Alaska Business November 2024 by Alaska Business

Beischer President, CEO & Director

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CHART YOUR COURSE TO SUCCESS

In Alaska, running a business is as unpredictable as the open sea. With First National, you’re equipped with an experienced team of local experts and innovative tools to navigate toward a bright future. From facility ﬁnancing to payroll processing, we’re here to help Alaska businesses succeed.

Shape Your Tomorrow

Discover how First National empowers businesses like Insatiable Fisheries to thrive in Alaska’s unique economic waters.

CONTENTS SPECIAL SECTION: NATURAL RESOURCES

42 CATCHING THE NEW WAVE

AI reshapes oil and gas exploration and development

By Rindi White

56 THE MINERAL LEAGUE

Trading cards to clip, keep, and collect

62 CANADA AND ALASKA, BOUND BY RIVERS

Unified alarm about transboundary mining

By Dimitra Lavrakas

70 MAKING THE GRADE

Lumber training builds supply for local forest products

By Rachael Kvapil

76 “OUR STORIES TO TELL”

Southeast invests in cruise ship infrastructure

By Katie Pesznecker

CORRECTION: Page 86 of the October 2024 issue lists the name of Great Northwest’s CEO incorrectly. It is A. John Minder.

ABOUT THE COVER

48 MISSION: CRITICAL

Steady progress by Graphite One and Nikolai nickel

By Amy Newman

Minerals are only part of Alaska’s natural resources, which is why the annual special section has grown to encompass other industries beyond mining. The pages within contain coverage of oil and gas, fisheries, timber, and tourism, yet mineral development remains at the core.

Now that Manh Choh has joined the other six mines in active production, readers can familiarize themselves with the industry with a set of trading cards. In addition to the seven on the roster, more mines are in the developmental leagues, so to speak. One of those projects in the advanced exploration phase is Graphite Creek; in baseball terms, it’s in the Double-A level, preparing to advance to Triple-A before joining the majors.

An example of a Single-A project, then, is Nikolai, a prospect near Paxson. Greg Beischer of Alaska Energy Metals is leading the exploration for nickel and other metals there, hoping to bring Nikolai to the big leagues.

Photography by Kerry Tasker

Chris Miller | Salmon Beyond Borders

Graphite

CONTACT TROY TODAY

Troy

MCWILLIAMS GOLD CLAIM

Talkeetna, AK

$25,000,000 | 881± Acres

PASSAGE ISLAND

Seldovia, AK

$4,950,000 | 44± Acres

SCHULTZ FARMS

Delta Junction, AK

$6,750,000 | 5,592± Acres

$3,500,000 | 604± Acres

FROM THE EDITOR

Mining is relatively simple. Dig into the ground, extract a valuable resource, refine it, sell it. This is why there are historic examples around the world of individuals or small groups making a fortune on a commodity with a few shovels, the determination to keep digging, and a rich deposit.

But that sort of rags to riches through a pickaxe story happens less and less: many of the “easy” deposits have been found and exhausted, and what used to be a wildly unregulated industry is now highly regulated. Even into the 20th century, mines were depleted and then literally abandoned, with owners and operators leaving equipment, infrastructure, and garbage behind. Federal regulation now requires mine owners to have a plan that explains how the project will be constructed, operated, and reclaimed. For example, the January 2023 Manh Choh Project Reclamation and Closure Plan Revision 1 is 86 pages and details the plan for reclaiming Alaska’s newest gold mine, including an estimated reclamation cost of approximately $63.5 million.

Alaska mines permitted and operated under modern regulations thus far have a stellar track record: Usibelli Coal Mine has engaged in reclamation activities contemporaneously with its mining activities, which means early dig sites have already been returned to a natural state even as new areas are mined. Kinross, which operates Manh Choh Mine, successfully reclaimed the True North Mine, which operated from 2001 through 2004. In 2009, Kinross started the reclamation process, which included grading and recontouring 149 acres, seeding and fertilizing 270 acres, planting vegetation on 52 acres, and removing all mining buildings; the majority of that work was completed in 2014. Kinross then monitored the site, ensuring the long-term stability of the landscape, until it returned the land to state control in 2020. Four years of mining—eleven years of reclamation.

Expecting mines to operate in a way that is safe for people, the environment, and the future is good, but it does complicate the “dig, refine, sell” process. As that process becomes more complicated, the question of whether the resource is worth the work gets more complicated, as well.

Add on top of that global commodities markets fluctuating in response to warfare or political conflicts; changing demand for advanced technologies and energy solutions; and the fact that regulations can change, or administrations can change how to read and enforce those regulations, and it becomes clear how a mine project today can take decades to research, permit, and—maybe, just maybe—invest in.

Regulations are necessary, global markets are out of any one entity’s control, and technology takes unpredictable jumps all the time. But! For those who value and support Alaska’s mining industry, there is one place where you can make a difference: who is administering and enforcing those regulations.

It’s November. There are important decisions to be made about who will be making decisions for all of us. Please research the individuals and issues that you will be asked to vote for or against. Your voice matters, and so does your vote.

Tasha Anderson Managing Editor, Alaska Business

VOLUME 40, #11

EDITORIAL

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The Demise of Chevron Deference

What does it mean for Alaska?

By Terri Marshall

Fo r forty years, federal courts have applied a legal test known as “Chevron deference” when reviewing federal agency actions. Originating from a 1984 decision of the US Supreme Court in Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., the ruling required federal courts to defer to a federal agency if the court believes the statute in question is ambiguous and the agency’s interpretation was reasonable—even if the court would interpret it differently.

On June 28, 2024, the US Supreme Court reversed that doctrine. The decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo cut back sharply on the power of federal agencies to interpret the laws they administer and ruled that courts should rely on their own interpretation of ambiguous laws. In overruling Chevron, the Supreme Court made clear that it is the responsibility

of federal courts—rather than federal agencies—to interpret the law.

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. explained in the opinion that Chevron “defies the command of” the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the law governing federal administrative agencies, “That the ‘reviewing court’— not the agency whose action it reviews—is to ‘decide all relevant questions of law’ and ‘interpret… statutory provisions.’... It requires a court to ignore, not follow, ‘the reading the court would have reached’ had it exercised its independent judgment as required by the APA.”

In a concurring opinion, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch described the court’s action as placing a “tombstone on Chevron no one can miss. In doing so, the Court returns judges to interpretive rules that have guided federal courts since the Nation’s

“Federal policies about land use are going to be very heavily determined by federal bodies, whether that be by litigation or regulatory agencies. So who gets to decide the rules of the road and what that looks like in timing, costs, and process?”

Bonnie Paskvan

Partn er, Dorsey & Whitney

“It’s hard to overstate the magnitude of this change in process… Decisions may be better or worse coming from the court. I think they’re likely to be more expensive and potentially slower.”

Bonnie Paskvan Partn er, Dorsey & Whitney

founding.” Gorsuch had a personal tie to the case: his late mother, Anne Gorsuch, was administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the original defendant sued by the Natural Resources Defense Council. She had loosened Clean Air Act enforcement, but a circuit court ruled against her. That ruling was written by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who ended up serving alongside Neil Gorsuch for a few terms on the Supreme Court.

Chevron, which helped pioneer the oil industry in Alaska, intervened in the case along with the American Petroleum Institute, Chemical Manufacturers Association, Rubber Manufacturers Association, American Iron and Steel Institute, and General Motors. As an intervenor, Chevron appealed to the US Supreme Court to uphold EPA’s industryfriendly interpretation

In Loper Bright , Alaska joined with twenty-six other states to file an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to reverse Chevron deference.

Michael Drysdale, a partner at Dorsey & Whitney in the areas of environmental law and general litigation, notes, “Chevron deference has been cited more than 17,000 times since its enactment in 1984, making it one of the most cited Supreme Court decisions. But this court has been skeptical of Chevron for several years. They made a point of saying they haven’t cited it since 2016. It has still been a very important piece of precedent for the lower courts that are looking to deal with the issues that come up.”

The US Supreme Court’s ruling generally means that it is now much easier for courts, particularly lower courts, to overturn federal rules. “If they find an ambiguity, they now are

not supposed to defer to what the agency says. The court may listen to what the agency has to say, but won’t necessarily afford it any extra weight,” says Drysdale. “So the likelihood that the agency and the court land in the same place is now a lot lower.”

The Impact on Alaska

The US Supreme Court’s decision will likely have far-reaching effects across the country, but in Alaska those effects are magnified.

Bonnie Paskvan, a Dorsey & Whitney partner who leads the firm’s Anchorage office, has significant experience working with Alaska Native corporations and municipalities. Paskvan believes Loper Bright will have a disproportionately large impact on Alaska.

says. “We are heavily dominated by federal regulation all over the state, whether it be via federal funding or federal oversight for mining, fisheries, or any other large, heavily regulated projects. It just seems likely there will be a bigger impact here than in some other states where those factors are not at the forefront. Also, about 65 percent of Alaska’s land is federally owned and managed, so federal policies about land use are going to be very heavily determined by federal bodies, whether that be by litigation or regulatory agencies. So who gets to decide the rules of the road and what that looks like in timing, costs, and process?”

In a recent press release, Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor noted his approval of the Loper Bright decision. “Federal agencies have used Chevron

agencies’ actions all while moving to improperly expand their discretion and authority. By getting rid of Chevron , the Supreme Court has restored the separation of powers. Under our system of government, it is a court’s job to offer a final interpretation of the law, not the job of federal agencies,” Taylor wrote.

Anchorage attorney Christopher Slottee, an industry group leader for Schwabe with a focus on Native corporations and natural resources, anticipates a mixed response to the reversal of the Chevron deference.

“For Native corporations, it’s going to be dependent on the specific situation or the specific regulation. Some Native corporations are going to be very in favor of challenges to regulations that restrict development of certain resources because they want to have more freedom to develop the natural resources on their lands,” says

Slottee. “On the other side, there’s certainly going to be some Native corporations and some Native groups that are opposed to striking down those regulations because they want to see them in place to preserve the traditional habitat or traditional nature of their Alaska Native lands. It’s going to be specific both as to the regulation but also to which side someone is on.”

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy stated his approval of the Loper Bright decision. “Ever since statehood, Alaska has had to continually fight just to try and hold on to what was already given—fish and game management, submerged lands, land entitlements, resource development, the list goes on. This constant deference given to federal agencies has made the fight that much harder and resulted in Alaska being treated as a volleyball going back and forth depending on who’s in the White House. Our legal rights as a state should not depend on who’s in office—those rights either exist or they don’t. The US Supreme Court’s decision at least gives us a fair chance to fight

back and secure the rights we were promised,” Dunleavy says.

The Environmental Impact

Loper Bright does not automatically nullify all federal regulations in a single stroke. Rather, it rebalances the scales when regulations are challenged in federal courts. Recent court decisions apart from Loper Bright provide a glimpse into the potential challenges environmental agencies will face in a post-Chevrondeference legal environment.

“With regard to the Clean Water Act, we’ve seen the US Supreme Court, even this past session, restrict the ability of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to regulate certain aspects of waters. We expect to see significantly more challenges to EPA, USACE, and other natural resources governing agencies from this, and they will have a better chance to succeed under this new regime,” says Slottee. “We haven’t seen those specific results to date, but we know that they are coming, and they are coming quickly.”

Drysdale expects EPA to be most affected. “They have so many regulations that affect so many economic activities and many of those regulations are controversial,” he says. “There are many other areas that will be very affected, like telecommunications and cyber security and the rules for those industries. When you think about fast-moving industries, it’s going to be much harder to manage those because the statues are often way behind.”

Drysdale notes an additional example of the problems this new process could present. “Imagine you are the Biden administration or a future Democratic administration and you want to do something aggressive to fight climate change. And you’re looking within your authority, whether it be Clean Air Act or any other federal act, and you say, ‘I want to accomplish this policy to fight climate change,’ while it’s not clear on whether you can do that. Under Chevron you could say, ‘Well, is my interpretation reasonable?’ Yes, go forth and enact. Now it’s like, well, what is a judge in Texas going to think about it?”

Pipe awaiting removal from Annette Island after cleanup by the Metlakatla Indian Community under the Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program.

federal relationship with Alaska tribes will likely amplify the effects in the state of shifting statutory interpretation from bureaucrats to courts.

US Army Corps of Engineers

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Regulating Expectations

Attorneys face numerous uncertainties now that the Chevron deference is overturned. “It’s hard to overstate the magnitude of this change in process,” says Paskvan. “Decisions may be better or worse coming from the court. I think they’re likely to be more expensive and potentially slower.”

Drysdale notes the importance of distinguishing between how good a rule is and how clear the rule is. “In many cases, there may be a rule that you don’t like as a business, but if it’s clear you can deal with it in terms of your pricing and your contract terms, et cetera. Consider OSHA [Occupation Safety and Health Administration] regulations: companies complain about those all the time. But if they’re clear, they can deal with them,” he says. “An unclear rule, whether it’s a good or bad rule, poses problems over and above that. You just don’t know whether what you’re doing is going to ultimately be OK and whether the investments you’re making

in compliance are going to be worth it.”

Attorneys recommend remaining proactive. “I think the biggest impact of this ruling is that it’s going to raise a lot of uncertainty. We just don’t know how the removal of Chevron is going to shake out yet, and we’re not going to know for a year or two until these initial challenges are tested and we can see the impact,” says Slottee. “What I’ve been saying to my clients is, let’s look at your regulatory regime, let’s try to find areas in which we can take advantage of this and stay aware of areas where we need to be concerned about attacks under this new regime.”

Slottee adds, “It’s best to be prepared, monitor what’s going on, and see what the potential consequences are.”

Time will provide more insights into the outcomes of Loper Bright across the country and in Alaska. One factor to watch is how the agencies respond. “We’re not going to know how federal agencies will respond for a while because they are big entities. It takes

them a while to change course, and combined with a new administration, there could be a wholly different agency approach as well,” explains Slottee.

Drysdale also notes, “The significance of this case is now much greater today than it would have been if the same decision had been made in 1984, due to the difficulty of passing legislation today. The simple solution to any error is to obtain statutory authority. Congress can always fix any problem that a court may have with a rule, but Congress doesn’t often pass laws anymore, so that’s not really a solution.”

Despite the uncertainty, Drysdale doesn’t think Loper Bright will necessarily result in more litigation. “Almost every major rule gets litigated these days anyway. But what it does do is it makes it more likely that the rules will be overturned,” he says, “so the agency will have to take multiple bites of the apple, and it will be a much longer period of uncertainty. This could go on for years.”

Second Chance at Success

Alaskans with criminal records in the workforce

By Lincoln Garrick

Fo rty-four months is the median criminal sentence length in Alaska, according to 2023 data from the US Sentencing Commission. That’s 1,320 days, which is a significant chunk of any life to put on hold, and it also creates a work résumé with an almost four-year gap. Alaska releases around 7,000 people annually from its correctional facilities, people who have spent time reflecting on mistakes and gaining skills to get prepared for reentry into the Alaska workforce to live again within our community.

Incarceration Perspective

More than 5,000 people are currently incarcerated in Alaska's justice system, and many more are tracked under electronic monitoring, parole, probation, or in halfway houses. The state's incarceration rate is 718 per 100,000 people, as compiled by the Prison Policy Initiative in the report Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2024. This is higher than both the US national average of 531 per 100,000 and all other countries, with El Salvador coming in closest at 605 per 100,000, according to a January 2024 study by global research firm Statista.

However, incarcerated does not mean convicted and sentenced. According to data from the Alaska Justice Information Center, roughly half of Alaska Department of Corrections (ADOC) facilities contain individuals awaiting trial and who do not yet have a criminal record.

A criminal record, not to be confused with an arrest or police record, is a record of a person's criminal history, and it is established only when a person is convicted. While a period of incarceration is generally finite, a criminal record can follow people for their whole lives. Criminal records are often viewed as "collateral consequences," describing the various unexpected ways in which state and federal laws put individuals with criminal convictions at a disadvantage when trying to participate in everyday activities, including employment.

The Alaska criminal justice system touches the lives of more than 70 percent of residents, either directly or through someone they know. More than 200,000 Alaskans have a criminal record, which is close to one third of the state’s population, according to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) Workforce Investment

Board. Reentry and reintegration, the path to rebuilding a life after prison with gainful employment, is often paved with obstacles such as limited job opportunities, a lack of recent skills, and the added burden of facing discrimination.

Changing Views on Criminal Records

Laws are increasingly protecting applicants from discrimination based on past criminal history. "Ban the box" laws in thirty-seven states, but not Alaska, prevent employers from asking about convictions on applications, while the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 requires federal employers and federal contractors to wait until later in the hiring process to consider criminal background checks. According to the National Employment Law Project, an additional 150 cities and counties have

similar protections for both public and private sector jobs.

Unlike many states, Alaska lacks a comprehensive statute governing the use of criminal background checks in employment and licensing decisions. This means individual employers and licensing boards have greater discretion in evaluating the relevance of an applicant's criminal record to a position or profession. Consequently, professional licenses may be denied or revoked based on a conviction, but the specific criteria for such decisions may vary greatly. For instance, a criminal conviction, whether misdemeanor or felony, will not automatically disqualify or exclude someone from employment with the State of Alaska, but all convictions, even if the sentence is suspended or if the conviction has been set aside or expunged, must be disclosed at the time of application.

Reentry and reintegration, the path to rebuilding a life after prison with gainful employment, is often paved with obstacles such as limited job opportunities, a lack of recent skills, and the added burden of facing discrimination.

Organizations such as the Alaska Reentry Partnership—a collaboration of individuals, organizations, community advocates, and public entities—provide services before, during, and after incarceration—including transition support, therapeutic courts, cultural support, and employment assistance. Jonathan Pistotnik, reentry program manager for ADOC, states, “The Reentry Partnership brings together organizations and people with lived experience to use resources more efficiently and coordinate efforts across multiple organizations, better serving our big state.”

Advocating for criminal disclosure changes may be on the horizon. In 2024, Governor Mike Dunleavy formally proclaimed April “Second Chance Month.” He urged all Alaskans “to recognize the need for closure for those who have paid their debt, to commend those who have successfully reentered society, and for individuals, employers, congregations, and communities to extend second chances to former inmates.”

Employers’ Viewpoint

According to the nonprofit Jails to Jobs, there are significant advantages to hiring individuals who were formerly incarcerated, for both businesses and society as a whole. Formerly incarcerated individuals can bring much value to the workplace. They may possess transferable skills gained through work or training programs during their incarceration. A strong work ethic and dedication to start over can make them reliable and committed employees. Companies that hire formerly incarcerated individuals benefit from increased diversity and a more inclusive workplace. This can lead to improved decision-making and a stronger company culture.

Formerly incarcerated individuals can bring much value to the workplace. They may possess transferable skills gained through work or training programs during their incarceration.

A strong work ethic and dedication to start over can make them reliable and committed employees.

Additionally, such companies demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility, which can enhance their reputation in the community. Industries facing labor shortages can fill critical gaps by hiring formerly incarcerated individuals. DOLWD also provides financial incentives, in some cases, for hiring these individuals through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program. Companies that actively hire workers who were formerly incarcerated are sometimes self-identified as “second chance employers,” and they include a variety of sizes and industries ranging from restaurants and temporary

employment agencies to professional services and manufacturers.

Indeed.com, the popular job search website, has been a champion for second chances since its beginning twenty years ago. Its very first employee, a software engineer, had a past prison sentence and internet ban. Indeed’s CEO Chris Hyams has said, "We wouldn't be where we are today if our founders hadn't been open to hiring someone who made a mistake, learned from it, and served their time.” Which may influence Indeed’s approach today of focusing on skills and qualifications first, only considering criminal records later in the hiring process, if at all. It also takes the time to understand a person’s situation—what happened, when it happened, and if it has anything to do with the job itself.

Working to Reduce Recidivism

Decades of research illustrate a clear link between gainful employment and reduced recidivism, but the relationship is layered. Academic theories suggest employment strengthens social bonds, fosters a positive self-image incompatible with crime, and provides financial stability acting as deterrents. However, the quality of work matters, and employment might follow, not precede, shifts in criminal behavior.

Alaska-specific research conducted by Juneau economist Yuancie Lee, a collaboration between ADOC and DOLWD, followed 4,500 inmates who were released from an Alaska prison in 2012. The wage values in the study were nominal and include 2012 through 2015 values. All of the subjects had served time for a felony, and the study analyzed employment’s effect on recidivism over three years. In the June 2017 issue of Alaska Economic Trends , Lee published the following findings:

About half the former Alaskan inmates studied found a job at some point in the three years after their release.

• There were lower re-offend rates for those who found a job quickly.

• The rate of re-offending went down notably from 66 percent to 35 percent if they earned a higher salary (less than $12,500 versus $35,000 during the first six months after release).

• How long a job was kept mattered, with those holding a job for at least a year having a lower likelihood of returning to prison, regardless of how long it took to get hired.

• The most common first occupations after release from prison, by number employed, were construction laborers, laborers and hand movers, food prep and servers, dishwashers, cashiers, and meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers.

• Few formerly incarcerated individuals find high-paying, high-skill jobs upon release (only 50 out of 4,500 reached $65,000 annually by 2015).

Lee acknowledged that other factors also play a role in recidivism, including substance abuse, mental health, poverty, extent of criminal history, demographics, and childhood abuse or neglect.

Education in Alaska’s Prisons

ADOC administers a unified correctional system that includes pretrial detention and secure facilities for sentenced state offenders. To promote rehabilitation and successful reintegration upon release, ADOC offers a variety of rehabilitative programs within each facility. These programs may encompass educational services like Adult Basic Education or General Education

Diploma classes, alongside vocational training opportunities.

