Pumpkin Patch Event
Saturday at AC Lakeside
Mr. Scarecrow’s Pumpkin Patch Pumpkin sale will be 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at AC Lakeside’s parking lot.
3 to 5 Preschool’s 8th annual fall fundraiser is sponsored by AC Lakeside. Attendees can walk through the pumpkin patch and select pumpkins to purchase. AC Lakeside will donate 100% of the proceeds from the pumpkin sales to the preschool.
Each child will be given a free mini pumpkin while supplies last.
‘‘It will smell and feel like fall,’’ organizers said.
Food options on site will be supreme nachos, hamburgers, regular nachos and hotdogs with hot apple cider, or cold beverages donated by Sitka Bottling. Chef Shawn’s salmon chowder with a slice of French bread also will be for sale again this year.
Fisheye’s all-day special will be pumpkin caramel lattes. Fifty percent of the drink special sold that day will be donated to the 3 to 5 Preschool as well.
Attendees can take a fall-themed photo in front of backdrops and special props for free.
Cash/credit cards can be used to purchase pumpkins. Food purchased by cash can be done at the food booth, but one must go into the store if using a credit card and then a food voucher will be given, the preschool said.
Those who purchase pumpkins from the preschool will be given 50% off the $10 submission fee per pumpkin to enter a virtual Pumpkin Carving Contest Oct. 17-31. Submit a photo or video of a carved pumpkin and enter to win one of three $25 gift card prizes to local businesses. Categories for prizes will be: silliest, scariest and most creative. Winners will be announced on Nov. 1.
‘‘We ask that masks be worn and that attendees social distance in the lines and in the pumpkin patch,’’ the preschool said. ‘‘Drive carefully and slowly through the parking lot.’’
Go to the 3 to 5 Preschool Facebook page for more information.
Author Lende
To Discuss Book
Sitka Public Library invites the public to join Alaskan author Heather Lende 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, via Zoom to discuss her book “Find the Good: Unexpected Life Lessons from a Small-Town Obituary Writer.”
The event is part of the statewide Alaska Reads program. A limited number of free copies of the book are available for pickup at Sitka Public Library while supplies last.
For information or to register, call the library at 747-4020 or email margot.oconnell@cityofsitka.org.
Alaska Historical
Society Meeting
Slated this Week
The Alaska Historical Society annual meeting is being held digitally by Zoom today through Oct. 17.
The schedule and registration are available at alaskahistoricalsociety.org. Sessions will be recorded, and posted in a few weeks on the AHS website. The theme is ‘‘Place and Power,’’ with many presentations about Sitka’s history. Friday’s and Saturday’s presentations include ‘‘The History of ANCSA,’’ ‘‘Monuments and History in the Public Square Discussion,’’ ‘‘Russian America’’ and ‘‘Alaska Canneries.’’
To sign up and for more information, go to alaskahistoricalsociety.org.
‘Frightful’ Online
Book Club Listed
Sitka Public Library invites children ages 8 to 10 to join the Frightful Delightful online book club. The first meeting will be 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, and the second 10:30 a.m. Oct. 24.
Participants need to register to get a program kit with directions and activities to do during the program. The program will require an e-mail address to send an online platform invitation to participate.
Registrations can be done over the phone by calling at 747 4020 or e-mailing at maite.lorente@cityofsitka.org
Deadline Extended
To Receive Fish
The deadline to apply to receive the CARES Act Program 5-pound fish variety package has been extended to Nov. 6. It is open to all Sitka residents.
Those who have been affected by COVID-19 can apply, one per household. Applicants will receive fish on a first-come, first-served, basis. Sitka Tribal Enterprises said the application extension is for those who have not yet applied.
To apply go to www.sitkatribe.org or in person 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi.
Those with questions can leave a message at the STE office, 738-9992.
Spackman to Speak
At Unitarian Meet
In observance of Alaska Day, the guest speaker at Sunday’s Unitarian Fellowship meeting will be Hal Spackman, executive director of the Sitka History Museum. His topic will be “Sheldon Jackson: A Study in Persistence.”
