by Tele | Dec 14, 2011 | Alaska, Environment, Sustainability
Friends of salmon and wild places: have you written your letter for the Tongass National Forest yet? As discussed in Protecting the Tongass, Part 1, the U.S. Forest Service’s budget for the Tongass has long been skewed. Timber/road...
by Tele | Dec 9, 2011 | Alaska, Commercial Fishing, Environment, Sustainability
This is one of my favorite places in the world: This photo was taken in Sitka, but could be almost anywhere in Southeast Alaska. The Tongass National Forest blankets most of our region, a crazy quilt of western red cedar, Sitka spruce, and...
by Tele | Nov 16, 2011 | Alaska, Commercial Fishing, Culture, Women in Fishing
When new friends learn I’m a commercial fisherman, their eyes often drop in an almost-unconscious survey. What they see — a petite, 5′2″ female — doesn’t match the burly machismo touted as an industry requirement. “But isn’t that hard work?” is...
by Tele | Nov 6, 2011 | Alaska, Commercial Fishing, Culture, Environment, F/V Nerka, Family
My mom recently saw an online photo of her daughter, protest sign held proudly high. “Oh, gawd!” Part embarrassed laugh, part groan; her response revealed a long-internalized instruction to be quiet and polite. Those were the prevailing lessons of my...
by Tele | Oct 28, 2011 | Alaska, Commercial Fishing, Family, Reading & Writing
The twenty-four hour daylight of Alaskan summers can allow a person to forget they’re in the 61st latitude, with the round-the-clock rays that foster 1200 pound pumpkins, 120 pound cabbages, and perpetually pants-less three year old children. That...
by Tele | Oct 18, 2011 | Alaska, Culture, Environment, Sitka
Today is Alaska Day, and, I have to admit, I have mixed feelings. On October 18, 1867, Russia formally transferred control of the Territory of Alaska to the U.S. Commemorated as a statewide holiday, Alaska Day is a really big...