Depending on the correctional facility, vocational programs could equip inmates with skills to earn certifications such as Alaska Food Service Worker Card, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, or first aid/ CPR. Additionally, some programs might offer training in practical trades like motor vehicle repair, commercial driving, HVAC, or welding. This diverse range of programs aims to improve inmates' employability.

A partnership between the lieutenant governor’s office, ADOC, and the Western State Regional Council of Carpenters has launched a pilot preapprenticeship carpentry program for incarcerated Alaskans in certain facilities. The program's curriculum is focused on providing participants with the skills and knowledge necessary

Companies that support providing employment to individuals with a criminal record often cite the benefits for everyone: safer neighborhoods, stronger families, and a fairer shot at success for everyone, regardless of one’s past.

to pursue a carpentry career upon release. Successful completion may lead to union membership and industry certification.

Alaska has no federal prisons, so those awaiting trial or sentencing are held in state facilities, while sentenced prisoners are typically transferred to Federal Correctional Institution Sheridan in Oregon.

How to Become a “Fair Chance” Employer

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, barring job discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. EEOC considers a policy discriminatory if it disproportionately impacts protected groups based on criminal history, unless the employer can justify it as job-related and necessary. EEOC enforcement guidance offers the following best practices for fair chance hiring:

• Avoid upfront inquiries: Remove the checkbox asking about criminal records from initial applications.

Transparency: Include a statement clarifying that criminal records alone won't disqualify applicants.

Train your team: Equip HR staff and hiring managers with skills to make fair decisions regarding criminal history.

• Informed consent: Obtain a signed release for background checks, covering criminal records, past employment, and education.

• Accurate information: Use reliable background check providers to ensure correct data.

Consistent application: Conduct background checks for all candidates at the same stage, ideally after the interview and not up front, to avoid potential bias.

What Is Next?

Justice is complicated. It is layered with issues ranging from racial disparities, the connection between incarceration and health, and the role of substance abuse and its connection to crime.

ADOC Director of Health and Rehabilitation Services Travis Welch sums it up well. He states, “Our goal within corrections is for those in our custody to leave better than they came in. That can happen through a holistic approach of addressing trauma, physical health, education, and vocational training. Our hope is this leads to meaningful and gainful employment which provides a livable wage.”

Companies that support providing employment to individuals with a criminal record often cite the benefits for everyone: safer neighborhoods, stronger families, and a fairer shot at success for everyone, regardless of one’s past. But none of this can happen without businesses being open to hiring people and seeking out a wider talent pool: people who are eager to prove themselves and become valuable employees, people who are more than their worst mistake. Giving them a chance isn't just the right thing to do, it ca n be good business.

Lincoln Garrick is an assistant professor, MBA director, and alumnus at Alaska Pacific University. He has more than twenty years of experience in the business, marketing, and communications fields providing public affairs and strategy services for national and Alaska organizations.

“TCalling All Apprentices

Developing a skilled telecommunications workforce

By Tracy Barbour

elecom professionals are on the forefront of lifechanging infrastructure investments in Alaska,” says Jessica Linquist, vice president of human resources for Alaska Communications.

“With a surge of new projects, telecom work is available in our state—and it will be for the foreseeable future.”

Work is available; workers, not as much. The telecommunications industry is grappling with a talent shortage, according to the US Department of Labor. Apprenticeship programs present an effective solution for closing this talent gap. Alaska Communications and MTA are among

the providers collaborating to promote apprenticeships in the industry.

Apprenticeships offer students the opportunity to earn while they learn. Apprenticeships combine classroom learning and on-the-job training under the guidance of a journeyman. The program offers advanced training in positions including splicers, lineman, construction, installation and repair, and other field technician work. In addition, the central office has roles for network technicians.

“Over the next several years, roughly $2 billion in federal funding will bring broadband to unserved communities in rural Alaska. Alaska Communications’ partners have received more than $130 million so far to build reliable, high-speed fiber broadband in fifteen communities along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers,” Linquist says.

By setting up apprenticeships, companies are preparing a workforce to install and maintain the new equipment and services.

Joint Training

Alaska Communications works with the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust (AJEATT) to train its apprentices and grow its technical workforce. The AJEATT is a partnership between the Alaska Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1547. The trust provides hands-on classroom and on-the-job training for a variety of electrical jobs, including telecommunications.

Meanwhile, the MTA Tech Center in Wasilla hosts AJEATT education events, which provide apprentices with unique opportunities to interact with industry leaders and gain valuable hands-on experience.

Alaska Communications apprentices Amanda Sagmoen and Jake Bates receive handson training from instructor Jeff Tanner at the NECA/IBEW 1547’s Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust in Anchorage.

Alaska Communications

The primary goal of Alaska Communications and MTA’s public outreach campaign, Linquist says, is to increase the number of qualified candidates entering NECA/ IBEW’s AJEATT telecommunications apprenticeship program to support life-changing broadband investment in Alaska. “We want more Alaskans to consider the telecom trade and believe there is no better training opportunity than what is provided by AJEATT,” she says.

Alaska Communications and MTA are boosting the signal via traditional advertising, digital marketing, partnership promotion, community outreach/speakers’ bureau, and employee advocacy. “We’re targeting Alaskans with a particular focus on high school students, vocational students, military members, career changers, and women and minorities,” says Linquist. “There are so many benefits to working

in this trade, which many residents may not be aware of. From getting paid to go to school and not incurring any debt to the approximately $90,000 annual starting salary upon graduation, our campaign aims to communicate these benefits to encourage consideration.”

Given the state’s tight labor market, Alaska Communications is leveraging apprenticeship programs to fill its workforce planning needs for journeyman and technical positions. “Beyond journeyman roles, we’re looking to grow and retain talent in Alaska for all of our professional needs,” she says. “From finance to marketing and sales to customer service, we’re planning for the workforce we want and need in the future.”

This summer, the company hired four interns to support marketing and finance functions. “We’re engaged with the Anchorage School District’s Academies of Anchorage

program, which empowers students through career exposure, so they can make informed decisions and discover their passion while earning early college credit and industry certifications,” Linquist says.

Real World from the Start

Apprenticeship programs offer valuable opportunities for people from all backgrounds who are eager to pursue promising careers in handson trades, says MTA COO Matthew Langhoff. These programs are crucial in shaping a well-trained workforce, offering classroom and on-the-job training that prepares participants to become proficient tradespeople.

“Through these initiatives, MTA ensures that its apprentices are wellequipped to meet the demands of the telecommunications industry and seamlessly transition into fulltime roles,” he says.

Langhoff notes that MTA's apprenticeship programs have been instrumental in cultivating a highly skilled workforce, with many apprentices progressing into long-term careers there. Many employees now represent the second or third generation of their families working at MTA. “This continuity and generational commitment underscores the effectiveness of the apprenticeship programs in sustaining MTA's workforce and contributing to local community growth, particularly in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley,” he says. “Additionally, these programs play a vital role in extending MTA's capabilities by ensuring that both the company and its contractors have access to well-trained, proficient personnel.”

MTA’s partnership with the IBEW offers comprehensive telecom and power apprenticeship programs that have been integral to its workforce development for decades. For instance, MTA typically employs ten to fifteen apprentices annually, immersing them in real-world operations from the start. These programs are designed to develop essential technical skills while instilling a deep understanding of MTA's standards, expectations, and company culture.

The apprenticeship programs cover a range of critical roles: install and repair technicians; line crew members and cable splicers; and tower, wireless, fiber optic, and broadband network technicians. These roles are essential for both outside and inside plant operations.

MTA has also adjusted its scholarship offerings to support individuals pursuing certifications and trade qualifications, extending eligibility beyond recent high school graduates to include individuals who may have new career goals. “Emphasizing the value of a skilled trade, combined

with the promise of a stable and rewarding career, is key to attracting more young professionals to the industry,” Langhoff says.

Combining Classroom and Hands-on Learning

The AJEATT offers training in various electrical industry job classifications, including inside wireman, residential wireman, outside power lineman, and telecommunications worker (telephone/data). The classes are primarily held at its electrical training centers in Anchorage and Fairbanks, which together host about 100 telecom apprentices.

At the Tom Cashen Training Center in Anchorage, the apprenticeship program entails 840 hours of classroom instruction (divided into three sessions) and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training with a journeyman. “The classroom training is a mix of actual bookwork and skills labs created by our highly qualified instructors,” says AJEATT Statewide Training Director Melissa Caress. “All of

the lessons are backed up by hands-on training in a controlled environment. It typically takes four to four and a half years, depending on the hours worked.”

The program offers specialized tracks, so participants can choose from several journeyman classifications. Apprentices can test in four areas upon program completion: CO/PBX (phone systems), install and repair technician, telephone lineman, and fiber splicer. Caress explains, “During their apprenticeship, they are educated on all aspects; however, the last period of their enrollment is focused on the trade they are planning on pursuing as a journeyman.”

Apprentices gain the practical knowledge to perform tasks related to the different occupations during their classroom instruction, as well as hands-on training in the field under the supervision of a journeyman. This enables them to get a well-rounded education and complete the program ready to train the next generation of apprentices. “The hands-on learning

model, both in the classroom and in the field, prepares them to become competent workers and face the challenges in the industry that are presented to them,” Caress says.

During classroom training sessions, apprentices must complete multiple competency tasks, including rigorous safety training. For example, apprentices are required to complete and pass bucket truck rescue and pole-top rescue, learn how to operate heavy equipment, and safely climb and perform tasks at realistic heights. “Our model during classroom training is to imitate real-world situations faced in the field,” Caress says. “We have a myriad of labs that explain not only the ‘why’ behind what they’re doing but also the ‘how’ in order to send out a prepared individual.”

Casey Ptacek, training coordinator at the AJEATT’s Kornfeind Training Center in Fairbanks, follows a similar approach. To ensure apprentices are well prepared for challenging work conditions and environments, they are

Inside telecommunications training at the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust’s Tom Cashen Training Center in Anchorage.

AJEATT

placed in the field with experienced and knowledgeable journeymen. “We also limit the number of apprentices a journeyman can oversee to ensure they can keep a watchful eye,” he says.

Safety, Ptacek says, is the apprenticeship program’s top priority— always. Every apprentice receives comprehensive training in a host of areas, including fiber and copper splicing, pole climbing, confined space, cable lashing, networking, protocols, cabling, heavy equipment operating, structured cabling systems, test sets, troubleshooting, cable locating, bonding and grounding, tower construction/climbing. “We are the only place in the state of Alaska to receive globally recognized BICSI [Building Industry Consulting Service International] certifications, along with the other OSHA 10 [safety course], rigging, mobile crane/Digger Derrick, FOA [fiber optic association], CPR, and pole-top rescue certifications,” he says. Ptacek adds, “Telecommunications is an ever-changing, vast industry with

Alaska Blooms & Bubbles Presents

Chelsa Jay | Matanuska Telecom Association

many specialties and skills required to get the job done from start to finish. The IBEW 1547 AJEATT is the most robust training program in the industry, turning out (journeying out) the highest-trained techs in the field.”

The AJEATT also conducts multiple, two-day introductory courses for high school students at the Fairbanks Pipeline Training Center, where participants receive a two-day crash course in electricity. “We also teach an 80-hour Intro to Electrical trades course at the Fairbanks Pipeline Training Center for high school seniors and juniors the week after school ends,” Ptacek says. “Graduates of this course receive a completion certificate and are eligible for a direct interview.”

Smoothing the Way

Caress urges telecom companies to be intentional about using apprenticeship to accelerate employee development. “As the work demand continues to increase, it is important to utilize apprenticeship to its fullest capabilities,” she says. “The Department of Labor allows one apprentice per journey worker to be trained in the field. We face success in meeting workforce needs by using apprentices at this rate.”

To simplify the path to apprenticeship, there’s Alaska Works. The nonprofit runs a free pre-apprenticeship program that provides introductory, handson workshops to help people better understand the telecom industry and assist with the application process for NECA/IBEW’s telecom apprenticeship program. Additionally, Alaska Works also provides apprenticeship opportunities through its Women in Trades and Helmets to Hardhats (for military veterans) trainings.

The telecom pre-apprenticeship program—which receives grants from the US Department of Labor—spans

three eight-hour days. It’s held during daytime, evening, and weekend sessions to accommodate various schedules.

Last year, Alaska Works received more than 100 applications for the program, according to Outreach Coordinator Nicole Pennie. “Everybody qualifies for our training, and no prior experience is required,” she says.

Program participants—about 30 percent of whom are 18 to 24 years old—get a chance to learn technical skills like cable splicing, installation, repair, and testing, as well as hone their soft skills. This enables them to explore the telecom industry and ask questions before committing to a career. Pennie explains, “We allow them to pursue a curiosity before going into a job. They get hands-on skills to put on their résumé. They receive a certificate of completion for the program. And if they

were really good in their class, we have Top 5, and our instructors can write them recommendation letters.”

Aspiring telecom apprentices need to be curious, ask questions, and show up on time, Pennie advises. She says, “People sometimes get nervous and don’t want to try things. They say, ‘I don’t have the experience.’ You can learn hard skills, but you need to bring the soft skills. However, there is training and instruction available that can help them grow their skills.”

Pennie encourages both men and women to consider telecommunications apprenticeship as a pathway to a promising career. “Everybody knows about the billions of dollars coming to Alaska, so there’s no better time to get into the telecom field,” she says. “This is a lifelong career that we can help them start.”

Alaska Communications apprentice Korey Pugh is learning the trade both in the classroom and under the supervision of journeyman Richard Burton.

Alaska Communications

Samson Tug and Barge

Family-owned company credits long-term relationships for eight decades of success

From its humble beginnings as a horseand-cart operation delivering materials and goods to mining camps almost eight decades ago to its current iteration as a fully integrated, inter-modal, interstate marine freight common carrier, Samson Tug and Barge has always prided itself on being “Alaskans serving Alaskans.”

“We’re family owned, and we treat each other and our customers like family,” says Vice President Cory Baggen of the company started in 1937 and still run by her father, George Baggen. “Our success has come from looking out for our friends and neighbors.”

These close relationships include those with long-term vendors like GCI. For more than twenty years, GCI has helped the business grow, providing internet, cellular, and landline service at the majority of Samson’s locations. Samson offers barge freight and cargo hauling services on a scheduled, yearround basis from and throughout Alaska, as well as interport connections and charter and seasonal services.

“Any place that has GCI available, we use it,” says Baggen.

She notes that GCI has gone above and beyond when needed, including when Samson was a victim of a cyberattack eight years ago. “It shut us down and I didn’t know what to do,” says Baggen, who had no computers or servers at her disposal to track and ship freight. “GCI

By Vanessa Orr

called in the calvary, and their team got us up and running in days—sometimes working until 2 a.m. To be quite honest, without them, I don’t know if we’d still be in business.”

“They have always responded when we’ve called,” adds Annika Hansen, director of information systems. “Our new account manager, Andrea, even called us recently to let us know that we would be getting reimbursed for the services we couldn’t use when a cable was cut in Sitka. I hadn’t even contacted her about it, but she wanted us to know that they were going to take care of us.”

“We’re really thankful for their service,” adds Baggen. “We’re big GCI fans.”

Headquartered in Alaska, GCI provides data, mobile, video, voice, and managed services to consumer, business, government, and carrier customers throughout Alaska, serving more than 200 communities. The company has invested more than $4 billion in its Alaska network and facilities over the past 40 years and recently launched true standards-based 5G NR service in Anchorage. GCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Broadband Corporation. To learn more about GCI and its services, visit www.gci.com.

IMoving Pieces

Q&A with ATA President and CEO Jamie Benson

By Dan Kreilkamp

n July, the Alaska Trucking Association (ATA) welcomed Jamie Benson as its new president and CEO. The transportation industry veteran was a natural fit, having climbed the executive ranks of FedEx. She previously served as ATA’s board president in 2019.

Benson says Alaska has always been home—something she credits largely to her father’s adventurous spirit. “He was a native Hawaiian and served in the Navy, but he always wanted to be that Alaska wild man, so that’s how we ended up here,” she says with a laugh.

A frank conversation with Benson’s father also proved to be a driving force behind what’s been an illustrious, thirty-year career in logistics, strategic planning, and business management.

After graduating from Chugiak High School and attending UAA in pursuit of a fine arts degree, Benson pivoted to a career with FedEx. “I started out as a handler, was a forklift

Patricia Morales

| Alaska Business

driver, and for the first ten years I kind of bounced around, finding my way through different leadership roles,” she reflects. “And for the next twenty years, I assumed different management roles, and that’s actually where I got my first exposure to the ATA.”

As she gears up for this latest challenge, Benson set aside some time to chat with Alaska Business to lay out her vision for the future of the organization and the trucking industry at large.

Alaska Business: What drew you to this position with the ATA?

Benson: I served on the board for many years, and I was actually the board president in 2019. I originally joined the ATA because I managed drivers on road operations; I had a vested interest in protecting my

drivers and making sure that they were exposed to all sorts of safety training and opportunities with truck driving championships. So that's how I first became affiliated with the ATA. And I always had my employees’ best interest at the forefront. My motto for leadership was always: take care of your employees and they'll take care of you. So that's how I managed at FedEx, and when the opportunity to lead the ATA came about, I knew that I could bring that same leadership, that employee-focused mentality to the organization.

AB: What are the primary objectives of ATA, and what services do you provide your members?

Benson: The two primary objectives are support and advocacy for the industry. Our membership is made up of trucking-related positions,

ATA is actively trying to remove the stigma of truck driving. I think for a lot of folks—especially our younger workforce—it doesn't sound like a viable option.

drivers being the majority, but we also provide safety-focused training, which is led by our safety management committee. Recently, we partnered with Wrightway Auto Carriers, and they hosted a pipe tie-down demonstration and highlighted best safety practices and awareness. We have two DOT inspection classes coming up to educate drivers on what to expect if their vehicles are chosen for inspections. This helps the companies by reducing their violations.

We host CPR training classes and leadership training—I'm actively working on putting together an interview skills class for anyone who wants to promote within the industry, because I always felt that was my niche at FedEx. It took a long time to cultivate that skill, but I learned over the years—by interviewing myself and also interviewing hundreds of employees—what

an employer is looking for and to make that time valuable for the employee and the employer.

ATA’s incredible staff also provides commercial and personal DMV services to our members and the public. I would say one of our greatest services that we provide here is networking and collaboration opportunities for our members, building that network so that they can find resources within their own industries. Those are the types of support services that we provide.

The other big thing is advocacy: we are all about advocating for our membership. We're actively working to influence transportation policies at the state and the federal levels, and we want to ensure a favorable business environment for our members.

AB: What has been one of the highlights of your tenure with ATA to date?

Benson: I recently had an opportunity to ride along the Dalton Highway— the “haul road”—with three of our carriers. This experience was invaluable to me. The challenges facing our drivers on a daily basis cannot be overlooked. The Dalton is probably the hardest road to travel in the country, and our drivers are braving it every day to provide necessary goods and equipment to support the oil and gas industry. Their skills and professionalism play a vital role in ensuring a reliable transportation network. This experience truly amplified my respect and admiration for all of our drivers here in Alaska.

AB: What is your vision for the future of the organization?

Benson: The trucking industry has changed over the many years that we've had vehicles on the road. But I think overall our membership is so

Old trucks parked in Nome. Disconnected from the rest of the state's highway system, even Nome has more than 100 miles of crosscountry roads, including a connection to North America's westernmost road in Teller.

Ruben Ramos | iStock

wonderfully diverse with a wealth of knowledge and experience. We have a board of twenty-one members, and they're an amazing group of industry leaders: executives, frontline operators, sales. And every one of those members has a reason for belonging and contributing to the ATA. But it's my vision and my goal to bring all of those voices together in a manner that strengthens the collective voice of the ATA. We want to foster innovation and collaboration and drive progress in this ever-changing environment. So my vision is to take this organization of 200-plus members and find a collective voice so that we all reach our goals.

AB: How are changes in shipping and logistics, such as the new Amazon hub in Anchorage, affecting the industry?

Benson: Even when I was with FedEx, I loved that Amazon had a place in Alaska. You saw the introduction of Amazon and their warehouses. And I never really saw them as a threat because of the way our industry is now and that need for instant gratification of delivery. There's more than enough business out there for all of the trucking companies.

And when you mention Amazon, FedEx, UPS, USPS—they're not instantly recognized as trucking companies, but they are: they provide a service through a vehicle. But I would definitely say our old saying of “If you got it, a truck brought it” still rings true, now more than ever. Your first thought about the trucking industry is the big tractor trailers, but the small package delivery system—they're just as integral. And they're driving vehicles. They're driving trucks. So that last leg of a very intricate supply chain movement is critical.

AB: A lack of licensed drivers is obviously one of the challenges that Alaska and Outside companies are trying

to address. What do you see as the root of this problem, and what is your organization doing to help attract more people to this career?

Benson: ATA is actively trying to remove the stigma of truck driving. I think for a lot of folks—especially our younger workforce—it doesn't sound like a viable option. Removing the stigma of truck driving as just being a long-haul driver is what's going to be critical to our industry to bring more people into this career.

There's a myriad of support roles in the trucking industry: administrative, executive, maintenance. So we're going to career fairs, and our stance is that a four-year degree is great if you're focused enough and that's where you want to go and a four-year degree is required. But that's not necessarily what's needed to have a fulfilling life and a long-term career.

I've told this story a hundred times over because I'm actually very proud of it: my son, with my affiliation with the ATA, he was really exposed at a young age to this industry. His father is an aircraft mechanic, so he's mechanically inclined, but he wasn't the best student. Academics wasn't his forte, so we always knew that wasn't a path for him. I was able to promote trade to him as an option for a career. So he's been trained as a diesel mechanic, and now he works for one of our members.