Gathering on Zoom begins at 10:30 a.m., with the service beginning at 10:45 a.m. For information on how to join on Zoom, email svmerlin43@gmail.com.
Monthly Grind
Viewed Online
The Sitka Monthly Grind is online and can be viewed through October. Performers are welcome to keep posting their videos to the Sitka Monthly Grind Facebook page, or email Jeanne at sitkajean@gmail.com to find out how to send videos to her.
Videos can be viewed on Facebook or YouTube, by typing in “Sitka Monthly Grind” in the search bar. The Sitka Monthly Grind is a family-friendly, non-political variety show series. Those with questions can call 738-8083.
Wrestling Practices,
Registration Slated
Wrestling practice, registration and parent information is available 5-7 p.m. Oct. 19-23 and Oct. 26-30 at 207 Smith Street for youths in kindergarten through 12th grades.
The two weeks of unofficial wrestling practice is free to attend. Registration, information, COVID-19 mitigation plans, and fundraising opportunities will be discussed with parents during these times.
Rules include: no street clothes or shoes; wear wrestling shoes or clean socks only on the mat; and no zippers, Velcro or buttons only.
Official practice for registered participants will begin Nov. 2.
Climate Connection
By Callie Simmons
Smaller and smaller salmon are gracing Alaskans’ dinner plates. The body sizes of four different species of Pacific salmon are declining across Alaska due to pressures from climate change and competition at sea, a new study finds. Chinook, coho, chum, and sockeye salmon are all shrinking, at different rates and by different factors. But one thing is clear: Pacific salmon across Alaska are declining in size, sparking concern over the impact on people and ecosystems.
Salmon are crucial pillars for sustaining human and ecosystem health throughout Alaska. A reduction in salmon body size has profound impacts on rural food security, local economies, and ecosystems. Smaller salmon bring fewer marine nutrients back to spawning streams and they tend to have fewer offspring. This limits the access to calorie-rich salmon and directly influences the well-being and health of people in salmon dependent communities.
Researchers found widespread declines in the body sizes of Chinook, chum, coho and sockeye across multiple regions in Alaska. The paper “Recent declines in salmon body size impact ecosystems and fisheries” published in Nature Communications details how length measurements from 12.5 million fish collected over six decades showed an overall decline in body size. Chinook salmon showed the largest reduction in body size – populations in Westward Alaska and Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim region declined by 10% on average and populations in Southeast declined by 4%. Researchers believe climate change and competition at sea are partially to blame.
Younger and therefore smaller fish are returning to spawn each year causing these declines in overall body size. But what is driving smaller, younger fish to spawn sooner? This is no simple task to sort out. Researchers must first estimate factors they think are influencing body size (like water temperature, competition for food, etc.) and then test how each species responds to each factor. This is complicated because multiple factors might be influencing body size at the same time and it all depends on the species. For example, the study found that sockeye salmon body size declined more in the presence of North Pacific pink salmon. Yet the initial decreases in sockeye size began before large-scale hatchery production was developed in Alaska. For chums, body size declined in the presence of the climate pattern North Pacific Gyre Oscillation while the same climate pattern showed positive associations for coho salmon. The North Pacific Gyre Oscillation is a climatic state that is responsible for delivering greater amounts nutrients from the basin of the Gulf of Alaska to more coastal waters. Although the importance of each factor differed among species, one thing remained true across the board: at least one climate-related factor and at least one competition factor lead to a reduced body size in all four species.
Not all is lost, however; numerous tribal governments, state and federal governments, and non-profit entities are working tirelessly, across the state, to better understand the resiliency of Alaskan salmon. Research like this allows communities to focus on solutions by putting energy into the correct places—like addressing food security concerns or gaining a deeper understanding regional factors affecting salmon size.
Pacific salmon are declining in size across species and locations in Alaska and climate change and competition appear to be driving declines. This has major ramifications for the well-being of salmon-human relationships and salmon-ecosystem relationships. To learn more read the entire article at nature.com.
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Callie Simmons is the research coordinator at the Sitka Sound Science Center and a member of Citizens Climate Education.
