Prince of Wales Island (Alaska)
Native name: Taan ( UTC-8) | |
---|---|
ZIP Codes | 99921, 99925, 99928 |
Area code | 907 |
[1] |
Prince of Wales Island (
Geography and ecology
The island is 135 miles (217 km) long, 65 miles (105 km) wide and has an area of 2,577 sq mi (6,670 km2), about one-tenth the size of
Mountain peaks, all but the tallest of which were buried by
Moist, maritime conditions dominate the weather.
The Tongass National Forest covers most of the island. Within the forest and on the island are the Karta River Wilderness and the South Prince of Wales Wilderness. Many of its wildlife, such as the Prince of Wales flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus griseifrons) and Prince of Wales Island ermine (Mustela haidarum celenda) are found nowhere else.[3]
The island is in the
History
Prince of Wales Island is the homeland of the indigenous Tlingit people. Tlingit word xʼaaxʼ aani, which translates to "crabapple country".[citation needed] The Tlingit name for the island is Taan, meaning "sea lion".[4] The island is traditional Tlingit territory. The Haida migrated into the area in the late 18th century. Abandoned Haida villages still have Tlingit names. [citation needed]
In 1741,
In 1779 a British expedition under Captain James Cook passed Prince of Wales Island. Comte de La Perouse led a French expedition to the area in 1786.[6] Karta Bay is the site of the first salmon saltery in Alaska.[7]
On September 20, 1793, British navy officer George Vancouver gave the name "Prince of Wales Archipelago" to all the islands of the southern Alexander Archipelago, which he suspected to have a single major island; the name referred to George, Prince of Wales, who would later become King George IV. By 1825 the name "Prince of Wales Island" was being used for the largest of the islands in Vancouver's archipelago.[8]
Settlers began
Economy
Logging
Historically, logging was the mainstay of the collective Prince of Wales economy through most of the 20th century. The decline of the industry since the late 20th century has resulted in only a few small-scale sawmills operating. In 1975, the Point Baker Association and others sued the United States Forest Service to prevent logging 400,000 acres (1,600 km2) on the northern portion of the island.[11]
In December 1975, Judge von der Heydt issued a ruling
Road construction and logging on the north end of the island at Labouchere Bay commenced early in 1975. Living on a floating camp beginning with the retired tugboat Irene leased as a floating hotel, employees of
In 2010, Senators
Tourism
Tourism, including
Fishing
Commercial fishing provides the foundation of the economy for numerous towns on the island including Craig, Klawock, Hydaburg, Port Protection and Point Baker. During the summer,
Government
Since Prince of Wales Island is almost entirely made up of federal land, the two ranger districts (Craig and Thorne Bay) on the island provide employment for a number of residents.
Mining
Mineral exploration continues at many projects on Prince of Wales Island. The only producing uranium mine in the entire state of Alaska was located on the island, the Ross-Adams mine in Kendrick Bay. Current remediation projects have been reported in local media, and continued exploration of
Transportation
Roads
A road system, which taxpayers paid for in credits to logging contractors, was built on the island.[19] However, many of these roads are now being decommissioned as unnecessary in the post-clearcutting era. Only a small percentage of this road system is paved, currently no further than the Whale Pass turn-off. The gravel roads cost between 150,000 and 500,000 per mile in today's dollars.[when?] Point Baker and Port Protection chose in 1974 not to be connected to the road system.[20]
There is now a newly designated state "scenic highway"—the 500-kilometer (310 mi) Prince of Wales Island road system. The highway reaches almost every community on Prince of Wales.
Cargo
A few companies provide scheduled barge service from Pacific coast ports to southeastern Alaskan ports, including those on Prince of Wales island, primarily
Public ferry
Alaska Marine Highway System
Historically, the Alaska Marine Highway (AMHS) intermittently served the port of Hollis, until the Inter-Island Ferry Authority began regular scheduled service.
Inter-Island Ferry Authority
The Inter-Island Ferry Authority (IFA) provides daily service on a three-hour, 36-mile (58 km) route between Prince of Wales Island and Ketchikan. The idea of starting a shuttle ferry service was discussed among communities of Klawock, Craig, Thorne Bay, Coffman Cove on the Prince of Wales Island as well as Petersburg and Wrangell in 1997, which would serve on regular timetable. Budget was fixed with the Alaska Congressional delegation as the state Department of Transportation supported the plan to be organized under the Municipal Port Authority Act of Alaska in 1998, and two vessels introduced between 2002 and 2006 have expanded routes from Hollis–Ketchikan to serve north by Clark Bay.[21][22]
It ferries more than 50,000 passengers and 12,000 vehicles between Hollis and Ketchikan annually. The system is more than a form of transportation - it is an economic engine for southern Southeast Alaska, generating jobs, commerce, and tourism - while also increasing community well-being. In 2015, the IFA brought 3,000 tourists to Prince of Wales Island, where they spent more than $10 million on hotels, fishing expeditions, and dining - generating hundreds of summer jobs across the island. It provides a means for the seafood industry to move millions of pounds of high-quality, high-value fresh and live seafood to market, creating hundreds more jobs. It provides access to
The Inter-Island Ferry allows for cultural and social commerce as well. Students, tribal members, and other residents use the system to participate in basketball games, totem pole raisings, trainings, college fairs, celebrations, and funerals. There were 3,100 student trips last year. This allowed students from 13 different Alaska school districts the opportunity to challenge themselves and interact with their peers. It connects residents to family, friends, and recreation.
