Dear Editor: From the peak of 5,390 feet to the depths of Sitka Sound, we are deeply grateful to our community for showing up so generously for the 1st annual knowledge-sharing event – the State of the Sound.
We kicked off Thursday night with a special Sitka Tells Tales program, co-hosted with Artchange, Inc. Thank you to the fabulous storytellers and to El Oso Café and the Donut Lady for creating a wonderful evening for a full house.
Friday’s opening ceremonies set the tone for the weekend. We are thankful to Sitka Tribe of Alaska councilmember Lillian Feldpausch for her welcome and to Tom Thornton and Mike Miller for a keynote that grounded the weekend in the connections between culture, community, and science in Sitka Sound.
Saturday brought blue skies, curious minds, and great energy. We appreciate everyone who came to learn, share, and ask questions about Sitka’s natural environments. Special thanks to Stephen Bethune, Kyle Rosendale, and Dean Anderson for engaging talks on two of Sitka’s most valued resources – black-tailed deer and Kunáa/Redoubt sockeye. We are grateful to the community members who shared observations during the roundtable discussion, and to Matt Goff and staff from Sitka Tribe of Alaska and the Sitka Sound Science Center for hosting field trips and behind-the-scenes tours. The packed rooms of the Science and Nature Mingle provided a lively and interactive space for sharing information about recent projects and findings on Sitka’s lands and waters.
Finally, thank you to the planning committee and to staff at Sitka Sound Science Center, University of Alaska Southeast, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Sitka Tribe of Alaska for making this first event possible.
State of the Sound exists because people here care deeply about this place and its future. Thank you, Sitka, for helping launch a new annual tradition and for shaping what it will become.
Lauren Bell, Lauren Wild,
Ellen Chenoweth, Chase Coleman, and Rosie Cunningham,
State of the Sound