AB: What other efforts is ATA making to remove the stigma from the trucking industry?

Benson: I really believe that exposure is going to make the impact: building partnerships with UAA and ASD [Anchorage School District] and introducing the trucking industry in

Commercial truck drivers are more than steady hands on the steering wheel. They are trained to check vehicles daily for any sign of defects.

ways that don't immediately come to mind. Just because you're good at accounting doesn’t mean you have to go and work for a big company downtown; the possibilities are endless in the trucking industry. It's just about finding the right venue for that. But for us right now, we're working on apprenticeships within our industry, and there's a maintenance apprenticeship program at Alaska Central Express that's been really successful. But creating that pathway within the industry is going to help us as well. It’s all about introducing the possibilities early on and fostering them in-house.

AB: What do you think are the other biggest challenges facing this industry?

Benson: Right now, the biggest challenge for our industry is infrastructure. As soon as I came

Ethen Dell | iStock

Greetings from Washington

You've got bears coming out of nowhere, moose, people breaking down on the sides of roads, and so you have an inherently human factor and emotional intelligence that I do not think that self-driving vehicles can support for Alaska driving conditions.

on board, the first issue that I was introduced to was the Dalton Highway and opportunities on the haul road. There's a significant amount of regulatory bureaucracy that goes on there and funding that needs to be pursued. But in my mind, a basic need for safe driving and safe transport are safe and maintained roads. So we're actively working with other associations to draw attention to the plight.

The Dalton Highway is kind of "out of sight, out of mind." If you have a giant pothole on Minnesota [Drive] and Benson [Boulevard, in Midtown Anchorage], you've got 20,000 people going onto social media, posting videos, and drawing attention to it. With the Dalton Highway being so, like I said, out of sight and out of mind, it’s not getting the attention that it needs. So that's something that we are actively working towards.

AB: What are your thoughts on selfdriving or automated tech and how that might impact the industry?

Benson: I think self-driving and automated tech makes a lot of sense for the Lower 48 where you have longer stretches with less impact from environmental concerns. Alaska is wild, and I don't think that our infrastructure lends itself to self-driving vehicles. At least not right now. Like I said before that, I don't think the infrastructure is the re to support that.

When I was with FedEx, we implemented a lot of systems in our vehicles so they're very selfaware. These webcams that are in truck cabs can tell when you're blinking, if you look like you're tired. There’s all these systems that the vehicles have for driver awareness and health and safety.

But you cannot discount the human factor for the Alaska environment. We had, what, 130 inches of snow last year? You're telling me that a self-driving vehicle will be able to navigate that safely or make decisions based on the safe driving conditions of the road? If that were true! [she laughs] You've got bears coming out of nowhere, moose, people breaking down on the sides of roads, and so you have an inherently human factor and emotional intelligence that I do not think that self-driving vehicles can support for Alaska driving conditions.

AB: If you could deliver one message to our readers, what would that be?

Benson: My message for the readers is that the trucking industry—especially in Alaska—is vital. It's not going anywhere. We have freight handlers, executives, admins, dispatchers, maintenance teams, professional drivers—they're always going to be vital to keeping our community and our economy moving. With the industry, you transport goods across the country in partnership with air and sea transport, and we are ensuring that you have these essential items reaching stores, businesses, your home. The members of this industry, this community, they're the reason that we can live the lives th at we do in Alaska.

I mean, we have a reputation for being wild. We're distant. But there is a great benefit to living in Alaska…. We have everything that we need at our fingertips, but it is because of the trucking industry, the [Alaska] Marine Highway [System], and the air transport network. The trucking industry is an integral part of what makes it possible for us all to live here in this beautiful state.

Th is section glimpses the future of AI technology insinuating itself into oil and gas exploration and production. Dig into the companies eyeing nickel and graphite deposits to drive forward the energy transition. Baseball cards serve as an aid for understanding Alaska's major producing mines, and peek over the border to seek how mining in Canada affects fishery res ources in Southeast.

The forests of Southeast, heaving with wood resources, are poised for new development thanks to legislation promoting local lumber grading. Forests are also treasured by cruise ship visitors, which is why tourism counts as a natural reso urce industry too.

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

Catching the New Wave

AI reshapes oil and gas exploration and development

By Rindi White

Machines capable of learning are the forerunners of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as far beyond the vacuumtube computers that heralded the Third Industrial Revolution as those contraptions were to the telegraph that wired together the Second.

The changes that have already come are revolutionary; the changes on the horizon are even more so, says Helena Wisniewski, UAA professor of entrepreneurship and chair of its

management, marketing, logistics, and business analytics department. She’s also the university’s first Marion Porter chair, an endowed chair within the College of Business and Public Policy.

Wisniewski spoke recently at the Alaska Oil and Gas Association Conference on the topic of AI in the oil and gas industry.

“We are currently in the era of Generative AI. Generative AI is a subset of Narrow AI, which is specific tasks. Generative can create and design, and

it uses natural language processing and deep neural networks to do that,” Wisniewski told the audience. “But we’re moving toward general AI. That’s where all the science fiction data comes in. General AI will have cognitive ability, understanding, decision making, and maybe reasoning—but we’re not there yet. Experts debate whether it will be in three to five years.”

What AI is currently capable of—and how it will change in the coming years— is something every industry should

LeoWolfert

be looking at, Wisniewski says. Oil and gas companies are already tapping into some of the potential AI brings with it, and the industry is poised to expand its use even more.

Digital Twins: A Mirrored Model

Several oil and gas companies are using “digital twins” to bridge the physical and digital world. A digital twin is a virtual representation of a real-world entity, such as a prototype product or a factory floor, which uses real-time and historical data to capture how the entity works, uses sensors to understand how it’s currently working, and uses AI to predict how it might work in the future. They’ve been in use since about 2002.

If, for example, a widget factory creates a digital twin of the equipment, it would be possible to use a digital twin system to test (without much capital investment) how an upgraded logic control system might integrate with existing equipment and affect performance of existing machines, as well as the quality and amount of widgets that would be produced as a result of the upgrade.

At least one digital twin system is already in use in Alaska. Clay Koplin, CEO of Cordova Electric Cooperative (CEC), says his utility has an “extremely sophisticated” control system built up over the past twenty-five years. The cooperative hosted, in partnership with the US Department of Energy, the largest grid modernization project in the United States, Koplin says. As part of that modernization plan, CEC built a digital twin of its grid. It’s hosted at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems campus in Golden, Colorado.

When a federal client asked CEC if it would be possible to extend power to

a location 27 miles from the existing CEC power grid, an independent engineering firm used the digital twin to model and analyze whether the proposal would be economically feasible. The contractor was able to adjust parameters, tweaking it this way and that, and finally found a way to make the project feasible, Koplin says. Now the client is analyzing whether to move forward.

Remote Decisions

Oil company bp is using digital twin technology to monitor its new Azeri Central East (ACE) platform in the Caspian Sea.

“We call it a one-stop shop, where you can get all the information about ACE and its insides that anyone could need,” says Yekaterina Novruzlu, senior instrument and controls engineer for the ACE project in an article on

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“Energy companies should consider adopting that ‘coopetition’ mindset: in certain areas, it’s in our interest to cooperate for the good of society, whereas in other areas, competition is needed to drive innovation forward.”

Dan Jeavons Vice President of Computational Science an d Digital Innovation Shell

bp’s website. “Let’s say there was a maintenance issue with a part that is not readily accessible. In the past, it might have meant sending someone offshore, setting up scaffolding, and taking photos as a first step. The digital twin allows us to understand what is involved and then decide on a course of action in just a few minutes or hours.”

ACE is one of seven offshore bp platforms feeding into the Sangachal terminal, one of the world’s largest oil and gas terminals, near Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. After engineering out, as much as possible, single points of failure on the platform, bp engineers are analyzing the digital twin for ways to increase safety and efficiency, says Ruhali Imanov, the commissioning superintendent of the ACE platform.

“We also looked at how, while maintaining and prioritizing safety, we could build in more time between maintenance shutdowns, known as turnarounds, when production has to be reduced or stopped,” Imanov adds. “The intention with ACE was that it would act as a pilot design for the platform of the future. When we started talking about this kind of automatization back in 2018, it seemed like we had a nearimpossible task ahead of us. This start-up is a real milestone after years of conceptualizing, engineering, planning, and execution.”

Digital twins are not artificial intelligence, per se, but they are a model that can, when combined with AI, provide continuous learning, predict performance, and elevate predictive maintenance to a realtime strategy to more accurately anticipate and prevent failures, resulting in greater efficiency, safety, and reduced costs. Digital twins are

being used not just to fix issues but predict them before they even happen, Wisniewski says. She enrolled UAA to be a member of the Digital Twins Consortium, which aims to accelerate the market by fostering development, increasing adoption, and improving the interoperability of digital engineering projects propelled by digital twins.

Shared Apps Allow Individualized Modernization

Shell has been an early adopter of AI, dating as far back as 2013. In 2021, it announced a partnership with oil field services company Baker Hughes and technology companies C3 AI and Microsoft to create and offer for widespread use the Open AI Energy Initiative (OAI). Dan Jeavons, Shell’s vice president of computational science and digital innovation, says it’s akin to the Apple App Store but for the process industry.

“Digital technology is a key enabler to facilitate the way we are doing business. As an energy company, we have to adapt to remain at the forefront of this transformation. The three previous industrial revolutions have demonstrated that not only the most advanced industries were successful, but the ones that were able to partner, develop, and work together effectively were the ones that often stood out,” says Christophe Vaessen, Shell’s general manager, commercial for its European Union, Middle East and Africa region, in an interview on Shell’s website. “Today, by bringing this OAI platform to life, we are building an open environment that enables all parties to work together toward a common ambition. The OAI is an open platform where companies can plug in and commercialize their apps. This includes not only international oil companies but also different sectors,

such as cement or mining companies, that are running large operations and looking for digital tools to help with predictive maintenance.”

This way, similar user types aren’t having to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. The goal, Vaessen says, is to reduce integration and operating costs for users of the platform and to boost digital transformation in the heavy industrial sectors.

“The amount of time we all spend building our own proprietary platforms is truly remarkable. Working towards an integrated system is absolutely the idea behind the OAI. Now, the big challenge is that it will only work if you get adoption. So you can’t do this alone. And that’s why the fair value exchange is so important because it can’t be about one person gaining competitive advantage over the others. It has to be an ecosystem play,” Jeavons says. “Tech companies have done a very good job of what is commonly referred to as ‘coopetition.’ In many areas they cooperate, and in many areas they compete, and they’re able to do so simultaneously. Energy companies should consider adopting that coopetition mindset: in certain areas, it’s in our interest to cooperate for the good of society, whereas in other areas, competition is needed to drive innovation forward.”

In late 2021, Shell announced three new applications on the OAI platform: a process optimizer that “marries stateof-the-art LNG [liquified natural gas] process engineering and technology with data analytics” to optimize production; a corrosion advanced-risk modeling and analytics application that predicts internal corrosion and erosion to better pinpoint maintenance activities; and an autonomous integrity recognition app that processes data in the cloud coming from inspections

made by handheld devices, drones, and robots to help inspectors evaluate issues and identify items that might have been overlooked, improving maintenance planning.

The initiative welcomed a cohort of new partners in 2022 and, in the same year, announced it had scaled its predictive maintenance program, driven by AI, to include more than 10,000 pieces of equipment across its

global asset base, one of the largest deployments in the energy industry. According to Shell, the underlying technical infrastructure monitoring those pieces of equipment take in 20 billion rows of data each week, from more than 3 million sensors. It also trains, tunes, and runs nearly 11,000 machine learning models in production and makes more than 15 million p redictions each day.

“AI is a huge opportunity for us. We’re going through a digital transformation, firstly to make ourselves more effective and efficient, and secondly to make sure we thrive through the energy transition.”

Dan Jeavons

Vice President of Computational Science an d Digital Innovation Shell

The measures are directly linked to cost savings and greater efficiency.

In a 2021 Bloomberg article, Shell reported its digital program delivered $1 billion in cost savings in 2019 and $2 billion in 2020. It also reported a 25 percent time savings in work processes by using AI to better understand the subsurface and maximize recovery from existing oil and gas fields.

“AI is a huge opportunity for us. We’re going through a digital transformation, firstly to make ourselves more effective and efficient, and secondly to make sure we thrive through the energy transition,” Jeavons said in the Bloomberg article. “There’s huge disruption in the energy market, and as we go through this and move toward cleaner energy solutions, Shell wants to lead the way, and AI plays a huge role in that.”

OAI applications are not limited to traditional energy producers, he notes in the interview on Shell’s website.

“I see these solutions as applicable to the new energies business as well because reliability, integrity, and optimization are as relevant to wind farms, solar farms, battery storage, and hydrogen facilities as they are to natural gas plants and refineries,” he says. “It is an extremely compelling proposition to create an integrated platform that can help to manage the operations for a variety of energy and industrial processing companies.”

Predicting Upstream Success

ExxonMobil is pioneering a different use of AI and digital technology: autonomous drilling in deep water. At its Guyana project, where it began working in 2008, it is using AI to determine ideal parameters for drilling and then using an automated system to “maximize rates of penetration while

minimizing technical issues” related to the drilling effort. The resulting consistent, repeatable operations are efficient and safer for personnel, the company reports.

ExxonMobil isn’t the only company using AI to assist in exploration. Wisniewski says that type of application is an ideal fit for AI.

“Neural networks excel at recognizing patterns,” Wisniewski notes. “They can analyze seismic data to identify potential reservoirs, speed up reservoir identification, and increase the accuracy of reservoir predictions. I think you’ll [also] see an increase in AI-powered robots used for autonomous drilling, inspection, and maintenance operations, especially in remote and haza rdous environments.”

As networks continue to rely on computer-based solutions, especially those hosted on remote servers, AI plays a crucial role in enhancing securi ty, Wisniewski says.

“AI can play a vital role in predicting cyberattacks by detecting anomalies. Suppose an anomaly occurs in your system—how do you know it’s real? If you built your model on the physics of the system, and what [the attacker is saying] doesn’t track with the physics of the system, then you know it’s a bogus issue. You’re using AI to check agains t itself,” she says.

Wisniewski held a series of eight AI webinars through the College of Business and Public Policy from 2021 to 2024. One was on the topic of cyber security. She is organizing another AI-focused webinar series that will be open to the community, both in person and online.

“It’s a really exciting time ahead,” Wisniewski says. “The future is unimaginable, and there are technological advances coming that we have not yet envisioned.”

Mission: Critical

Steady progress by Graphite One and Nikolai nickel

By Amy Newman

George Case

| US Geological Survey

“Th e Electric Eighteen” sounds like an electronic music group going viral on TikTok. In reality, it’s what the US Department of Energy calls eighteen minerals deemed critical for energy technology. A mineral is considered “critical” if it is at high risk for supply chain disruption and deemed essential to one or more energy technologies.

Graphite and nickel are part of that group. Each has a variety of commercial and industrial applications. Graphite is a key component in laptop computers, smartphones, drones, energy storage devices, and nuclear reactors, while nickel is used to manufacture stainless steel, turbine blades, and jet engine parts. More recently, demand for the minerals has been driven by their use in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles; by weight, graphite and nickel are the first- and third-largest mineral components of these batteries.

Despite their importance, the United States has no domestic source for these minerals. It has imported 100 percent of its graphite since the ‘50s and, when Eagle Mine in Michigan, the country’s only active nickel mine, ceases operations in 2025, nickel will be 100 percent imported too.

Canadian companies Graphite

One and Alaska Energy Metals (AEM) believe that the solution to reducing dependence on imported minerals lies in underground deposits in Alaska, and both are making progress toward bringing those minerals to market. Both companies hope to not only decrease dependence on overseas sources of critical minerals but to support the energy transition as well.

“We really should be working harder to increase our domestic resources and secure a domestic supply chain,” says Greg Beischer, president, CEO,

“It’s not just nickel. There is copper, cobalt, platinum, and palladium in the deposit. So, you know, it does really contain multiple critical and strategic metals.”

Greg Beischer, President, CEO, and Director, Alaska Energy Metals

“The financial piece is immediately helpful, but the long-term partnership this [BSNC] agreement established will be just as, if not more, important for the success of the project.”

Anthony Hust on, Founder and CEO

Graphite One

and director of AEM, which is exploring a nickel deposit in the Interior.

More Nickel in a Depressed Market

AEM acquired the rights to the roughly 23,000-acre Nikolai deposit, located almost 25 miles northwest of Paxson in the southern foothills of the Alaska Range, in 2020. Beischer says the Nikolai Project is still in the exploration phase and has another year or two until it can be considered a “development project.” But he’s banking on it becoming a productive source of homegrown nickel, even if a working mine realistically wouldn’t come online for another decade.

Last fall, Beischer said, “It’s a prospect that I think within a short period of time I will be able to call an actual deposit.” He even hoped to call it a “great big deposit.”

A year later, Nikolai is on its way to becoming, if not yet a great big deposit, then one that was larger than AEM initially anticipated.

“A great deal has happened since last September,” he says. “As a result of the drilling we did in summer 2023, along with the historical information for the project that we had purchased, we were able to calculate a mineral resource estimate that was really quite substantial—in fact, bigger than we had really imagined would be possible.”

AEM’s initial estimates were for a total resource of “maybe” 3 billion pounds of nickel, Beischer says. It has now grown to an indicated resource of 3.9 billion pounds and 4.2 billion pounds in inferred resources.

“That was a pleasant surprise,” he says. “And it’s not just nickel. There is copper, cobalt, platinum, and palladium in the deposit. So, you know,

it does really contain multiple critical and strategic metals.”

Beischer is quick to point out that the revised estimate “does not speak at all to the recovery of those metals. We’ve started doing the initial bench scale work, but we know for certain that you’re not going to recover 100 percent; it may be only 50 or 55 percent of the metal that’s actually recovered.”

AEM began its 2024 drilling season in July and, at roughly 4,000 meters, was the same scope as its 2023 season. Though Beischer believes the project deserved a budget that would have allowed for drilling an area three to four times larger, the market price of nickel has dropped in the last year.

“It’s gone down with the flooding of nickel into the market from Indonesia and, in particular, with a lot of Chinesebacked new operations,” he says. “So

that’s served to depress the price of nickel, which in turn served to limit our share price and therefore limit our ability to raise the amount of money we’d need to expand the program to what was warranted.”

Despite the inability to expand the drilling program, Beischer says the project “continues apace.” AEM continues to collect data for its baseline environmental studies and hopes to have at least a preliminary economic assessment, if not the pre-feasibility study, completed by the end of 2025.

Nome Pencils Out for Graphite

Graphite One completed its prefeasibility study in 2022 and is on track to finish a feasibility study by the end of this year. A $37.5 million US Department of Defense (DOD) grant awarded in 2023 enabled Graphite One

to quadruple its drilling program, which revealed a graphite deposit that was larger than earlier estimates.

“In the feasibility study, we are analyzing a project that would produce an average of 183,000 tonnes per year of graphite concentrate over a twentytwo-year mine life, which is larger than what was looked at in our 2022 prefeasibility study,” says Graphite One founder and CEO Anthony Huston.

That 2022 study estimated annual production between 100,000 and 150,000 tonnes. The larger estimated output is fortuitous, as it coincides with an ever-growing need for a homegrown source of graphite.

“The US graphite market has been pressured with export restrictions from China, [which] has led to an increased need for domestic graphite production for markets such as US defense and alternative energy,” Huston says.

Building Alaska

Graphite Creek lies 37 miles north of Nome, on the northern flank of the Kigluaik Mountains. The US Geological Survey has identified it as the site of the largest flake graphite resource in the United States—and one of the largest in the world.

Huston acquired the rights to the deposit in 2012 when he purchased and leased 176 state mining claims from the descendants of Nicholas and Evinda Tweet, a Minnesota couple who came to Nome looking for gold in 1899. Huston says the company is moving “full-steam ahead” on advanced exploration work at the site, which encompasses 26,680 acres, and completing a feasibility study.

“We are working every day to make progress on Graphite Creek,” he says. “If the feasibility study comes back as we expect and hope, we should be on track for construction in the not-too-distant future.”

In addition to the Graphite Creek mine, Graphite One is proceeding with plans to build an advanced graphite materials facility and battery anode material manufacturing plant in Ohio, the second link in its domestic supply chain. In March it selected a brownfield facility in Niles, Ohio, part of a burgeoning EV manufacturing region around Youngstown dubbed “Voltage Valley.”

Ohio is a pivot from initial plans to locate the facilities in Washington state. Huston says Washington remains an option for a second facility, but not until the Ohio plant is operational.

The choice to locate the facilities in Niles was also serendipitous— the US government once used the site to stockpile critical minerals for national defense.

“Once Graphite Greek is in production, this will eventually help

make Graphite One a fully integrated supplier of both high-quality natural flake graphite and synthetic graphite, both of which are critical for modern energy systems and many other advanced technologies, such as those in defense applications,” Huston says.

Strategic Partnerships

For the Nikolai project, AEM is applying for a DOD grant similar to the one awarded to Graphite One, which would help the company speed up its exploration and development timeline. Beischer says a decision on whether to advance to phase 2 of the grant process is expected in early 2025.

The Nikolai Project is still too early in the development phase to have secured any partnerships or investors outside of its shareholders, but Beischer says it is in the process of soliciting interest.

Field work and core samples from the 2023 drilling season to gather information for the Graphite Creek mine feasbility study.

Graphite One

“There are no local big investors or any notable company or major funder,” he says. “It’s a little early. Typically, you’re going to want to see a bit more advancement, like you’ve done at least a preliminary economic assessment, before they’d be putting in bigger dollars. Ultimately, we want a strategic partner that can help with the heavier financial interest but also bring expertise that we might not have in-house.”

