonstrating the need to incorporate ecological factors into landslide mechanics and therefore
debris flow runout models. He has also spent time quantifying carbon across southeast Alaska in both forests and soils, with the goal of providing tools for communities to manage their carbon resources – a recently funded project (2021-2024) will explicitly build carbon management and marketing tools for Southeast Alaska and coastal BC.
SJ Museum
Open During
Construction
The Sheldon Jackson Museum gallery is open during normal business hours through Aug. 11 while the museum undergoes a roofing project.
Museum workers will be adding tarps to some of the exhibits to protect them from harm.
‘‘To preserve the safety of our staff and visitors and minimize the spread of COVID-19, face coverings are strongly encouraged to be worn by all visitors and staff,’’ the museum said.
Staff is asking patrons to maintain social distancing of six feet between household groups, and pay for admission by credit card.
Summer hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Contact visitor services at 747-8981 with questions.
Special Health Insurance
Enrollment to End Aug. 15
The special enrollment period for the Health Insurance Marketplace ends Sunday, Aug. 15.
SEARHC said significant cost cuts have been made and all Alaska residents are being encouraged to compare their current health insurance plan with the options available at healthcare.gov or by speaking with a certified application counselor through SEARHC.
During this one-time special enrollment period, individuals and families can enroll in a new insurance plan or make changes to their current plan. Typically, Alaskans can only change their plan during a limited enrollment period between Nov. 1 and Dec. 15 or if they experience a qualifying life event, such as childbirth or loss of a job.
SEARHC offers free support from certified application counselors to help guide Southeast residents through the enrollment process. Contact the SEARHC Patient Health Benefits team for assistance by emailing outreach@searhc.org or calling 966-8684.
The insurance marketplace was reopened by President Joe Biden and his Executive Order on Jan. 28. In March, the U.S. Congress and President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, an economic stimulus bill that included additional insurance subsidies and plan options for individuals and families.
The next enrollment window will begin on Nov. 1. For enrollment information and to calculate the savings of different plans, visit the Affordable Care Act website at HealthCare.gov.