The ferry is a critical piece of a more extensive transportation network. It provides transportation security on days when the skies are rough, and access to transportation to those who cannot afford alternative means. Nearly a quarter of the ridership last year were senior citizens and young children, who have saved a combined $17 million over the cost of flying since the system began in 2002. Its reliable arrivals and departures - so precise that people are said to set their watches by it - have enabled organizations to build their business models around this daily transportation connection. The result of the IFA's efficient operations is farebox revenue that covers a full 85% of the ferry's operational costs, a significant rate in the world of public transportation.[23] The word businesses and residents most frequently use to describe the ferry service is "invaluable". While there are many intrinsic values of the system that cannot be measured, an analysis of the ferry's economic impact in the seafood, healthcare, visitor, transportation, and retail sectors shows an impressive $52.2 million combined impact in Ketchikan and Prince of Wales in 2015.[24]
Airports
Klawock Airport (IATA: KLW, ICAO: PAKW, FAA LID: AKW) is the only airport on Prince of Wales Island. At least two commercial airlines in Ketchikan provide scheduled service to Prince of Wales Island. Air taxi or chartered flights are also available from them and other airlines.
Seaplane bases
FAA |
IATA | ICAO | Seaplane Base [25] |
---|---|---|---|
KCC | Coffman Cove | ||
CGA | Craig | ||
HYL | Hollis | ||
HYG | PAHY | Hydaburg | |
KXA | Kasaan | ||
AQC | PAQC | Klawock | |
KPB | Point Baker | ||
19P | Port Protection | ||
KTB | Thorne Bay | ||
KWF | Waterfall |
Scheduled airlines
Airline | Hub(s) | Prince of Wales Island Airports |
---|---|---|
Island Air Express | Klawock | Ketchikan Daily Scheduled Service from Klawock to Ketchikan [26] |
Taquan Air | Ketchikan | Coffman Cove, Craig, Edna Bay, Hollis, Hydaburg, Naukati Bay, Point Baker, Port Protection, Thorne Bay, Whale Pass [27] |
Communities
Notable ex-residents
- Holly Madison, American model and Hugh Hefner's former girlfriend.
- Elizabeth Peratrovich and Roy Peratrovich, early Alaskan civil rights advocates, heavily involved in passage of Alaska's Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, the first civil rights law in the U.S. Elizabeth Peratrovich Day is Alaska's equivalent of Martin Luther King Day.
See also
- On Your Knees Cave (Shuká Káa)
References
- ^ "Prince of Wales Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ "Tongass National". Archived from the original on December 30, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
- S2CID 86509197.
- ISBN 978-0-8032-4056-8. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ^ "Spanish Exploration: Juan Perez Expedition of 1774 -- First European Discovery and Exploration of Washington State Coast and Nueva Galicia (the Pacific Northwest) - HistoryLink.org".
- ^ "Exploration and Settlement on the Alaskan Coast". Harriman: History of Exploration. pbs.org. 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ United States. Census Office (1893). Report on Population and Resources of Alaska at the Eleventh Census, 1890 (Public domain ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 30–.
- ^ Orth, Donald J. "Dictionary of Alaska Place Names" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. p. 777. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
- ^ "Dixon Entrance quadrangle" (PDF). Alaska Resource Data File.
- ^ "Ucore Uranium | Bokan Mountain, Alaska". Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ^ Zieske v. Butz, 406 F. Supp. 258, (1976)
- ^ US Forest Service 1989-94 EIS for Ketchikan Pulp Company.
- ^ Berry-Frick, Anissa (March 25, 2010). "Murkowski should try harder to listen". Juneau Empire. Juneau, Alaska. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ Areddy, James T. (August 17, 2011). "A Timeline For Eroding China's Rare Earth e reserves. Chokehold". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
- ^ "US Department of Defense Contracts With Ucore for Metallurgical & SPE Studies". Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ a b Daniel Grushkin (October 27, 2011). "Alaska's Billion Dollar Mountain". Bloomberg Business Week Magazine. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ^ "Rare Earths". Ucore. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
The Bokan – Dotson ridge REE project
- ^ "Press Releases - Rare Earth Elements - Heavy Rare Earth Elements | Ucore Rare Metals Inc". Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- ^ 1989-94 USFS EIS for Ketchikan Pulp Company.
- ^ Correspondence of the Attorney General of Alaska to the USFS 1974-1975 and 1974 Final USFS EIS.
- ^ "Clark Bay : Clark Bay Ferry Terminal" (PDF). 2017 Shore Facilities Condition Survey Report.
Terminal building - Year Built:2007
- ^ "Marine Transportation and Logistics > Inter-Island Ferry Authority". Ketchikan Marine Industry Businesses. December 22, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ^ "FY2021 Governor: State of Alaska Capital Project Summary" (PDF). Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. December 11, 2019. p. 1. Reference No.: 45874. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ^ "Inter-Island Ferry | Hollis and Ketchikan Ferry - Alaska". Inter-Island Ferry Authority.
- ^ "Location Identifiers". Federal Aviation Administration.
- ^ "Island Air Express". Island Air Express.
- ^ "Taquan Air". Taquan Air.