Beischer says the revised estimates help make the project more attractive to potential strategic investors and could potentially draw small “placeholder investments.”

Graphite One has had more success securing outside financial backing and strategic partners. A second, $4.7 million DOD grant will allow it to develop a graphite foam fire suppressant system. In August 2023, it received a stamp of approval from the Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) board of directors, who voted unanimously to support the Graphite Creek project with an initial $2 million investment, with an option to invest up to $8 million more.

“BSNC’s investment in Graphite One was made after years of observing their work to advance a project that could provide generational economic opportunities in a diligent, thoughtful manner that is inclusive of all,” says BSNC’s Director of External Affairs and Public Relations Marleanna Hall. “We appreciate Graphite One’s continual work to involve nearby communities in the project through local employment and community meetings. BSNC remains pleased with our investment, and we are eager to work alongside Graphite One on a project to develop a critical resource and provide benefits to our region, state, and country.”

Huston says BSNC’s vocal support of the project is just as important as its financial investment.

“We

Anthony Huston, Founder a nd CEO, Graphite One

“As a result of the drilling we did in summer 2023, along with the historical information for the project that we had purchased, we were able to calculate a mineral resource estimate that was really quite substantial— in fact, bigger than we had really imagined would be possible.”

Greg Beischer, President, CEO, and Director, Alaska Energy Metals

“The financial piece is immediately helpful, but the long-term partnership this agreement established will be just as, if not more, important for the success of the project,” he says. “Not only does having such influential local support show the world that we are striving to put together Graphite Creek thoughtfully, responsibly, and with the input of nearby communities, but the partnership also gives BSNC and its shareholders an even more direct line of input into how we move forward on the project.”

In July, Graphite One announced at a briefing held at the US Capitol that it had entered a non-binding supply agreement for the sale of anode active materials Lucid Group, maker of the Lucid Air sedan, the longestrange EV on the market.

“We are committed to accelerating the transition to sustainable vehicles, and the development of a robust domestic supply chain ensures the United States, and Lucid, will maintain technology leadership in this global race,” Lucid’s CEO and Chief Technology Officer Peter Rawlinson said when the agreement was announced. “Through work with partners like Graphite One, we will have access to Americansourced critical raw materials, helping power our award-winning vehicles made with pride in Arizona.”

Critical Junctures

While Graphite One and AEM continue to develop their projects and secure additional funding and partners, Huston and Beischer both say their companies are focused on

more than simply extracting minerals— they want to bolster the United States self-sufficiency in the critical minerals market and help work toward cleaner energy solutions.

“Graphite Creek is far more than a mining project, and Graphite One is not just a junior mining company,” Huston says. “We are a company focused on helping provide the advanced graphite materials our society needs to move to a cleaner energy future with a secure, domestic supply of highquality flake graphite.”

Same goes for nickel. “There are moves afoot to try and source responsible metals,” Beischer adds. “That’s why it makes so much sense to have the Nikolai Project here on US soil, where you have the highest environmental standards.”

Trading cards to clip, keep, and collect

Precious minerals sparkle in hills and streams all across Alaska. Prospectors have staked claims from the sands off the shore of Nome to the south end of Prince of Wales Island. The federal government manages almost 7,000 claims and 137 active mines (mostly sand and gravel), while the State of Alaska has records for more than 39,000 claims. Many of these tracts are lumped together, so the number of actual projects is fewer.

Fewer still is the number of active mines. There are only six major ones, plus a rookie that just began its brief career. Too few players for a baseball team, but exactly enough for, say, water polo. Most of them are powerhouses in their home turf, the MVPs of their respective regions. Clip these cards and shuffle them whichever way makes sense. Rank them by annual output or estimated reserves. Order them by rookie year. Sort them by mine type or by number of workers. Get to know the industry that rocks heavy metal every day.

Patricia Morales

| Alaska Business

MINERAL LEAGUE MINERAL LEAGUE THE MINERAL LEAGUE MINERAL LEAGUE

MINERAL LEAGUE MINERAL LEAGUE

Landowner: Federal | Private

Operator: Hecla Mining Company

Rookie Year 1989

Annual Output: 9.7M oz. silver | 48K oz. gold | 51K t zinc | 19K t lead

Reserves: 125M oz. silver | 946K oz. gold | 659K t zinc | 256K t lead

Workforce: ~420

Ownership

Interest:

100% Hecla Mining Company

Where is the largest silver mine in the United States? Inside a sliver of the City and Borough of Juneau on Admiralty Island. The US Forest Service granted Idaho-based Hecla Mining a permit to operate inside a national monument. Since mining began, Greens Creek has grown into the fifth largest silver mine in the world. The largest employer in Southeast is also Juneau’s largest taxpayer. As one of the world’s lowest-cost primary silver mines, it is also a cash flow generator for Hecla.

Landowner: State | Private

Operator: Fairbanks Gold Mining, Inc.

Rookie Year 1996

Annual Output: 291K oz. gold

Reserves: 2.8M oz. gold

Workforce: ~900

Ownership Interest: 100% Kinross Gold Corporation

For reference, the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky contains 147 million troy ounces of gold. That’s almost 50 times as rich as the deposit under the namesake mine north of Fairbanks. Even so, Alaska’s largest gold producer has yielded more than 9 million ounces since Amax Gold began operations at a site first staked in 1913. Amax merged with Toronto-based Kinross Gold in 1998. The truck-and-shovel operation uses carbon-in-pulp, heap leach, and gravity processes to separate the gold. The mill also services the Gil Mine, a satellite pit about 9 miles to the northwest. The mine is the largest single taxpayer in the Fairbanks North Star Borough.

Landowner: Federal | Private

Operator: Northern Star (Pogo)

Rookie Year 2006

Annual Output: 243K oz. gold

Reserves: 6.8M oz. gold (approx.)

Workforce: ~320

Ownership Interest: Northern Star Resources

Pogo is an underground cut-and-fill operation 38 miles northeast of Delta Junction. Discovered in 1994 and developed as a joint venture between Japanese firms Sumitomo Metal Mining and Sumitomo Corp., Australian company Northern Star bought the operation for $260 million in 2018. In a year, the mine moves 1.5 million tonnes of tailings and waste, refilling underground works with 14 million cubic feet of paste. Gravity, flotation, and cyanide leaching processes recover the gold.

Landowner: Federal | Private

Operator: Coeur Alaska

Rookie Year 2010

Annual Output: 84.7K oz. gold

Reserves: 411K oz. gold

Workforce: ~400

Ownership Interest: 100% Coeur Mining

The hills of the Tongass National Forest near Berners Bay, between Juneau and Haines, yielded ore from 1897 to 1928. While the mine was idle, Coeur Mining acquired a 50 percent interest in the property in 1987 and bought the other half in 1995. A lawsuit challenging a 2005 permit to dispose of tailings in Lower Slate Lake, ultimately decided by the US Supreme Court, postponed the resumption of operations until 2010. The mine is now the second-largest private sector employer in Southeast, in terms of payroll, and the secondlargest taxpayer in the City and Borough of Juneau.

Landowner: State of Alaska

Operator: Usibelli Coal Mine

Rookie Year 1943

Annual Output: 1M tons coal (approx.)

Reserves: 700M tons (approx.)

Workforce: ~110

Ownership Interest: 100% Usibelli Coal Mine

The state’s only working coal mine provides fuel to six Interior power plants, fueling 29 percent of the region’s electricity. Emil Usibelli mined coal in the Suntrana and Healy area in the ‘30s before founding the company in 1943, and his grandson Joseph Usibelli Jr. has been president since 1987. Overseas exports began in 1984 to South Korea and eventually to Chile and Japan; shipments via Seward ended in 2016. Five permitted sites tap the Nenana coal basin: Poker Flats, Gold Run Pass, Two Bull Ridge, Jumbo Dome, and Rosalie. The company estimates that permitted reserves could last another fifty years at current production rates.

COOK INLET LEAGUE

Landowner: NANA

Operator: Teck Alaska

Rookie Year 1989

Annual Output: 553K t zinc | 79.5K t lead

Reserves: 5M t zinc | 800K t lead

Workforce: ~550

Ownership Interest: 100% Teck Resources

The heavy hitter to which all other Alaska mines are a footnote, Red Dog was discovered in the DeLong Mountains north of Kotzebue in 1968 but unable to operate until 1989, after a road and port were built. It is the largest zinc producer in the world, responsible for up to 10 percent of global supply, with the largest zinc reserves. It is also the largest lead concentrate producer in the United States. The mine pays about 80 percent of revenue for the Northwest Arctic Borough. It is currently scheduled to retire in 2031. A new underground prospect about 8 miles away could continue operations, but the leases are on state land.

Landowner: Native Village of Tetlin

Operator: Kinross Alaska

Rookie Year 2024

Annual Output: 225K oz. gold (projected)

Reserves: 1.3M oz. gold (approx.)

Workforce: up to 500

Ownership Interest: Kinross Gold 70% | Contango ORE 30%

On village land near Tok, the Peak gold deposit is accessible from the Alaska Highway by a 9-mile industrial road. Excavation began in 2023, and ore was delivered for processing at Fort Knox, owned by one of Manh Choh’s joint partners, Kinross Alaska. The ceremonial pour of a 600-ounce brick on July 8, 2024, marked the official start of production. The open pit mine is expected to operate for four to five years, employing up to 500 people through contractors Kiewit, Arctic Catering & Support Services, Afognak camp maintenance, and Black Gold Transport.

Canada and Alaska, Bound by Rivers

Unified alarm about transboundary mining

By Dimitra Lavrakas

Cliff LeSergent

Cyanide and other waste spilled in June from Victoria Gold Corporation’s Eagle Gold Mine. The mine opened in 2018 near the village of Mayo, about 100 miles east of Dawson City. Although nearly as far away from the international border as Fairbanks is, what happens in Mayo doesn’t stay there. Mayo sits on the Stewart River, a tributary of the Yukon River that flows into Alaska.

Mary Catharine Martin, communications director for Juneau-based environmental group SalmonState, wasn’t exactly surprised that Eagle’s heap leach pad failed.

“The risks were made clear by Canada’s Mount Polley Mine waste dam disaster in 2014. Afterwards, experts estimated that two mine waste dams in British Columbia will fail every ten years, on average,” Martin says.

On this issue, the environmental group presents a unified front with the state’s elected leaders. In mid-August, the Alaska Congressional delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden to again emphasize Alaska’s predicament.

“For over a decade, the Alaska congressional delegation has expressed grave concerns about the longstanding impacts and future threats of abandoned, developing, and operating mine projects located in British Columbia near the Canadian headwaters of Southeast Alaska’s rivers,” the letter stated. “Under three different presidents, our delegation has pushed for the Department of State to secure binding protections and financial assurances for the transboundary Taku, Stikine, and Unuk rivers that flow from BC into Southeast Alaska and the Tongass National Forest.”

The letter also noted the cyanide spill at the Eagle Gold Mine.

“Without unified action from the executive branch, Canadian mining

“Without unified action from the executive branch, Canadian mining activity in this region will increasingly endanger US communities and resources, such as salmon, without any mechanism for recourse or compensation.”

NOVAGOLD IS COMMITTED TO RESPONSIBLE

MINING

Alaska Congressional Delegat ion, August 16, 2024

activity in this region will increasingly endanger US communities and resources, such as salmon, without any mechanism for recourse or compensation,” the delegation stated.

The expense of cleaning up the Eagle spill put Victoria Gold Corporation into receivership. That court order wiped out the value of company shares, so the board of directors resigned en masse in August. Victoria Gold ceased to operate, and the Yukon government took over responsibility for site rehabilitation.

Two Countries, Two Standards

Canadian corporation Canagold Resources plans to reopen the New Polaris gold mine in British Columbia. The site is within the Taku River system 10 miles upstream from the US-Canada border and 37 miles northeast of Juneau. The company wants 170 annual barge trips to carry fuel and cyanide to a “transfer barge facility” in the middle of Taku Inlet, on the Alaska side.

New Polaris is almost within sight of the Tulsequah Chief mine just 20 miles from the Alaska border near Juneau. Extracting zinc, copper, and lead in the ‘50s, the long-abandoned mine has leaked rusty, acidic runoff into a major salmon-producing tributary of the Taku River for almost sixty-seven years.

“Spills or mine failures in headwaters, as have happened recently elsewhere, could be catastrophic to wild salmon ecosystems,” says Will Patric, executive director of Rivers Without Borders.

The nonprofit has staff in Juneau and Petersburg as well as Victoria, British Columbia and northwestern Washington. Its stated mission is to protect the ecological and cultural values of the transboundary watershed region.

The group is more specialized than SalmonState, which gives attention to ocean fisheries and watersheds entirely

The mouth of the Unuk River, about halfway between Wrangell and Ketchikan.

Chris Miller | Salmon Beyond Borders

Acidic runoff has drained from the Tulsequah Chief Mine for more than sixty years since zinc, copper, and lead mining ended in the Taku River watershed.

Chris Miller | Salmon Beyond Borders

Wildlife guide and author Bjorn Dihle visited acidic drainage from the abandoned Tulsequah Chief Mine where it flows into a tributary of the Taku River northeast of Juneau.

Chris Miller | Salmon Beyond Borders

within Alaska. But transboundary issues are also on SalmonState’s radar.

“One enormous threat to wild salmon and Alaskan jobs and ways of life is the storage of acid-creating mining waste behind failure-prone dams that must stay in place and intact forever in order not to contaminate our river systems,” says Martin. “Many of these structures, and mine sites, also require maintenance for hundreds of years, which is implausible, to say the least.”

Martin believes that Canada’s standards are lower than in Alaska, especially by allowing mine projects to proceed without the developers posting the money to clean up problems later.

“In the transboundary region of British Columbia, Canada, and Southeast Alaska—the birthplace of the mighty Taku, Stikine, and Unuk rivers—more than 100 Canadian mines are in some stage of exploration, abandonment, operation, or development,” Martin says. “Most of them would require mine waste dams. They are also massive—some would be some of the largest mines in the world—and despite the fact that claims take up almost 90 percent of BC’s side of the Unuk River, there is currently no analysis of cumulative impacts.”

The Lifeblood of Villages and Towns

Salmon are nature’s way of returning marine nutrients upstream. Research at the UAF Institute of Arctic Biology found that salmon, fattened on their ocean diet, nourish the streams where their spawning carcasses end up. “Salmon tea” enriches the stream itself to benefit freshwater fish, and nutrients soak into the surrounding landscape. Scientists found ocean-derived nitrogen in shrubs and trees more than 1,500 feet from Southeast streambanks.

Fed by the pulse of salmon, the ecosystem sustained Alaska Native

“Spills or mine failures in headwaters, as have happened recently elsewhere, could be catastrophic to wild salmon ecosystems.”

Will Patric, Executive Director, Ri vers Without Borders

people for thousands of years, and the environment continues to sustain the economies of villages and towns.

“The T’aakū (Taku), Shtax’héen (Stikine), and Jóonax (Unuk) watersheds, which flow from the glaciated boreal forests of northern British Columbia into the temperate rainforest of Southeast Alaska, total about 35,000 square miles of some of the last remaining wild salmon habitat left on Earth,” reports Salmon Beyond Borders, the transboundary-focused campaign of SalmonState.

The campaign works with fishermen, business owners, community leaders, and concerned citizens alongside Native peoples on both sides of the AlaskaBritish Columbia border to defend and sustain transboundary wild salmon rivers, jobs, and subsistence way of life.

“SalmonState works to keep Alaska a place where wild salmon and wild salmon ways of life continue to thrive,” says

Martin, “which means we work toward the protection of the things we know wild salmon need—like clear, clean, cold freshwater habitat and precautionary, ecosystem-based management. These things are essential to a future in which we all have wild salmon in our backyard streams, on our plates, in our smokehouses, and in our lives.”

Cooperation on Mitigation

In March 2024, the International Joint Commission (IJC) received a request from the governments of Canada and the United States, in partnership with the Ktunaxa Nation, to address the impacts of transboundary water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed straddling British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho.

The governments recommended establishing a collaborative governance body to develop and report on an action

plan to reduce and mitigate the impacts of water pollution in the watershed to protect the people and species that depend on this river system.

Established under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 between Canada and the United States, the IJC employs joint science-based fact-finding as a foundation for building consensus and determining appropriate action.

While this watershed is far from the Alaska border, the IJC action becomes a precedent that affects Alaska.

Guy Archibald, executive director of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC), considers the move a real breakthrough. “It validates the tribes’ knowledge and role in environmental stewardship,” Archibald says. “This is the first time an IJC referral includes tribes and considers pollution pathways in cultural foods.”

Red Dog Mine

A future beyond 2031.

In late August, the annual Transboundary Mining Conference “Our Land/Our Way of Life” met in Juneau for the third year hosted by Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska, along with the Upper Columbia United Tribes and the SEITC.

It brought together Indigenous leaders from Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia to meet with government officials and community partners to discuss

solutions for the transboundary governance of each country.

“I think the reason I’m here is because about five minutes after IJC got the Elk reference I said, ‘Holy smokes, this is historic,’” said Merrell-Ann Phare, the current IJC Canadian commissioner, during a keynote speech to the conference. “While other collaborative efforts between stakeholders have occurred, this transboundary kind of thing has not happened anywhere else.”

Phare added, “It is important you never go back from this, right? This is now a new bar.”

SalmonState also welcomed the historic agreement.

“Over the years, it has become clear that Canada’s irresponsibly regulated gold mining boom is not just a threat to Southeast Alaska; it is a threat to the health of all communities, river systems, and fish populations that lie downstream,” Martin says.

“Large scale mining development, particularly as proposed on the Canadian side of the Alaska–BC transboundary watersheds, is the biggest immediate threat to Alaska fisheries and especially salmon habitat… The development itself, introducing more development into remote intact regions, would degrade habitat.”

Will Patric,

Executive

Director, Ri vers Without Borders

Chris Sergeant | University of Montana

Martin believes that an IJC referral is the solution by bringing governments and tribes to the table under the Boundary Waters Treaty. Martin says, “That treaty makes clear that neither country should be contaminating river systems to the detriment of those on the other side of the border.”

Down the Legal Path

SEITC, which is made up of Alaska tribes along the transboundary rivers, in mid-August requested the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights to order a pause on mining activity it says violates the tribes’ human rights, calling it a “death sentence” to their way of life.

Funding for reclamation and clean up in British Columbia faces more than $1 billion Canadian ($736,349,900 US) shortfall and does not analyze the combined effects from multiple mines.

British Columbia has permitted 20 percent of transboundary watersheds to be staked with mineral claims, including almost 90 percent of the British Columbia side of the Unuk watershed and virtually all lands adjacent to the Iskut River, the Stikine River’s largest tributary.

While the Pacific Salmon Treaty allocates an equal share of the salmon that run the rivers between the two countries, each country needs to share information on mining activity.

“Large scale mining development, particularly as proposed on the Canadian side of the Alaska–BC transboundary watersheds, is the biggest immediate threat to Alaska fisheries and especially salmon habitat,” says Patric. “The development itself, introducing more development into remote intact regions, would degrade habitat.”

While removing dams and other impediments to migrating salmon

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does occur, the organizations’ main work centers on education and publicizing the situation. And there are the legal challenges. SEITC is represented by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization.

Archibald is optimistic that legal challenges would be successful in protecting the rivers and Native rights.

“For the most part, the courts operate free from the influence of special interest groups that protect their monopoly on political and agency decisions. What those groups see as aspirational words, the courts view as binding social agreements,” he says. “The trajectory has always been to advance human rights, not deny them. Canada saw the result of denying Indigenous people’s human rights earlier in its history. It caused a stain Canada has been trying to correct ever since.”

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Making the Grade

Lumber training builds supply for local forest products

By Rachael Kvapil

Training and certifying Alaskans to self-grade dimensional lumber opens a new opportunity to provide a product to the local residential construction market.

“The product can be sold to an enduser and used in structural applications in houses and frames that meet residential building code requirements where applicable,” says Matt Labrenz, a forest products specialist for the UAF Cooperative Extension Service (CES).

Currently, there aren’t any Alaska mills comparable in size and scale to the industrial mill operations in the major lumber producing regions of North America. Large mills usually belong to a grading agency that grades and marks lumber produced by these mills and ensures lumber meets quality control standards.

Since the decline of Southeast sawmills in the ‘90s, a couple of smaller Alaska mills provide grade-

stamped lumber, but most remaining mills don’t. With training and certification, though, they could.

Sawing Logs

Last year, Governor Mike Dunleavy signed Senate Bill 87 (SB87) into law, establishing a lumber grading training program. The first Alaska Lumber Grading (ALG) training was held in June 2024 at the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center.

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The ALG program is designed to allow sawyers to self-grade dimensional lumber, which may be accepted as an alternative for lumber identified by a grade mark that satisfies building code requirements in Alaska. The program is meant to help get local sawmill products to market and reduce Alaska’s dependence on lumber shipped from Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Ultimately, the goal is to create more demand for locally produced dimensional lumber and more economic opportunities for mill owners and loggers.

“We are not trying to replace the product provided by grading agencies,” says Jeremy Douse, deputy director of forestry at the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry & Fire Protection (DOF). “In fact, we hope that small businesses grow out of this program and become members of the grading agencies.”

Douse says creating a local market can benefit other industries in the state. For instance, housing shortages are spurred in part by the cost and logistical challenges of getting imported forest products to rural communities. By importing most of Alaska’s forest products, Douse says the state continues to expose itself to the limitations of supply chain issues. During COVID-19, when the price of building materials rapidly increased to historic levels, he says Alaskans saw some of these issues come to the forefront.

The ALG program allows local builders to fully benefit from the timber resource in this state.

In addition, Douse says the ALG program increases forest management opportunities. Alaska DOF is the state’s forest and timber manager. The Fire Protection branch is responsible for wildfire response,

“We are not trying to replace the product provided by grading agencies… In fact, we hope that small businesses grow out of this program and become members of the grading agencies.”

Jeremy Douse, Deputy Director of Forestry, Alaska Division of Forest ry & Fire Protection

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The first Alaska Lumber Grading Training was held in June 2024 at the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center in Palmer. The goal of the program is to increase Alaska forest products used in local markets.

UAF Cooperative Extension Service

“The ALG program helps both situations by creating an environment where small businesses can purchase logs from loggers, make a value-added product, and sell it to a contractor or individual for home construction.”

Jeremy Douse, Deputy Director of Forestry, Alaska Division of Forest ry & Fire Protection

and the Forestry branch is responsible for timber production, timber sales, and management of forest resources. Together these two branches work to develop, conserve, and enhance Alaska's forests to provide a sustainable supply of forest resources for Alaskans.

Douse says the ALG program allows Alaskans to benefit from natural timber resources while maintaining diversity in forest stand conditions and addressing forest health and wildfire risk around communities.

“The ALG program helps both

situations by creating an environment where small businesses can purchase logs from loggers, make a valueadded product, and sell it to a contractor or individual for home construction,” says Douse.

Timber Training

Programs like ALG exist in other states, such as Wisconsin, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, and Maine. Through a partnership with the US Forest Service, Alaska DOF became

aware of how a program like this could benefit the state. DOF staff visited with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff and participated in a lumber grading training event. Alaska DOF then presented the idea to a group of stakeholders in an online forum.

In 2023, state Senator Jesse Bjorkman of Nikiski introduced SB87. After SB87 passed, DOF partnered with UAF CES, which has expertise in delivering educational programs, to build the specifics of the class. As part

of its mission, UAF CES provides a link between the university and Alaska's communities by interpreting and extending research-based knowledge in a usable form to the public.

“The training is designed to accommodate various learning styles,” says Labrenz. “The most technical part of the training is understanding and applying the grading rules. The information is presented through lecture, text, illustrations, discussions, and hands-on practice.”

Program certification covers softwood species, including Alaska yellow cedar, western hemlock, Sitka spruce, and white spruce. These Alaska species were tested by the Ketchikan Wood Technology Center in conjunction with a grading bureau to determine strength properties. The results were submitted to the American Lumber Standard Committee, Inc.

which formally approved the design values for these species.

Labrenz says that participants in the ALG program learn the visual grading system and rules for evaluating defects in lumber in order to sort them into categories based on characteristics that affect structural performance. They learn the background about the existing grademark lumber infrastructure and how the ALG program is related to and exists alongside it. The training includes a section on wood science as it pertains to producing structural lumber.

The scope of ALG is limited to three commonly used dimensional lumber grades relevant to residential construction that correspond (but are not equal or identical) to lumber grades established by accredited grading bureaus. The limiting characteristics for each grade are closely based on those developed and maintained by

“The most technical part of the training is understanding and applying the grading rules.

The information is presented through lecture, text, illustrations, discussions, and hands-on practice.”

Matt Labrenz, Forest Products Specialist UAF Cooperati ve Extension Service

“It is our hope that municipalities with residential building codes start making amendments to their codes to allow for this product as well.”

Jeremy Douse, Deputy Director of Forestry, Alaska Division of Forest ry & Fire Protection

an accredited grading bureau; in some instances, they are more restrictive. In effect, this simplifies learning and applying the grading system and reduces the chance of errors.

Additionally, the course covers all the details and rules associated with participating in the program, such as documentation requirements. There are no prerequisites for the ALG program, but Douse says it’s helpful if participants have some experience in running a sawmill and some familiarity with structural lumber and

building principles. He says small mill owners and loggers will benefit most from the training. Likewise, everyone involved hopes that small and rural communities will benefit through increased economic activity and additional home construction.

If You Build It

So far this year UAF CES has offered eight training sessions in Palmer, Prince of Wales Island, Fairbanks, Soldotna, Sitka, Haines, and Aniak. Fifty-eight individuals received a renewable five-

year certification. Labrenz says ALG is seeing strong demand, and additional training sessions are scheduled for later this year. The law requires training to be offered at least once annually. In future years, UAF CES intends to offer training on an annual basis in each of the three major forested regions of the state: Interior, Southcentral, and Southeast.

Though the ALG program is one step closer to bringing local forest products to market, Douse says there are still other challenges on the horizon. Residential building codes are managed at the municipal level, which can lead to inconsistencies of material requirements. Some communities have a residential building code, usually the 2021 International Residential Code , that requires the use of grade-stamped lumber, but other communities don’t adhere to this specification. Likewise, funding agencies such as the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) use the international code as their minimum construction standards.

“The AHFC has acknowledged the ALG program and made an amendment to its minimum construction standard to allow for dimensional lumber provided by this program,” says Douse. “It is our hope that municipalities with residential building codes start making amendments to their codes to allow for this product as well.”

In January, Bjorkman introduced a separate bill to establish a statewide residential building code, but the legislation (and its counterpart in the Alaska House) did not progress before the session ended.

ALG cannot bring back the heyday of the Alaska lumber industry, nor was SB87 meant to. But by equipping small sawmill operators to supply the materials that local builders need, the program puts multiple industries on a firmer foundation.

I cy Strait Point

Ocean Landing

Ward Cove

Icy Strait Point

Wilderness Landing

Whittier Cruise Port

“Our Stories to Tell” Southeast invests in cruise ship infrastructure

By Katie Pesznecker

Reba H.

Ju st as mist and fog roll over the coastal mountains, and just as salty waters lap along the sandy shorelines of Southeast, a new wave of opportunity is rippling across the region’s communities. They have taken bold steps in recent years and committed notable investments to embrace the cruise ship industry by developing new docks and infrastructure. This shift marks a significant turning point for these communities, many of which are working to reinvent their economies in the face of declining traditional industries like fishing and timber.

A port call by large cruise ships is more than just an

economic boost—it’s a chance to share unique cultures, histories, and ways of life with the world.

“Alaska is a must-see destination for many travelers and has proven to offer the most profitable itineraries for cruise lines,” says Russell Dick, president and CEO of Huna Totem Corporation. “This presents our state with an incredible opportunity to showcase the many cultures and expansive beauty of Alaska. While a few Alaska ports are well-known and expected stops for visitors to our state, we have repeat visitors who want to see new destinations and have deeper, more meaningful experiences.”

With lush landscapes, rich wildlife, and vibrant Indigenous

heritage, many Southeast Alaska communities are positioning themselves as new destinations in Alaska’s thriving tourism sector.

“We know there is a need to relieve the pressure from destinations that are at max capacity,” Dick says. “Port Klawock is perfectly situated to do just this.”

Klawock: A New Era for Cultural Tourism

Huna Totem has developed its home village, Hoonah, into a thriving visitor port. The corporation repurposed the defunct cannery at Icy Strait Point into the only privately owned cruise destination in Alaska. Ships on the heavily traveled route between Glacier Bay

"Port Klawock creates jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for locals while providing a platform to share their Tlingit culture and heritage with visitors. This is an exceptional opportunity to foster a sense of cultural pride in our younger generations."

Russell Dick, President and CEO, Hu na Totem Corporation

National Park and the Lynn Canal towns of Juneau, Haines, and Skagway have been stopping in Hoonah since 2004.

On the west side of Prince of Wales Island, Klawock offers a different vista, and cruise ship tourism offers a different avenue of prosperity.

Historically dependent on the timber and fishing industries, Klawock has faced significant economic challenges in recent years. But thanks to a new partnership between Alaska Native corporations and cruise lines, Klawock is on the cusp of an economic revival.

Klawock Heenya Corporation sought the expertise of Huna Totem and Doyon, Limited, the regional corporation for the Interior that perfected its tourism game at Denali National Park and Preserve.

The result of the collaboration is Port Klawock, a tender port just outside of the village. The first large cruise ships docked there this summer and sent passengers ashore.

Dick explains that the decision to develop Port Klawock was driven by a desire to create new economic opportunities for the local Tlingit people

while preserving their culture.

“Huna Totem and our partners are not traditional for-profit companies; we have a triple-bottom line with a responsibility to ensure our shareholders and communities thrive socially, culturally, and economically,” Dick says. “Port Klawock creates jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for locals while providing a platform to share their Tlingit culture and heritage with visitors. This is an exceptional opportunity to foster a sense of cultural pride in our younger generations.”

An aerial view of cruise ships at port in Skagway.

Reba H.

The port’s development began in May 2022. A floating tender dock was fabricated in Washington, towed north, and installed this spring.

“There was a good deal of earthmoving and landscaping involved, as well, so that we were able to erect our welcome facility at the site,” Dick says. “There is a reliable ecosystem of contractors and suppliers on Prince of Wales that helped move the project along, whether in large contracts or small jobs.”

The joint venture between Huna Totem and Doyon is called Na-Dena’. Dick says the collaborative effort will lean on the corporations’ collective proven success in sustainable tourism in the development of the destination.

Taste of Klawock

Six ships visited Port Klawock during its inaugural season in 2024, bringing approximately 3,700 visitors to the area. Tourists had the chance to participate in shore excursions that highlighted Klawock’s rich cultural and natural offerings. For example, the Klawock Highlights Tour showcased the Klawock River Trail, the Carving Shed, and Klawock Totem Park.

Groups had access to paddling and kayaking adventures in local waters, where they learned about wildlife and the importance of fish to Southeast culture and lifestyles. A wildlife marine tour on a purpose-built boat helped travelers explore local ecosystems, offering close encounters with humpback whales, sea otters, and other marine wildlife. A complimentary shuttle delivered tourists to Klawock and the neighboring town of Craig, about 5 miles away, for shopping and additional cultural experiences.

One particularly popular tour, the “Taste of Klawock,” allowed visitors to sample local delicacies while learning

about the history and significance of totem poles in Tlingit culture, led by knowledgeable local guides.

For the people of Klawock, the arrival of the first cruise ship was a momentous occasion. The community held a ceremony to honor the event, featuring traditional Tlingit dances and speeches. A local teacher taught the crowd the Tlingit word for “thank you”—Gunalchéesh—as the village warmly welcomed the ship’s passengers ashore.

The Economic Impact of Cruise Tourism

Across Southeast, other communities are taking note of Klawock’s success and exploring their own opportunities to tap into the cruise industry.

According to Renée Limoge Reeve, vice president of government and community relations for Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in Alaska, the state has become one of the most popular cruise destinations in the world. Alaska represents 5.7 percent of the global cruise market, and visitors are drawn to the state’s breathtaking natural landscapes, unique wildlife, and immersive cultural experiences.

“The cruise industry continues to be a bright spot in Alaska’s economy, contributing significantly to the state’s overall tourism sector,” Reeve says. “Tourism creates 48,000 jobs across the state, and cruise is a major contributor to that. For many Southeast communities, cruise tourism has become a vital part of their economic recovery and growth, especially after the pandemic.”

In Haines, tourism accounts for around 20 percent of the local economy. Rebecca Hylton, tourism director for the Haines Borough, has worked closely with local officials

Opportunities to view wildlife, learn more about local culture, and immerse oneself in stunning environments draw cruise visitors to urban and remote destinations in Southeast.

Top and middle photo: Reba H.

Bottom photo: T Ganner | Haines Borough

to ensure that Haines can continue to benefit from cruise traffic while maintaining the community’s environmental and cultural values.

“Our goal is to grow our tourism sector in a sustainable way that protects the very qualities that make Haines special—our subsistence lifestyle, stunning natural beauty, and diverse wildlife,” Hylton says. “We need to be proactive in our relationship with the cruise industry to ensure that we maintain reliable cruise traffic while also preserving the quality of life for our residents.”

The borough is currently considering the development of a floating dock to improve accessibility for small and midsized cruise ships, which often face difficulties due to tidal fluctuations.

“Our current infrastructure presents challenges for small and mid-sized ships, which are our ideal market,” Hylton says. “These vessels often have to tender passengers even when tied to the dock, or due to tidal fluctuations may choose to tender instead of docking. This can diminish the guest experience and discourage passengers from disembarking.”

A floating dock installation in Haines would not increase the size of ships berthing there; rather, it would provide for a smoother and more efficient docking experience for the ship crews and passengers alike. The vessels that call on Haines are less than 1,000 feet in length, which keeps daily visitor numbers manageable, Hylton says.

“It is critical that we capitalize on the ships that do berth here, making sure that guests have the best possible experience and encouraging them to explore and support our local businesses,” she says.

The Haines Borough Assembly is considering a recommended $9 per head port fee that would help partially

Reliable Tug EXPERTISE

Images: Waliszek

“For many Southeast communities, cruise tourism has become a vital part of their economic recovery and growth, especially after the pandemic.”

Renée Limoge Reeve, Vice President of

fund the floating dock. The proposal has received unanimous Assembly support, with one public hearing completed, and finalization anticipated this fall. Officials are also actively seeking additional resources to assist with funding this project, Hylton says.

Both the Haines Ports and Harbor Advisory Committee and the Tourism Advisory Board have reviewed three concept designs for a floating dock. Although they have yet to make formal recommendations to the Borough Assembly, the borough has already allocated $100,000 in the current fiscal year for design purposes.

“I will be working diligently to bring this matter before the Assembly, as I believe the floating dock component is crucial for our community’s future,” Hylton says.

Hylton adds that a proactive relationship with the cruise industry is essential. “While Haines may not

and

be a large or busy port like Juneau or Skagway, that does not mean we should take a passive approach. As a community, we need to take an active role in shaping the future of tourism in Haines, ensuring that it aligns with our values and priorities,” she says. “My goal is to establish a balance where Haines can maintain reliable cruise traffic, providing consistent foot traffic for our local business owners and entrepreneurs, while preserving the quality of life and the authentic Alaskan experience that make Haines unique.”

A Bright Future for Southeast

As more communities across Southeast invest in cruise ship infrastructure, the region is poised for continued tourism growth. Skagway, Petersburg, and Juneau are making significant investments to improve their ports and enhance the experience for visitors.

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Government

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Reba H.

Skagway, for example, is repairing a damaged cruise dock float as part of its larger Ore Dock redevelopment project, while Juneau has replaced its fleet of buses with more environmentally friendly doubledecker models to reduce traffic congestion and emissions.

Ports of call must balance these welcoming moves with local concerns about over-tourism and the environmental impact of large cruise ships. Reeve says CLIA and its member cruise lines work proudly alongside Southeast communities that deal with these issues.

“Our three Memorandums of Agreement with the City and Borough of Juneau are examples of the industry

benefits cruise contributes, there are always opportunities to collaborate with communities, and CLIA is here to help ensure the best experience for residents and visitors alike.”

For communities like Klawock and Haines, the focus remains on sustainable growth. By embracing the cruise industry and sharing their rich cultural heritage with the world, these towns are securing their economic future and ensuring that their traditions are preserved for generations to come.

As Southeast continues to develop its cruise ship infrastructure, the region is one of the most soughtafter destinations for travelers seeking immersive, culturally rich experiences.

to replicate with land travel, Reeve says. Whether it’s the chance to witness traditional Tlingit dances in Klawock, explore the rugged wilderness of Haines, or experience the stunning glaciers and wildlife of the Inside Passage, cruise visitors are discovering that Southeast Alaska has much more to offer than meets the eye.

And as these communities open their arms to the world, they are proving that economic growth and cultural preservation can go hand in hand—ensuring a bright future for the people of Alaska.

“Alaska Native organizations need to own and lead the development of cultural tourism opportunities for them to be authentic,” Dick says. “These are

Comprehensive Marine Care

Interconnected Islands

Southeast inspires community-centered design

By Vanessa Orr

Is lands of Southeast demand a certain self-sufficiency, even for the building designers who live in the region. Unlike in urban settings where architects may specialize in certain areas such as healthcare or education, Southeast professionals work on projects running the gamut from historical renovations and private

homes to schools, hospitals, and government buildings.

“In larger regions, firms can specialize in medical buildings or hospitality design, but up here, we’re like a general practice doctor in a small town,” says James Bibb, partner and principal at Juneau-based NorthWind Architects. “One day we may be creating a broad-brush master

plan, and the next day we’re designing someone’s garage or the front deck of a house. Either way, we’re problem-solving and servicing a client.”

Working in small cities and villages, Southeast architects also play an important role in providing buildings that the whole community uses, and it’s a job that they take seriously.

Ken Graham | MRV Architects

“What inspires our firm to work in Southeast Alaska is the type of projects that we are able to attract,” says Zane Jones, principal in charge at MRV Architects in Juneau. “These include cultural projects for tribal organizations, libraries, and schools— things that really make an impact in our communities.”

Clients are the architects’ neighbors, family, and friends. And living in the same communities where they work means more repeat customers when the job is well done.

“Designing a library in Southeast, for example, might be hard work and have a zillion different issues, but at the end of the day, seeing the library functioning in the community and making it a better place makes our job worth it,” Jones says.

Bibb agrees, saying, “In a general sense, as a practice we do everything, and it almost all has an impact on the community.”

A Sense of Community

Self-sufficient as Southeast communities can be, they are also interconnected, in the view of Sean M. Boily, another principal at NorthWind Architects.

“Southeast Alaska is a bunch of small, connected communities that rely on each other in more ways than most folks recognize on a day-to-day basis,” Boily says. “When we do a project in Kake, for example, it affects a tribal community with family members all over the region. That continuity is refreshing; in such a small region with a small population, they hold you accountable for doing a quality job.”

NorthWind Architects provides architecture, planning, project coordination, and construction administration for projects throughout Alaska and Oregon. As a “living part”

“Designing

Zane Jones, Principal in Ch arge, MRV Architects

of the communities in which it works, the company’s mission is to serve the public’s best interest.

“This is a really unique region, and there aren’t too many architects practicing here, so we’ve been working consistently with some of the same clients and consultants for twenty or thirty years,” adds Bibb. “It’s a really close community, so you hear pretty quickly if a company isn’t performing; it gets around fast. You don’t have to follow up and interview clients about your performance; you’ll hear it through a third party.”

Tim Whiteley, who founded Welsh Whiteley Architects (WWA) in Ketchikan in 2002 with firm partner and wife Amanda Welsh, says he was surprised to find how many repeat clients a successful Southeast firm could have. WWA works on public and commercial projects ranging from multi-family housing to commercial, public offices, healthcare, transportation, public safety, community service/nonprofit, and education facilities.

“In college, you hear about how architects may do one building and then aren’t needed by that client for another twenty years,” he explains. “We’ve done several buildings for local clients like First Bank, and some of our clients need something once a year, or every other year. They like to work with people they trust, and [they] understand what we can bring to their project.”

WWA especially likes working on public projects and has been involved in the design of the Ketchikan Public Library, Ketchikan Fire Station, and UAS remodel in collaboration with Bettisworth North.

“That was fun because it enabled us to do some larger projects and to learn a lot about how other architects do things,” says Whiteley. “But some of our more rewarding projects are the modest ones. We’ve done a few playgrounds for

Instead of specializing, NorthWind Architects works on a variety of community projects, including the Aak'w Pavilion (above rendering), the Eaglecrest Gondola (middle rendering), and the Auke Bay Integrated Science entrance on the UAS campus (below).

NorthWind Architects

elementary schools here that were fortyplus years old and hazardous. Those were great because kids got to look at our designs and give their input, and it was fun to see their perspective.”

Housing is particularly important to Southeast communities. WWA has worked on Opportunity House for the nonprofit Community Connections, a one-story, fully accessible building with apartments for those who are developmentally disabled and cannot live alone.

MRV Architects has been involved in designing homes in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Bethel, including permanent supportive housing for folks experiencing homelessness. One of its larger projects was the Cordova Center, which brought an entire community together.

“That project was one of my personal favorites,” says Jones. “There was some funding in place from the Exxon Valdez

[oil] spill. Though it started small as a plan for a science center, the library and the rest of the community got involved. To meet their needs, we decided to use that money under one roof.”

The result was a truly multipurpose building. “We were able to design municipal offices, a library, museum, events center, and theater all in one place and also make it culturally reflective of the town by including a lot of copper and maritime/nautical elements,” Jones says. “It’s the story of a small community doing something impressively large with a once-in-alifetime pot of money.”

As part of its goal to serve the public’s interest, NorthWind Architects takes part in healthcare projects as well as community-based projects like the Mendenhall Valley branch of the Juneau Public Library and the Auke Bay Integrated Science Building for UAS.

“Part of the area’s architecture comes from a sense of community embedded in the Tlingit and Haida culture of the Southeast region, and that affects contemporary architecture as a design element.”

Sean M. Boily, Principal NorthWind Architects

“I really relished working on the library because, as a civic project, it has such a role in the community,” says Bibb. “While some people may question the value of a public library as its role has changed so much over the years, it gave us the chance to educate people on the greater purpose of this community space and to convince the municipality, who have a responsibility to be prudent and make the lowestcost decision, to put more design effort into it. It was wonderful to see the public react once it was done.”

Principal Architect and Partner Dave Hurley has taken a lead role in healthcare design at NorthWind Architects, including working on the Aurora Behavioral Health Center for Bartlett Regional Hospital. The company also does work for Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, JAMHI Health and

Honing

Wellness, and Gastineau Human Services, among others.

“There is a mental health crisis in this country that is bad, if not worse, in Alaska and Southeast Alaska, and I take that very seriously,” says Hurley. “It is an honor to be awarded projects that serve such a huge public need.”

Building in Southeast

Buildings in Southeast must withstand the coastal climate, which includes wind, rain, snow, and fluctuating temperatures that can be extremely harsh on the built environment. But designing in Southeast also has its advantages, including the inspiration that architects find when living in such a spectacular setting.

“Since I was born and raised in Juneau, I have a really unique connection to it,” says Bibb. “It’s a place of change, heavily influenced by

the natural environment, and there’s a good relationship between nature and the built community.”

Bibb perceives a strong connection to place in Southeast. “We don’t design or build anything that doesn’t respond to the environment,” he adds. “We are not only influenced by the uniqueness of the weather, the harsh climate, and darkness but we’re also influenced by the culture around this small coastal village and the indigenous development of thousands of years of placemaking.”

“Part of our approach to architecture is rooted in the notion of critical regionalism; when you design, you do so in a way that is reflective of and respectful to the specific region that you’re working in,” adds Hurley. “It’s not just the geography and climate and flora and fauna, but also the people and culture. We absolutely couldn’t do what we do anywhere else in the world.”

Designing for a coastal Alaska climate requires making sure that buildings can withstand the weather and will be sustainable in years to come. This means paying attention to the building envelope and ensuring that facilities are sustainable in terms of maintenance and energy consumption for the long term.

“The climate really takes a toll on a building’s infrastructure; it beats the crap out of it between freezing and thawing, constant rain, deicing salt, and the maritime environment,” says Hurley. “While the maintenance aspect of a building may not be considered glamorous work, along with energy efficiency, it plays a critical role that is very much in the public interest.”

The climate is even different from one coastal city to another. “Our climate here in Ketchikan is a lot warmer than Juneau’s,” says Whiteley. “Heat pumps

work really well here, though it’s more of a challenge as you go further north. Electricity is fairly inexpensive here because it’s all hydro, so it makes more sense to use. We also take advantage of windows to provide views and natural light because it doesn’t get nearly as dark as Anchorage in the winter.”

MRV Architects is strongly committed to sustainable design principles and not only designs structures to work for occupants but that work for the environment as well.

“We try to be at the leading edge of sustainability and have a number of LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] projects in Southeast Alaska that range from gold to silver to certified,” says Jones. “We’re taking part in the AIA [American Institute of Architects] 2030 challenge, striving for carbon neutral buildings in the state by 2030. While some clients love it, some don’t because

“Part of our approach to architecture is rooted in the notion of critical regionalism; when you design, you do so in a way that is reflective of and respectful to the specific region that you’re working in.”

Dave Hurley, Partner and Principal NorthWind Architects

CIVIL | ENVIRONMENTAL | SURVEYING

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

NEPA Compliance Audits & Permitting • Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP)

Wetlands Delineation & Mapping • Environmental Site Assessments

Environmental Impact Statements • Permitting & Regulatory Compliance

Wetlands Jurisdictional Determination Report

Wastewater Treatment System Design & Permitting

Drinking & Storm Water System Design & Permitting

Spill Prevention, Response & Site Remediation

Spill Prevention Control & Countermeasure Plans (SPCC)

SURVEY / CIVIL SERVICES

As-built Plot Plans • Boundary Surveys • Road Alignments

Grading Design • Construction

Surveying • Earthwork Quantities/Cross Sections

Cadastral Remote Parcel Surveying • Landscaping & Drainage Design

Water Sample Testing & Analylis • Septic System Design & Testing

Percolation & Sample Analysis • Commercial Site Development

Subdivision Design & Platting • Right of Way/Easements

it can add costs. But we are committed to being sustainable and have made a firmwide pledge to meet that challenge.”

Where the Past Meets the Future

Architects can’t work in Southeast without being aware of the huge historical and cultural significance of the land and its people, especially the Indigenous population.

“So much of the vision for Southeast has focused on mining and fishing history, but what is really wonderful to see and to be a part of is the reemergence of the traditions of the Indigenous people here,” says Boily. “Part of the area’s architecture comes from a sense of community embedded in the Tlingit and Haida culture of the Southeast region, and that affects contemporary architecture as a design element.”

“It is our privilege to work on the traditional lands of the Tlingit and Haida, and we have a huge responsibility to respect that,” adds Hurley. “We’re guests, and we’re lucky to get to practice here.”

Welsh and Whiteley previously worked at the Alaska Regional Office of the National Park Service, producing documentation for historic buildings and assisting with reports on historic structures. They have also been involved with projects requiring field surveys of historic areas and written building descriptions and recommendations for determining National Register eligibility.

“We both have minors in historic preservation, and we really like old buildings,” says Whiteley. “We’ve worked on Portland House in Skagway, which was an old boarding house and commercial building built in 1898 or so, and that was fascinating.”

The next project for WWA is a small cruise port scheduled to open next

Welsh Whiteley Architects likes to lend its expertise to public projects, such as the Ketchikan Fire Station.

Ken Graham | Welsh Whiteley Architects

An interior shot of the Cordova Center, designed by MRV Architects.

Ken Graham Photography

City and Borough of Wrangell

Anchor your success in the future at Alaska’s last undeveloped deep-water port

The City and Borough of Wrangell is offering a unique opportunity for strategic partners and investors: a chance to capitalize on Alaska’s last undeveloped deep-water port. The 42-acre waterfront site provides direct access to maritime routes and accommodates large vessels, making it ideal for supporting diverse development projects. Once fully developed, Wrangell’s port will become a major economic hub that enhances financial stability and independence for the area, says Economic Development Director Kathleen Thomas. Wrangell is in the preliminary stage of addressing the project’s planning activities, which are being funded by a $421,000 federal grant. The port site is essentially a “blank canvas” in a community with a strong penchant for business and population growth. Since acquiring the land in 2022, the borough has established shortterm leases with a metals output operation and is diligently working to entice other businesses to the area. “The impetus for the borough procuring the site was to drive development by relocating the barge and cargo services and help source compatible private investment parties,” Thomas says.

PRIME OPPORTUNITY

Being regionally positioned and centrally located in southeast Alaska, Wrangell is ideally situated. So is the port, which occupies an open industrial area just five miles from downtown. The surrounding locale is poised for commercial and residential expansion; a nearby

subdivision has twenty lots available, with another twenty to be developed. “Wrangell not only offers industrial and real estate development but there are also other avenues for growth, such as emerging technologies,” Thomas says. “That gives us an opportunity to envision something more grand.”

The site is suitable for warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities that can leverage the deep-water port for import and export activities. The property can also support various marine services, including boat repair/storage, maintenance facilities, seafood processing plants, and even building large ships. “Wrangell has worldclass shipwrights, machinists, and fabricators, and there are a slew of highly skilled marine tradesman in our shipyard,” Thomas says.

Additionally, Wrangell boasts low moorage fees for its drydock and harbor, along

with affordable rental rates for housing. This makes it an appealing place to live, work, raise a family, and conduct business. “The municipality is very amenable and has a growth-based mindset,” Thomas says. “We want new businesses and new residents—especially those who appreciate the quality of life in a small town like Wrangell.”

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Wrangell has a team of innovative, eager professionals who aim to drive not just the local economy but regional and state economies by entertaining

prospects for developing a niche in Southeast Alaska. “We’re growing and evolving—and we are ready to talk.” Thomas says. Realistically, it can take up to five years to complete the initial engineering, environmental, and other planning activities for the project. But it’s not too early for potential stakeholders to get involved. Thomas explains: “We can begin engaging in discussions now, which will give developers, venture capitalists, and other investors time to get organized. Just pick up the phone and give us a call.”

City and Borough of Wrangell

Kate Thomas, Economic Development Director PO Box 531, Wrangell, Alaska (907) 874-2381

“In college, you hear about how architects may do one building and then aren’t needed by that client for another twenty years… We’ve done several buildings for local clients like First Bank, and some of our clients need something once a year, or every other year.”

Tim Whiteley, Principal, Welsh Whiteley Architects

year. “I’m currently working on an old cannery complex in Kake, which is a giant building that hasn’t been used in years,” Whiteley says. “We had to get the whole building sprinklered and add a fire system, and while that may seem unglamorous, it required architects that understood historic preservation and modern codes. It’s fun when two disciplines overlap.”

MRV Architects has been working with Indigenous people since its founder, Linn Forrest, came to Alaska to work with the Civilian Conservation

Corps in the ‘30s to restore tribal houses, including Chief Shakes House in Wrangell and Totem Bight State Historical Park in Ketchikan. The company’s more recent projects have included the Walter Soboleff Center and the Sealaska Heritage Institute arts campus in Juneau. The company is currently working on the Angoon Visitor Center and Indigenous education centers for the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.

While every firm has a few favorite projects, what matters most to

architects in Southeast is designing buildings that make their clients and communities proud.

“My favorite projects are those where we have good connections with our clients and have empathy for where they’re coming from and where they want to go,” says Boily. “Having a strong community identity and being part of the community outside of architecture is part of the fun of living here and being part of this place. While there are great opportunities in big cities, there’s more reward here in our smaller towns.”

Bent-wood boxes and formline art inspired the design of Sealaska Heritage Institute's Arts Campus and plaza in downtown Juneau.

Zane Jones | MRV Architects

$25 Million for 25 Years Anniversary expansion at Alaska Native Heritage Center

By Vanessa Orr

Wh en Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) reached its silver jubilee this year, it chose to kick off a $25 million capital campaign. Investing a million dollars for each year of its past existence would let ANHC continue to educate visitors about Alaska Native cultures and strengthen community engagements for years to come.

Kelsey Ciugun Wallace, ANHC vice president of strategic advancement and communications, laughs as she recalls a totem pole raising and potlatch last October that attracted more

than 1,000 people. “We were quickly reminded about how small our space was,” she says. “So when it came to celebrating our 25th anniversary, we decided to dream big and developed a four-phase capital campaign which is going to refresh our existing facility and expand our campus.”

The first phase, which included renovation to the Hall of Cultures and the Gathering Place, is now complete. The second phase entails renovation of the theater, and the third phase will lead to the construction of the healing garden. The fourth phase aims to build

out the campus in Northeast Anchorage to create a large community gathering space and a subsistence kitchen.

Lightened Up

The goal of Phase 1 was to breathe life into the Hall of Cultures and the Gathering Place. This revision to the public spaces brought out the excellence and beauty of Alaska’s Native peoples and cultures through enhanced exhibits and essential improvements.

ANHC worked with its cultural advisory committees to provide a

Alaska Native Heritage Center

clear vision to Anchorage-based MCG Explore Design, which led to major renovations that were executed by Palmer-based Lake View General Contracting. The project had a $4 million budget, which was funded through grants from the Rasmuson Foundation, the US Economic Development Administration, the National Park Service, and several other supporters.

“The

Ray Kizer, President, Lake View General Contracting

and whether the information we were providing was accurate to the needs and wants of our community,” says Wallace. “We took their input very seriously, and it affected every aspect of the design and its implementation.”

Exhibits to Share

The result is a space that embodies several Indigenous designs throughout, including the integration of traditional fabrics, furs, pelts, sealskin lamps, and a custom-made, one-of-akind carpet designed by Ahtna artist Melissa Shaginoff.

“We really looked at all of the aspects of the design—not just the photos and text on the walls—to ensure that the space was reflective of the beauty, creativity, and indigenuity of the Alaska Native community,” explains Wallace.

The exhibits themselves reflect many aspects of Alaska Native cultures and include displays of qayaqs and canoes made by master boatbuilders, traditional and medicinal spaces, and repatriated cultural artifacts.

“Nearly every week, we have boxes that arrive at ANHC filled with cultural objects and sacred artifacts that people are trying to give back to the community,” says Wallace, noting that people and institutions who have these objects and want to return them to their rightful place may not know how to do so.

One especially important addition, according to Wallace, is an exhibit interpreting the history of boarding schools and the effects that Native families and individuals feel to this day.

“To organize this exhibit, we have had to work with our community, cultural advisory committees, and staff to research and understand the traumas and impacts that affect family members who were forcibly assimilated at government- and church-run boarding

New lighting and flooring make the Gathering Place feel more grand, whereas the Hall of Cultures, below, received new exhibits to feel more intimate and grounded.

Alaska Native Heritage Center

schools,” she says. “We’ve created a safe space where our community can learn about this shared history.”

As the only center serving all Alaska Native cultures statewide, ANHC is the natural host for the boarding school exhibit.

“It is imperative that we create spaces for education and healing,” adds Wallace. “The time is now to address this complicated and challenging history.”

Five newly updated “identity galleries” showcase cultural artifacts, languages, cultural identifiers, and descriptions of Alaska’s Native peoples in each of the five major cultural regions. A mural depicts the different landscapes of each region as well. “Alaska is so geographically large that when it comes to the lands we each call home, it looks different in each cultural region,” says Wallace.

ANHC is currently fundraising to build more permanent exhibits, and it is now able to offer space for traveling exhibits as well.

A Challenging Timeline

Both the Hall of Cultures and the Gathering Place contracts were awarded on March 1, 2024, with the Hall of Cultures completed by Mother’s Day and the full project completed and open to the public on Father’s Day.

“One of the biggest challenges with completing Phase 1 was the timeline,” says Kizer. “But we worked as a team partner with ANHC and MCG to pull it off, and though it took long hours and some double shifts, we did it.”

He adds that it was also challenging to work in a building that was still in operation, and his team took special care to be aware of staff needs during construction. “We tried to treat the facility like it was our home,” he says of the project that created approximately forty jobs.

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Conceptual design for Phase 4, the Tribal Hall. The new meeting space will include a subsistence kitchen where, for example, fish harvests could be butchered and shared at a potlatch.

Alaska Native Heritage Center

“I enjoy working on projects like this, which is why I am grateful to have worked on a number of projects for ANHC—I feel like it’s my way of contributing to the Alaska Native community,” Kizer says.

He most appreciates that the community can gather and visitors can learn about Alaska Native living and history. “That to me is more important than the job itself,” Kizer says. “Not a lot of

building structures have the value and meaning that this does.”

Phase 2: Renovating the Theater

Phase 2 of the capital campaign is the ANHC theater renovation, funded by the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust. Design is currently underway to incorporate immersive and emerging technology into the space, with construction slated for early 2025. The public can expect to be immersed in the cultures and lifestyles of rural Alaska in spring of 2025.

“In thinking about that space, we realized what an opportunity it could be to share our stories and broaden people’s knowledge of who we are as Alaska Native peoples by leveraging technology,” says Wallace of the space that currently houses an older screen, projector, and theater-style seating.

“This space will truly be transformational for ANHC, our community members, and guests visiting from across the world,” she adds. The renovation will include an immersive space for viewing content specially developed for the theater. Visitors will be able to feel what it’s like to be surrounded by celebrants at a potlatch, to ride a boat up the Kuskokwim River, or to be at a fish camp. The new theater will also be available to local filmmakers and videographers who want to showcase their work through events like open projector nights and film screenings.

Phase 3: The Healing Garden

Phase 3 of the capital campaign focuses on the creation of a community healing garden, funded by the Mellon Foundation and the US Bureau of Indian Affairs. The center expects

“I enjoy working on projects like this, which is why I am grateful to have worked on a number of projects for ANHC—I feel like it’s my way of contributing to the Alaska Native community.”

Ray Kizer, President, Lake View General Contracting

heal at their own pace, surrounded by the beauty and strength of our cultures, ceremonies, and the plants, land, air, and all aspects of the earth,” she adds.

The space will include cultural monuments built by artists, community members, and healers. The first two monuments were requested by the community: one dedicated to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and one dedicated to military veterans, as Alaska Native people and American Indians enlist in the armed forces at the highest rate of any ethnic group.

“Each monument will also have a ceremony practiced and documented alongside the creation and installment of the monument, which the center will memorialize with video, audio, and written documentation,” says Wallace. “Our elders who lived with knowledge from pre-contact practices are prioritizing sharing this critical information with us, so it’s important to work with them now to document these ceremonial practices to make sure that they are never lost.”

Phase 4: Community Hall and Subsistence Kitchen

Wallace, who is originally from Bethel, is especially excited about Phase 4, which will include the construction of a community hall and subsistence kitchen.

to engage in design this winter and is in the process of hiring a senior manager of community healing before construction begins.

“As Alaska Native people, we walk with pretty heavy traumas, but we also walk with opportunity and an active practice

of healing,” says Wallace, noting that the community is affected by both historical and current issues, from assimilative boarding schools to the blight of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

“We understand the importance of having a space where our people can

“As a Yup’ik person who has spent my whole life guided by our knowledge and teachings, language, songs, and dance, and being surrounded by hunting and fishing, I’m a product of my community,” she explains. “So I understand how important it is to have a space— whether a cultural center, school gym, or someone’s living room—where we can live to the fullest extent of who we are and where we come from and pass this knowledge on to our kids. Having spaces that are dedicated to the intergenerational transference of

Bespoke upholstery for a one-of-a-kind campus. This bench is decorated with icons the center uses to represent Yup'ik and Cup'ik cultures.

Alaska Native Heritage Center

Committed

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“I understand how important it is to have a space—whether a cultural center, school gym, or someone’s living room—where we can live to the fullest extent of who we are and where we come from, and pass this knowledge on to our kids.”

Kelsey Ciugun Wallace

Vice President of Strategic Advancemen t and Communications

Alaska Na tive Heritage Center

knowledge is so true to our people and so critical to who we are.”

Wallace recalls the shoulder-toshoulder attendance at last October’s totem pole raising as evidence of the need for such a place. “Our community is so hungry for these spaces, and that need will just grow bigger and bigger,” she says.

The community hall could also be used for facility rentals and likely even basketball games, says Wallace.

“As a leader in cultural tourism in Alaska, this will also give us more room to educate and facilitate spaces of sharing within the tourism industry and community and state organizations,” she adds. “We can share demonstrations on a larger scale and host different types of events that invite more to participate and learn about our people.”

Because subsistence is such a critical part of Alaska Native culture, a specially designed kitchen will allow community members to process fish and game and other gathered items.

“When we were recently prepping for a potlatch, we applied for and received a ceremonial moose hunt permit. When we brought the moose to ANHC, we were literally building tables so that we could respectfully process it,” says Wallace. “Because our subsistence way of life is consistently practiced by our people, we want to provide them with a clean, high-grade kitchen and processing center for use.”

ANHC is fundraising for Phase 4 and has already secured $1 million from Weidner Apartment Homes to support the community subsistence kitchen.

“We still have a long way to go,” says Wallace, “but we are confident that with the guidance and love of our community, capital campaign cabinet members, incredible industry leaders, and dedicated staff, we can do it.”

New décor includes sealskin lampshades, which reinforce the center's identity as a place for Alaska Native people, where guests may be invited to learn and participate.

Alaska Native Heritage Center

Water, Water Everywhere

The challenge of hooking hydrology into homes

By Jamey Bradbury

Al askans can be water snobs. While parts of the Lower 48 fight for access to clean and safe drinking water, the Upper 1 boasts nearly 3 million lakes, 12,000 rivers, and 100,000 glaciers—pristine sources that make up nearly 50 percent of the total surface waters in the United States.

But getting water from a glacier or a lake and into homes is another story. In rural Alaska, extreme temperatures and challenging geography complicate the design and construction of water systems. Some remote villages rely on washeterias where residents can access drinking water, filling containers and hauling them to their homes. About

twenty-three Alaska villages have no water-access facilities at all.

Even in Anchorage, windstorms, cold winters, and complex topography ensure that maintaining the city water system is far from a straightforward task.

“There’s really no part of the state that’s easy,” says David Persinger, assistant general manager at Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility (AWWU).

Gravity Does the Work

Imagine you’re a drop of water in Eklutna Lake, where 90 percent of Anchorage’s drinking water originates. To travel to a kitchen sink in the Rabbit

Creek neighborhood, the southern extent of AWWU’s service area, all you have to do is go with the flow. Even on Anchorage’s Hillside, water arrives by the power of gravity, thanks to Eklutna Lake’s location high in the Chugach Mountains.

Because of Eklutna Lake’s elevation, water passes through the powerhouse on Old Glenn Highway at high pressure. At the powerhouse, a turbine generates enough electricity to power the entire facility and return energy to the grid. As water continues into the city, AWWU’s pressure-reducing valve facilities slow the flow from that higher elevation, recovering additional energy.

Richard Mitchells

This ingenious design means that for more than 80 percent of AWWU’s customers—even those at higher elevations—the water that enters their homes is doing so by gravity flow.

“From an energy standpoint, Eklutna is extremely efficient,” Persinger says. “The folks that designed that system back in the mid-‘80s had a lot of foresight and strategy.”

The remaining 10 percent of Anchorage’s water comes from the Ship Creek watershed and a series of strategically located high-production wells around the city.

Underground Issues

Wherever Anchorage’s water comes from, it must travel through the city’s water mains to arrive at its destination. These pipes lie at a standard 10 feet below ground—8 feet deeper than pipes in Lower 48 cities. They’re buried at this depth because of Anchorage’s frost line, the depth to which the groundwater in soil is expected to freeze.

Because the water mains are so far underground to avoid freezing, they are usually below other underground utilities, like gas lines and electrical conduits. This means whenever a water main needs maintenance, getting to it is no easy feat. In the winter, contractors working with AWWU bring boiler trucks to steam thaw the ground before digging.

When making repairs, the utility also must contend with Anchorage’s geologic history.

“Anchorage is a giant glacial dump, essentially,” Persinger says. “So you have really varying soil conditions. There’s underlaying lenses of clay or silt that groundwater perches on top of. In west Anchorage, you get into the Bootlegger Formation”—layers of silt, sand, and gravel of varying thicknesses.

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The variation creates “running sand,” which is extremely unstable. Maintenance crews require specialized equipment to manage repairs.

“It can get very messy very quickly,” Persinger describes. “So there are a lot of unique challenges Anchorage faces—but that’s true for the rest of the state as well.”

No Universal Solution

Outside of Anchorage, water sources are as varied as Alaska’s terrain. Some villages draw from groundwater wells; in others, whole villages depend upon a nearby river or lake.

Until recently, Tatitlek relied on a small stream about a mile and a half from town for its drinking water. This became a problem in 2019, when Prince William Sound suffered from unprecedented drought that caused aquifers to run dry and reservoirs to evaporate. The situation prompted the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) to initiative several water

improvement projects with funding from the Indian Health Service, including an engineering effort to improve Tatitlek’s water source: a small infiltration gallery located in the stream.

Engineering contractor R&M Consultants looked at drilling groundwater wells as an alternative to Tatitlek’s stream but couldn’t find enough high-quality aquifers to provide the quantity of water needed. The nearest lake that could provide water was five miles away, making pumping and piping water cost prohibitive.

“We looked at all these sources, and ultimately we ended up recommending improvements to the existing infiltration gallery to increase its capacity,” describes Morgan Welch, a senior project engineer with R&M.

Engineers also built additional water storage to mitigate future droughts.

The solution to Tatitlek’s water problems ended up being relatively simple. But assisting other communities—even those in Prince

William Sound—is not as easy as replicating that solution.

“We have something like 250 villages in Alaska,” Welch says. “Depending on the subsurface geology or the watershed or the topography around any one of those communities, it can be completely different. There’s no universal solution for what works best.”

Keeping Up with Outdated Infrastructure

In northern Alaska, many of the communities in which Umiaq Design General Manager Wiley Wilhelm has worked draw their water from freshwater lakes and rivers—even, in some cases, from wells. In this region, Wilhelm has seen the effects of climate change on water sources. In one instance, Umiaq engineers tried to stabilize the shores around a lake that eventually drained due to thermal degradation.

“You’re sitting there watching it, and the water level comes up, and you can

Left, an Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) crew completes the connection of one half of Akiachak to piped water and sewer for the first time. Right, ANTHC workers complete a project in Eek installing a new point for raw water intake and a comprehensive piped water and sewer system. This project provided the community and residents of Eek with in-home piped water and sewer for the first time.

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

see the water running through the grass and piles of gravel,” he recalls. “We did the best we could with what we had, but it was a frustrating process.”

This left a community without an approved water source. As an emergency measure, Umiaq sourced water from a nearby river and installed a reverse osmosis water treatment system—an expensive option that generates a lot of “reject” water. Umiaq is currently designing an upgrade to replace that system.

The company has also been tackling the problem of old infrastructure throughout the North Slope Borough. Here, buried water lines that have serviced communities since the late ‘90s are causing issues simply because of age.

“It’s remarkable what communities have done to keep systems running that are thirty-plus years old and in the harshest of environments,” says David Beveridge, vice president of Environmental Health, Engineering, and Facilities Services at the ANTHC. “Communities do miraculous things to operate those systems, but there’s a point where things just fall apart, and you can’t deliver the water that you once did.”

Breaks in water lines are a source of some of the most vexing problems for communities and engineers alike. The challenge isn’t only that—as in Anchorage—underground lines are difficult to access. The method by which the water is made safe to drink makes even a small break in a water line significant.

To make river or lake water potable, filtration systems strain particles using a series of filters. These filters are flushed using some of the water that’s being filtered—sometimes, Wilhelm explains, up to 30 or 40 percent of the water flowing through the pipes.

“So when a line breaks and you’re losing water—you lose a gallon of water that really cost you a gallon and a half of what you had to pump from the lake to make that gallon,” he says.

As the northern regions of Alaska warm, underground systems experience damage. Because of this, some communities are shifting to above-ground water and sewer systems; in a pilot project in Utqiaġvik, twenty-seven homes are being connected to an above-ground system.

Improving Access

Outside of the Arctic, above-grade systems are more common in other areas of Alaska, and ANTHC has spearheaded construction. In its mission to meet the unique health needs of Alaska Native people, ANTHC works with rural communities to improve access to clean water.

ANTHC has received funding from several sources to implement water projects, such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which Senator Lisa Murkowski worked to secure specifically for work in rural Alaska. Under the IIJA, ANTHC has received about $1.1 billion for the first three years of a fiveyear plan. This includes funding that will bring piped water to fifteen remote villages for the very first time.

IIJA money goes to new water and wastewater systems, revamping landfills, and other projects. But ANTHC has concentrated on drinking water and sewer systems because of the drastic impact clean drinking water has on a community.

In communities where fewer than 10 percent of homes are piped for water, hospitalization rates for infants with pneumonia is 11 times the national average, Beveridge points out.

“There’s a huge disparity between having access to water and not, when it comes to the people in a community, especially the most vulnerable,” he says.

Preparing for Climate Change

Increased funding from the IIJA has gone a long way to close the gap between communities where ANTHC has already started or completed projects and places where clean, easily accessed drinking water is still an issue. Of the thirty-four communities that have no piped water and sewer facilities at this time, fifteen have secured funding through the IIJA. ANTHC is working with the remaining communities to find solutions and compete for funding over the next two years of IIJA.

As new systems replace outdated ones throughout the state, contractors like R&M emphasize designs that can mitigate against continued projected climate change.

In the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, for example, where much of the sanitation infrastructure was built in the ‘80s and ‘90s, design assumptions that contractors used four decades ago are no longer adequate, given climate change. Those systems were designed to preserve permafrost below the water

pipes, says Welch. Now, as temperatures rise and precipitation averages change, the permafrost is thawing, resulting in soil settlement that damages treatment plants, water piping, sewer piping, and local roads.

The new systems R&M is planning are designed to be resilient, with the potential to last twenty to forty years.

“[Climate change] has a massive impact, and it plays a huge role in every single project we’re doing out there,” Welch says.

Taking Care for a Lifetime

ANTHC works closely with each community to determine water sources and design systems to provide access to those points of access and to find ways to reduce cost and energy use.

“ANTHC isn’t just building new systems,” says Shea Siegert, ANTHC senior manager of external relations.

“We’re also helping with the operations and maintenance through the Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative. It’s also helping with the post-construction, taking care of the system, making sure it lives out its entire lifetime, and making sure that there are operators there.”

ANTHC provides training for operators, but it also offers remote

monitoring of the systems it constructs. This allows ANTHC and other partners to help operators know when there’s a problem— such as low levels in a water tank or a drop in temperature in a water plant. Catching an issue early and guiding local operators through responding to the problem can mean averting an emergency before it happens. Remote monitoring also allows for tracking energy usage; ANTHC can use the information it receives to make recommendations that can save communities money by making small changes that result in bette r energy efficiency.

Bringing modern water systems to every Alaska community has been an intergenerational effort. The job has taken so long partly because of disparate conditions in every village.

“Every place is unique,” Beveridge says. “From the soil, the water levels, the access and logistics, to the energy systems in use. If you’re going to rivers for a source, you’re often dealing with silt. If you’re going into the ground with wells, we encounter lots of minerals, some of which are considered contaminants. Even with something as simple as water, it’s a challenge.”

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Reserve Grain, Preserve Farms

A photo essay

By Scott Rhode

Al ong-awaited Alaska Feed Grain Reserve was established last year to purchase part of the state’s cereal crop and help stabilize food security.

Farmers have been raising grain in the Tanana Valley since the late ‘70s, when the State of Alaska allocated Interior farmland for barley production. “There’s not a lot of issue with being able to grow the barley,” explains Zach Knight, manager of the Alaska Farmers Cooperative in Delta Junction. The short season at 64° north latitude is not an insurmountable obstacle; approximately 5,000 acres of barley under cultivation benefit from clean water, clean soil, and fewer pests than in other climates.

About two-dozen members of the co-op pool their resources to buy in bulk, saving money on supplies like fertilizer. Midway through the September harvest, Knight says members were reporting a pretty good yield of about 1 ton per acre. Bushel weight, a key measurement of the nutrient value of each kernel, was mostly meeting the standard of 48 pounds, minus water. “We actually had some dried out to about 54 pounds per bushel, so really good bushel weight this year,” Knight adds.

Harvest time came early for Bryce Wrigley, and his combine wasn’t ready. When he fired up the machine in late August for the first time since last year, the chute coughed up leftover barley and peas, and then it quit.

The chain drive for the separator mechanism—a steel grate that drags the crop into the combine—was busted. Wrigley called one of the Delta Junction area’s few experienced farm mechanics for help taking off the header and feeder housing so they could realign the chain. Both men are past retirement age, but they continue doing the work that has sustained them all their lives.

Wrigley’s fields grow a variety called Sunshine barley that UAF researchers developed in 2009. His Alaska Flour Company runs the only commercial flour mill in Alaska. It processes the crop into barley-based packaged products— among the few foods for human consumption made from Alaska grain.

Most barley grown in Alaska is a hulled variety used for livestock feed, adding protein to a diet of hay. Poor growing seasons in 2021 and 2022 wiped out the local supply of feed grain. The Alaska Division of Agriculture implemented shortterm support to offset the cost of shipping feed from the Lower 48 and help farmers avoid culling their herds.

For a more long-term solution, the division handed Knight a check for $1 million last November so the co-op could launch the Feed Grain Reserve. Knight explains, “We’ll buy grain with that $1 million. Then we’ll have $1 million in inventory of small grain or cash in the bank. When we fill the reserve, it’ll sit there until we need it, and cash from sales when we dip into it will replenish it the next year.”

The reserve becomes a perpetual customer for barley farmers whose crop meets the quality standard for bushel weight. Knight also rattles samples in a pan to screen out noxious weeds. Substandard barley is turned into feed pellets and cannot be mingled in the storage bins.

Farmers have been trying to create a grain reserve for more than forty years. “You only have so much money to throw at it,” Knight says. Storage bins have been in place—thanks to a considerable capital investment—but startup cash wasn’t available until the State stepped in last year.

“For the first time in Alaska agriculture history, there is actually a market for grain,” said Scott Mugrage, president of the Alaska Farm Bureau and a Delta Junction cattle rancher. “If you are a good farmer who isn’t good at marketing, this reserve will provide a venue for the co-op to purchase that grain, so it will open up new opportunities for some producers.”

The reserve will take several seasons to build up to the target of a full year’s crop, 1,500 tons in storage.

While barley farmers have a standby buyer, livestock farmers have a more secure feed supply. Knight says, “If they wanted to increase their herd size, they don’t have to have feed on farm, on site.” Investment in livestock herds builds the market for meat processors, reinforcing the local food system.

Removing one type of risk allows farmers to expand, putting more fields into production. More farms might experiment with hulless barley, enlarging the food sector that Alaska Flour Company has developed.

One of the newest additions to Wrigley’s mill is an onsite bakery to demonstrate the potential of barley biscuits and other goods. The warm, welcoming aroma of bread baked from grain harvested from under the midnight sun proves that Alaska farms can feed the state’s people.

They just needed a $1 million push.

Three Steps for a Better Business

Long-lasting growth and change

By Woodrie Burich

Af ew of my college professors had a profound impact on my beliefs about the impact of business on community. One lesson came from my undergraduate professor of economics, an old Jesuit with a keen eye for numbers and a stoic teaching style. He had us study the Banana

Wars, a series of trade and political disputes involving US intervention in Central America in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Our final exam was to write a review of the economic impact of those wars and the influence they still had on our present day—but from three different perspectives:

a US corporation’s perspective, a global consumer’s perspective, and the perspective of a farming family in Honduras. That class changed my view about the impact of business forever.

Another lesson came from a graduate marketing course. The instructor argued that the fastest way to change our world

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was through business. He then shared research about how quickly businesses could produce goods, shift global economics, and positively influence and improve the lives of people—employees, stakeholders, community members, and future generations.

When I reflect on these two lessons and our current shared reality here in Alaska, I see many needs. As a lifelong Alaskan, I look around Anchorage and I’m heartbroken. We are hurting. Our needs are great. Yet I still hold hope as I recall Helen Keller’s words: “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it."

Our Collective Now: The Need for Good Business and Strong People

Right now, businesses have a huge opportunity to have lasting impact within our communities. Businesses have broad reach—fiscal, educational, community stability, and more. Yet where do we begin?

First, consider the impact that a good, strong business has on community. Especially businesses with loyal and well-taken-care-of team members— teams with good pay and a low-stress work environment. Then we can start to look at multi-layered approaches to challenges. As we look for solutions, it’s crucial to pause and reflect on the ripple effects our actions will have at multiple levels.

I like to start with solutions within companies at three levels: the individual, team, and organizational levels. Below are three ways to start that process.

Start with Yourself

Strengthen and invest in you. True lasting change always arises from within us. If there is something we need to share, model, or teach—it must be embodied first.

Individual resilience opens

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Employees are not just motivated by a paycheck but by the feeling of consistent and meaningful progress. More specifically, people thrive when their progress and inner worklives are recognized, supported, and appreciated by leaders and supervisors.

Now, more than ever, we need strong, present leaders. This requires effort, and it demands we hone our personal leadership skills through continued practice and self-reflection. Individual resilience opens the door for team resilience, which opens the door for organizational resilience.

I help teams and organizations gain better outcomes by reducing stress, improving communication, and minimizing unhealthy conflict. Over the years, I’ve learned that even the most well-intentioned leaders can ask for these things, but unless they are modeling the behaviors they seek, it simply won’t work. Money will be spent, consultants paid, yet everyone will still be responding the same as before.

Why? Solutions must be fully embraced at the top. It’s hard to drive change from a position without power and support. While it is possible to lead upwards, it is infinitely more difficult. We start by embodying the change we want to see first.

Questions to consider: What support structures do you currently have in place for yourself? Do you have strong relationships both professionally and personally? What personal growth investments have you made in yourself over the past year? Do you feel strong, aligned with your values, and connected with others?

Strengthen & Invest in Others

Be generous with your time and resources. We need to rethink how we invest in people. What do they truly need? Where are the pain points for them, where are the opportunities, the possibilities? Are we actively listening with deep attention, or do our assumptions and agendas rule our interactions with others?

We need to focus on what Gartner refers to as human-centric work

models with caring, engaged leaders. This isn’t soft or naïve; it drives better outcomes. We live in a time of lost loyalty, high turnover, and huge drops in engagement and productivity—isn’t it time for some new approaches?

One way to support individuals is by investing in learning and development. People need tools, and then they need support in implementing those tools.

The learning and development space is currently undergoing a major overhaul. From massive changes in our educational institutions to AI in corporate spaces, education and adult learning is rapidly changing. And that’s a good thing, because it’s been broken for a while. Looking at the recent research around training and what’s known as Ebbinghaus’ “Forgetting Curve,” consider that upwards of 75 percent of information received is lost within six days without reinforcement. The reality is that adult learning often requires hands-on experience, especially for skills such as communication, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence. These can be tricky to teach through traditional methods.

Training needs to be iterative and applied to real-time work problems. Teams need to share collaboratively in the solution development. This means more communication, facilitation, and engagement through the learning process. This doesn’t have to be done externally—teams can easily do this inhouse—but it needs to be consistent. Companies that invest in their teams through targeted training programs and then integrate continued check-ins and real-time facilitation or coaching (internal or external) will thrive.

How are your teams taught? Are you integrating their training with reflections on real-time challenges and scenarios? Have you integrated this iterative and interactive type of

training with your teams and into programs? Are you supporting your teams and leaders with executive coaching? How are you integrating realtime and iterative learning into your programs and projects?

Remember What Supports Real, Long-Lasting Growth & Change

Growth mindset, a term coined by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, teaches us that our intelligence and abilities increase with effort and persistence: learning is an ongoing process. As we consider how to best

support growth in both ourselves and in our teams, we need to ensure we are actively tending to the ongoing support of our growth so we don’t stifle it. Three steps we follow are care, challenge, and celebrate.

Care: How do you truly show your employees you care? Looking at research by Harvard business professor Teresa Amabile and her book The Progress Principle , we see that employees are not just motivated by a paycheck but by the feeling of consistent and meaningful progress. More specifically, people thrive when their progress and

inner work-lives are recognized, supported, and appreciated by leaders and supervisors. This means witnessing and sharing in people’s professional growth.

This type of connection requires a deep level of presence and engagement from leaders. How do we do this when our collective attention spans are dropping (see the book Stolen Focus by Johann Hari)? How can leaders maintain true presence and connect with others when their energy is low and their hours are long? Harvard Business Review ’s Special Spring 2024 title says

Celebrate big. Don’t miss the good stuff. Take time for it. Your team and our community will thank you for it.

Companies that

invest in their teams through targeted training programs and then integrate continued check-ins and real-time facilitation or coaching (internal or external) will thrive.

it all: “How to Lead When Everyone’s Exhausted.” So how do we care when we don’t have any energy left? If this resonates with you, go back to step #1: focus on you first.

When you are done with that step, then consider these questions: What work structures do you have in place to support your leaders so they aren’t working consistently at capacity? On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s your team’s typical workload level? Does that provide the time needed for effective mentorship, connection, and communication within your team? What would happen if you had that? How might that change your inneroffice relationships, collaboration, and coordination on projects?

Challenge: High-performance teams have certain qualities. Common qualities include strong communication, a sense of pride, and meaningful work, as well as fun and humor shared by team members.

One other quality I look for in a team is their ability to constructively challenge each other. This is the signal of a team rooted in high trust and safety. Teams like this have a healthy respect and appreciation for the strengths each member brings and an awareness that diversity of thought brings better outcomes, always.

How is your team challenging each other? Are challenges commonly brought to the table, or is it simply tacit and lukewarm agreement? More importantly, are team members challenging through a continued display of ego (signaling a lack of safety and trust), perhaps quietly condemning behind closed doors? Or are they able to challenge each other gently sometimes, and greatly spirited at other times—always ending in joyful humor or with smiles and kindness afterwards? If so, that is truly sharing

in the benefits of divergent ways of thinking, and it’s the real mark of a high-value and effective team.

Celebrate: Clients who know how to celebrate well are clients who have engaged and happy team members. It’s the celebrations that matter. It’s the recognition, appreciation, and connection that keep people there at your office. Not the stale pizza parties or the obligatory evening social hour. The real celebrations. In the moment.

The boss who says, “Wow, you’ve been working hard this week. I see you.” It’s the simple thank you notes written by supervisors. The email with a CC: to a C-suite exec.

It’s the little appreciations that matter, backed with bonuses and all the benefits we can offer within budget. Push the budget for them when you can, especially if you hold power. Use the power you have. Celebrate big. Don’t miss the good stuff. Take time for it. Your team and our community will thank you for it.

As we step into this moment and reflect on our community, I invite us to consider the impact we are already currently having and the potential steps to serve even more deeply. As we solve our challenges of today and prepare for our tomorrows, we are going to need strong, centered, and connected people. Invest in that for yourself and your teams today. Who knows who you’ll inspire and the impact you might have.

Woodrie Burich, Forbes Coaches Council Member and TEDx speaker, is an awardwinning thought leader known for turning stress into strategic action, helping teams achieve high performance with sustainable outcomes.

At Santos, we are proud to develop the world-class Pikka Project on the North Slope. Phase 1 will develop about 400 million barrels from a single drill site with first oil expected in 2026. And we are even prouder that our interest in Pikka will be net-zero on Scope 1 & 2 emissions!

THE FOCUSED MANAGER

Elevate Your Impact

How systems help managers be more effective

By Brian Walch

Bo b is the manager of a customer service department for a software product. The company has just launched an AI feature that has caused a spike in new account sign-ups. The customer service team is busy taking calls for new orders, which has caused them to stop conducting a regular two-month check-in call with customers.

Bob’s boss shows him the latest quarterly report. Although new customers are booming, there has been a dramatic increase in accounts closing after three months.

The lack of customer retention has decreased revenue and spooked investors. The boss wants a plan t o address the issue.

What should Bob do? Hire more people to conduct follow-up calls, and increase costs? Ask the team to work longer hours to do followup calls? Ask another team to hel p solve the problem?

The Power of Systems Thinking

Today’s business environment is complex and fast-moving. Customer

and employee expectations are high, and organizations must be innovative and dynamic to respond and stay competitive.

Systems drive organizations, and managers must use them to deliver results for customers, employees, and the business. Systems thinking recognizes that everything is connected and related, not independent and isolated. When managers embrace systems thinking, they address the root cause of issues rather than symptoms. Systems thinking unlocks synergies

that aren’t obvious when looking at individual components.

Systems thinking is a formal discipline but doesn’t require a special course or advanced degree to practice. It can be boiled down to three steps.

• Identify the components of the system and how they are interconnected.

• Pinpoint cause-and-effect relationships.

• Consider how changes in one part of the system will impact outcomes in another part.

When managers practice systems thinking, they will notice systems everywhere. They can use systems to make changes that improve life for themselves, their employees, and their customers.

To get started, consider these four areas of systems: Personal, Technical, Operational, and Complex.

Personal systems. These are a person’s habits, routines, and personal workflows. The maturity of one’s personal systems impacts their worklife balance, resiliency, and capacity to

take on more. Personal systems also influence how well people interact and collaborate. When personal systems become codified, others can adopt them and make them their own. In this way, developing personal systems is a path to scaling one’s influence.

Technical systems. These are the websites, applications, and software people use to complete their work. For example, the HR system used to complete a timecard or make a vacation request or the accounting system used for expense reports.

Systems thinking recognizes that everything is connected and related, not independent and isolated. When managers embrace systems thinking, they address the root cause of issues rather than symptoms.

We Publish “Stuff”

Iknow —the headline isn’t very elegant. It is purposely vague because it was written to capture your attention. To get you to read more. We do publish “stuff,” specifically magazines, but it doesn’t end there. Alaska Business Publishing Co.’s flagship publication is Alaska Business, the magazine you are reading right now. But did you know we also publish The Alaska Contractor, the official quarterly magazine of the Associated General Contractors of Alaska?

We are proud of our partnership with AGC of Alaska and are blessed to work with its incredibly talented and dedicated team led by Executive Director Alicia Amberg. As advocates for the construction industry, their mission perfectly aligns with ours: promoting economic growth in Alaska.

If you want to reach our audience through Alaska Business or The Alaska Contractor, contact our sales team, and let’s talk advertising. We are eager to help you develop a plan to reach your marketing goals and expand your brand presence with our readership.

Alaska Business Publishing Co. can also work with you and your business on special projects, such as corporate anniversary booklets. If your company has a significant milestone coming up that you want to commemorate, let us know,

and we can talk about various options to help you celebrate with an attractive and memorable product (print or digital) that people will want to read. Let’s talk!

For editorial-related ideas: email our Managing Editor, Tasha Anderson, at editor@akbizmag. She would love to hear your topic ideas or industry trends that we should explore.

For advertising inquiries: contact our sales team. We would be happy to help you engage with our readers by helping develop an advertising strategy based on your goals and budget. You can reach me at cbell@akbizmag.com.

Thank you for being a part of our journey. We sincerely appreciate your support.

Technical systems are part of personal, operational, and complex systems. However, they merit a distinct category because they are omnipresent and fundamental to work. To be successful, managers must know the features and capabilities of the technical systems they use.

Operational systems. If the technical system is the tool, the operational system is how it is used. These systems are how things get done in the organization. They are documented as SOPs, department handbooks, and instructions, and they are also evident in the team's daily activities. One of the manager’s core responsibilities is to create, evaluate, and manage operational systems. Processes often get handed from one person to another without questions or examination. When things change but the systems don’t, the work suffers, and the manager becomes ineffective.

Complex systems. If there are people and processes, there is likely a complex system. Complex systems are interconnected and dynamic. They are often self-organizing and manifest in patterns and routines that emerge rather than being controlled.

Managers who recognize and understand the complex systems in their organizations will be more successful. Situations arise that can look convoluted and chaotic when, in fact, it is a complex system. A manager who starts making changes without understanding the underlying system will experience unintended consequences.

Some benefits can only be realized by letting a complex system exist. For example, nuanced activities like innovation, creativity, and relationship management must be cultivated and nurtured, not operationalized. If a manager tries to make some processes

more efficient or reproducible, they may end up dismantling the very thing that made it effective in the first place.

Time to Level Up

Managers will be more effective leaders of themselves, their teams, and their organizations when they expand their ability to understand, manage, and improve systems. To do that, they must evaluate their current level and know what the next level looks like.

To do this, consider three levels of system proficiency.

• Level 1 = Foundational. The person is thinking about and actively identifying systems.

• Level 2 = Collaborative. The person can consider how the systems impact them and their department. This allows them to start making some localized changes.

• Level 3 = Strategic. The person knows how the systems impact the entire organization and can effectively make improvements.

These levels can be used for the four types of systems described above to provide a rubric for managers to evaluate and level up their systems thinking.

A manager who masters personal systems:

• Level 1: Has established routines to manage current duties. However, it isn’t scalable. If demands increase, effort must increase or things get dropped.

• Level 2: Established routines that flex as demands change. The person can absorb added pressures and build new habits to accomplish goals.

• Level 3: Uses systems to create margin in their life so they can scale their impact. Others are successfully adopting their systems.

A m anager competent in technical systems:

• Level 1: Can support system changes or a new system implementation.

• Level 2: Is involved in designing changes that impact their department. They may be part of a steering committee or doing independent research to find the best way to meet department needs in an existing system.

• Level 3: Champions system upgrades and enhancements because they know how the department will be transformed and how it will impact the organization.

A manager who is fluent in operational systems:

• Level 1: Can follow the SOP, guidelines, or playbook and can

Situations arise that can look convoluted and chaotic when, in fact, it is a complex system.

A manager who starts making changes without understanding the underlying system will experience unintended consequences.

When managers practice systems thinking, they will notice systems everywhere. They can use systems to make changes that improve life for themselves, their employees, and their customers.

run processes effectively to meet performance expectations.

• Level 2: Identifies tweaks and improvements to established processes that create better results for the department.

• Level 3: Understands how the organization is interconnected and can identify changes that would benefit other processes, systems, or areas of the business.

A m anager who can tame complex systems:

• Level 1: Can identify the components and interactions of a complex system.

• Level 2: Works with other departments to conceptualize and discuss the system and how it can be improved.

• Level 3: Creates frameworks and tools that build and advance systems for the benefit of employees, customers, and the organization.

As managers improve their systems thinking in these areas, they will notice an increase in effectiveness. As they better understand what should and should not be changed, they will feel more empowered to help the o rganization improve.

Bring It All Together

Let’s revisit Bob’s situation. Bob’s boss had given him a big task: improve company results. His initial options—adding costs or asking people to work more—didn’t feel right. Using systems thinking, he now has a range o f options available.

• He can train his staff to improve their daily habits, giving them more time to follow up with existing customers. (Personal systems)

• He can automate part of the new account process and decrease the time employees spend on new

account setups. (Technical systems)

• He can audit the new account process and identify steps that unnecessarily add time to the new account process or need to be updated. (Operational systems)

• He can investigate the customer retention problem in depth. He might discover that customers aren’t renewing because of persistent bugs and a lack of new features. Upon review, he identified that his department submitted mostly feature requests and bug reports from the check-in call. Instead of reinstating the check-in, Bob advocates establishing a customer advisory group that listens to the customer's needs. (Complex systems)

As with most business cases, the answer is rarely simple. Bob has used systems thinking to improve the options available and elevate his status in the company. His team is delivering results while maintaining a manageable workload. The company has evolved its relationship with the customer and continues innovating whil e controlling costs.

Using this simple guide, managers can expand their understanding of systems and help themselves, their teams, and their organizations be more productive, effectiv e, and successful.

Brian Walch is an executive coach, consultant, and speaker on leadership development. He uses his extensive experience in people and systems to provide tools and services to empower managers to lead themselves, their teams, and their organizations. Learn more at shiftfocus.com.

INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS

Renewable IPP

A planned solar farm on the Kenai Peninsula would, by itself, triple the output of all solar panels in Alaska. Renewable Independent Power Producers agreed with Homer Electric Association to build a 45 MW solar farm in Nikiski, enough to power 9,000 of the utility’s customers on the Kenai Peninsula. The independent power producer runs an 8.5 MW solar farm in Houston, currently the state’s largest. Estimated to cost tens of millions of dollars (mostly private financing plus a $2 million grant from the Alaska Energy Authority), the project is slated to be operational in 2027. renewableipp.com | homerelectric.com

Denali Universal Services

A team of investors, including CEO Maria Bourne, took over Denali Universal Services (DUS) from its parent company, French conglomerate Sodexo. Formerly a joint venture of Sodexo and Doyon, Limited, the company split away from the Alaska Native corporation for the Interior region while maintaining offices in Doyon’s South Anchorage building. Bourne says going independent enables more agility as the company aims to grow nationwide. DUS provides facility management (housekeeping, camp catering, and sundry support tasks) and security services (including emergency medical services and firefighting) to private and public sector clients.

Narwhal

Oil and gas leases northwest of Prudhoe Bay surrounding near offshore leases relinquished by Shell would form a new unit called Narwhal. Anchorage-based Narwhal and its designated operator, EE Partners, asked state regulators to form a unit from 77,848 submerged acres encircling Shell Offshore’s former 81,000-acre leasehold in West Harrison Bay. A small company majority owned by a Texas family, Narwhal submitted a five-year plan

for two to four exploration wells. Shell previously rebuffed Narwhal’s proposal to purchase or jointly explore West Harrison Bay. In May, Shell surrendered its leases back to the state, and in August the state approved the company’s voluntary termination of the unit.

ConocoPhillips Alaska

Fabrication finished ahead of schedule on the largest operations center module for ConocoPhillips’ Willow project, allowing it to be barged to the North Slope before summer ended. The company decided late last year to proceed with Willow and immediately began construction. In the first half of 2024, the company invested $1.4 billion in Willow—part of the Bear Tooth Unit in the National Petroleum ReserveAlaska—and the Nuna project, a new prospect in the Kuparuk River Unit. ConocoPhillips anticipates first oil from Willow in 2029. alaska.conocophillips.com

SEARHC

SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Wrangell Medical Center achieved full accreditation status from DNV Healthcare USA. Accreditation involves an extensive review of clinical practices, patient care, safety protocols, and operational procedures. Full accreditation signifies that SEARHC Wrangell Medical Center meets or exceeds requirements set forth by DNV while motivating SEARHC to strive for excellence across all twenty-seven communities it serves. searhc.org/location/ wrangell-medical-center/

Copper River Seafoods

The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development’s Made in Alaska program named Copper River Seafoods the Manufacturer of the Year for 2023. Founded in 1996, Copper River Seafoods has grown into a leader in Alaska wild

seafood, employing more than 700 people at its peak summer salmon season. The Cordova-based company networks with fishermen throughout Alaska to purchase halibut, cod, rockfish, and salmon to deliver to customers around the world. copperriverseafoods.com

Bushes Bunches

Longtime Palmer-area farming family Bruce and Vickie Bush are the 2024 Farm Family of the Year. Bruce Bush’s father bought a Matanuska-Susitna Borough farm in 1956. Bruce began farming at a young age, and he developed a new variety, Bushes Peanut Potato, which has since become very popular at the Bushes Bunches produce stand. He helped create the Farm Family of the Year award, chosen by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Agriculture and the Alaska State Fair, twenty-five years ago. “It’s incredibly appropriate that Bushes Bunches has won the silver anniversary award for their decades of dedication to agriculture in Alaska,” said Governor Mike Dunleavy. bushesbunches.com

Alaska Resource Education

The National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum in Leadville, Colorado honored Alaska Resource Education (ARE) with the Prazen Living Legend of Mining award. “Alaska Resource Education was selected for this award for their outstanding work in educating students about the mining and resource development industries,” says award committee chair Steven Hoerger. ARE Executive Director Ella Ede adds, “This award shows the hard work and dedication of our team and partners who strive to inspire and inform the next generation about the importance of Alaska’s natural resources.” ARE, a nonprofit founded in 1982, is accepting the award at a hall of fame induction gala this month. akresource.org

RIGHT MOVES

Denali Universal Services

· Denali Universal Services (DUS) added Bernard Chastain to its executive team as a Security Director, collaborating with clients and DUS personnel to meet security needs. Chastain began his career as an Alaska Wildlife Trooper in Soldotna and Glennallen and worked his way up to colonel. As deputy director of Wildlife Troopers from 2015 to 2020, and later of the Alaska State Troopers, Chastain managed recruitment, training, vehicle programs, and budgets.

Landye Bennett Blumstein

The Anchorage law firm of Landye Bennett Blumstein (LBB) added two attorneys.

· Joseph Levesque represents Alaska municipalities and private clients throughout the state with a focus on municipal law, civil litigation, simple wills, and labor and employment law. Levesque began his legal career in civil practice and then clerked for US Magistrate Judge John D. Roberts before serving as a prosecutor for the Alaska District Attorney’s office in Kenai. Levesque became borough attorney for the North Slope Borough before shifting to private practice. He joins LBB after leading

Levesque Law Group for twelve years.

· Noah Star joins LBB as an associate and brings nearly a decade of work and life experience in Alaska. After a stint as a legislative aide, Star began his legal career clerking for Alaska Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Stuart Henderson. Star then served as an assistant attorney general for the Alaska Department of Law civil division, as a civil division fellow, and in the natural resources section. At LBB, he focuses on natural resources law, fisheries law, Alaska Native law, administrative law, and civil litigation.

Coffman Engineers

· Coffman Engineers promoted Eliot Jordan to Discipline Manager of the fire protection engineering team, leading the fire protection group and performing fire alarm and life safety code analysis. His mechanical engineering experience from designing commercial and institutional ventilations systems laid the foundation for his shift into fire protection. Jordan earned a master’s degree in fire protection engineering from California Polytechnic State University. With twenty-four years of professional engineering experience, Jordan has served as the qualified fire

protection engineer on projects in the oil and gas and federal sectors.

Global Credit Union

Three Anchorage-based employees earn promotions to the executive team at Global Credit Union.

· Jessica Graham is now Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer, responsible for support services and facilitating cross-departmental communication. Graham joined the credit union in 2017 as senior vice president and general counsel and was promoted to chief risk officer and general counsel in 2019.

· Katy Pritsos becomes Senior Vice President, People Operations. In her new role, she is responsible for overseeing Global’s Talent Development and Human Resources departments. Pritsos has been with Global since 2015 and previously held the position of vice president, human resources.

· Chris Hibbs was promoted to Vice President, Consumer Lending, where he leads all facets of sales and underwriting for Global’s Consumer Lending department. Hibbs has been with the credit union since 2006, prior to

RIGHT MOVES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NORTHERN AIR CARGO

Star

Jordan

Graham

Pritsos

Chastain

Levesque

Hibbs

the former Alaska USA Federal Credit Union

acquiring its first branches outside of the Pacific Northwest.

Credit Union 1

Credit Union 1 (CU1) added three new vice presidents to its leadership team. “We are excited to witness the innovative ideas and initiatives they will spearhead to drive CU1 forward and make a difference in the lives of our members and beyond,” says President and CEO Mark Burgess.

· Vice President of Risk and Compliance

Angela Bradford brings more than twentythree years of experience in the financial sector, from teller trainer to department manager. Her professional philosophy centers on fostering teamwork through continuous learning and cross-functional collaboration.

· Eric Johnson joined CU1 as Vice President of Accounting. His previous roles included CFO and director of financial planning and analysis at Copper River Seafoods; prior to that he was manager of finance and administration at Denali Media Holdings. Johnson received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and MBA from UAA.

· Vice President of Information Systems

Travis Rupp has more than twenty-five years of IT and information security expertise, mostly with Alaska credit unions. Rupp holds a master’s degree in project management from UAA and is passionate about leveraging technology to reduce barriers and empower people.

KeyBank

· Nicolle Welch joined KeyBank as Senior Area Retail Leader for the Alaska market, overseeing KeyBank’s network of ten Alaska branches and supporting the small business segment. With more than eighteen years of banking experience, including district management at Wells Fargo, Welch brings a wealth of expertise to her new role. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nevada, Reno and is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School.

Aleut

The Aleut Corporation added two new professionals to its team and promoted one.

· Theresa Cross joins Aleut as Senior Director of Regional Operations, overseeing the Grants, Lands, and Shareholders Records departments in partnership with the vice president of regional affairs.

Most recently working for the State of Alaska as director of the Support Services Division, Cross has been nominated four times for the Governor’s Denali Peak Performance Award.

· Ethan Tyler joins Aleut as Director of Government Affairs, responsible for developing legislative strategies, public messaging, and building relationships with government

entities and private partners. Tyler performed a similar role in his most recent position at Cook Inlet Region, Inc., and before that he was director of Alaska State Parks and Outdoor Recreation.

· Aleut promoted Bethany Monfore to Director of Growth and Strategy. Reporting to COO Mandy Hawes, Monfore leads Aleut’s growth initiatives, focusing on fostering collaboration across subsidiaries and driving Aleut’s corporate acquisition and integration strategy. Monfore originally joined Aleut in 2020, and her experience includes serving as growth and strategy manager and small business and 8(a) compliance manager.

Project GRAD

· The board of directors for Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula hired former teacher and school district superintendent Rayna Bird as the organization’s new Executive Director. Bird has extensive experience in grant management and reporting, which will be invaluable for an organization that relies on federal and state grant funding. She also has experience in workforce development, tribal government, and community relations. Project GRAD has partnered with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District for more than twenty years to provide supplemental education and activities at nine isolated and underserved schools.

Welch Cross Tyler

Monfore

Bird

ALASKA TRENDS

“Critical Mining for Critical Times” is the theme of the Alaska Miners Association (AMA) annual convention and trade show being held in Anchorage this month. As AMA Executive Director Deantha Skibinski once explained, “critical” means you need the mineral while “strategic” means you don’t have it. In these times, Alaska’s mineral resources are becoming more critical and, as development proceeds, less “strategic.”

Mineral extraction brought Klondikers to the new US territory of Alaska during gold rushes that concluded the 1800s, and the industry continues to power the state in the 21st century. The Northwest Arctic Borough, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, and the City and Borough of Juneau each collect their largest chunk of municipal taxes from major mines. Interestingly, newer projects in advanced exploration—Graphite One, Livengood, and Niblack—and others at various stages, from Nikolai nickel to Donlin gold, are outside of organized boroughs. The economic impact of these projects flows more directly to the nearest communities.

According to a 2022 report by McKinley Research Group, the state’s main non-petroleum mineral is zinc, contributing just over half of the value of Alaska’s statewide minerals production. More precious, but at lower volume, was gold at 37 percent and silver at 7 percent. Lead made up 3 percent of total value, 2 percent came from coal, and a fraction of a percent came from mining low-value aggregates.

AMA and Alaska Metal Mines commissioned McKinley Research Group to update its report on the economic impact of the mining industry using 2023 data on the fiscal and employment effects. This edition of Alaska Trends illustrates those findings.

SOURCES: (2023) Economic Impact Report for Mining in Alaska, Alaska Metal Mines and Alaska Miners Association; “Minerals Are Critical to a Renewable Future,” US Bureau of Land Management

$740M spent in 2023 on exploration and development by Alaska’s mines and projects.

$1.1B spent on goods and services with 450+ Alaska businesses.

$2.4M to Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority to care for Alaskans’ mental health needs.

$136M in state government revenues for services like education, highways, and airports.

Bokan Mountain Prospect

is Alaska’s most significant rare earth element prospect, 37 miles southwest of Ketchikan.

Graphite Creek Prospect

is America's highest grade and largest known largeflake graphite deposit.

$50M in local tax revenues to support services like libraries, schools, road maintenance, and public safety.

Ambler Mining District

contains large copper-cobalt deposits, as well as other valuable mineral deposits.

Alaska Minerals in Renewable Energy

SOLAR

SOLAR BATTERY STORAGE Graphite* Cobalt* Cerium* Lanthanum*

Alaska Minerals in Hybrids and EVs

LCD DISPLAY Gold Silver Copper* Cerium* Yttrium* UV CUT GLASS Cerium* GLASS & MIRROR POLISHING Cerium*

Yttrium* MOTOR Copper* Dysprosium*

COMPONENT SENSORS

OCEAN CORROSION PROTECTION Zinc alloys TOWER GROUNDING WIRE Copper* HIGH CAPACITY GENERATORS Copper* Dysprosium* Cobalt*

INDUSTRIAL ALLOYS

Cerium* Lanthanum* Yttrium* TOWER Zinc alloys

FUEL ADDITIVES Cerium* Lanthanum*

BATTERY Graphite Copper Cerium* Lanthanum* Cobalt*

ENERGY TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM Gold Silver Copper* GPS MODULE Gold Silver Copper*

BRAKE SYSTEM Graphite Copper*

COOLING SYSTEM Copper*

What book is currently on your nightstand?

Anything by Malcolm Gladwell. As a business owner, I tend to like things that are studies of human behavior, especially as it pertains to business, like The Tipping Point

What charity or cause are you passionate about?

Nature and trail building, like the work Alaska Trails does. I also have a big soft spot for anything to do with children’s well-being and getting kids into nature.

What’s your favorite local restaurant?

Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop.

What vacation spot is on your bucket list?

Eastern Canada. I’m from Canada originally, and I’ve traveled west so much and traveled in other countries abroad. I really would love to see the east coast of Canada.

If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?

When I was a child, I found a baby mole… so it would either be that or an Arctic ground squirrel.

Photos

Kerry Tasker

Jen Loofbourrow

Threads woven into the fabric of Alpine Fit outdoor apparel stretch back to the wilds of Canada.

Roving her homeland taught founder and owner Jen Loofbourrow the importance of having appropriate gear. She studied chemistry and worked as a materials specialist at yoga clothing giant lululemon, and she ran her own business—a Scandinavian underwear franchise—while living in Ireland.

Stitched together, the result is adventure clothing designed to fit a variety of body types and sewn in Midtown Anchorage with silver odorfighting components.

“You can’t get a comparable thing made somewhere else,” she says.

With barely a handful of employees aiming for a national reach, Loofbourrow commits to a product once it’s tested and launched. “If you’re changing your inventory like some of the bigger, more fashionoriented brands, that is a lot of cash spent and turnover. It’s hard for a small company to do that,” she says. That means concentrating on core products and, she admits, deprioritizing men’s clothing.

“Making clothing is kind of like engineering,” she says. “I wish there was something more recognized under the engineering umbrella that had to do with clothing.”

Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time?

Jen Loofbourrow: Anything outdoors. Trail running, time with the family, hiking, backpacking, biking, skiing if it’s winter.

AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?

Loofbourrow: Myself and my friends rescuing ourselves from a terrible hand accident that I had [from falling rocks

while hiking in Juneau]. I almost lost my thumb... All I could do was choose to survive and get better.

AB: What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?

Loofbourrow: Make a giant portion of homemade popcorn and enjoy some relaxing time on the couch. I love popcorn; I probably make popcorn from scratch four to seven times a week—and sometimes share with my family [she laughs].

AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?

Loofbourrow: A hot tub. I never thought I’d be a hot tub person, and the house we bought had one. Now I use it all the time.

AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live in concert?

Loofbourrow: Tom Petty… I would enjoy being transported back to going to his concert when I was a teenager [she laughs].

AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn?

Loofbourrow: Singing lessons. As an adult that has never played an instrument… I decided to commit to taking voice training lessons.

AB: What are you superstitious about?

Loofbourrow: Knocking on wood is definitely a superstition… I would place myself in the middle on the scale of superstition.

AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute?

Loofbourrow: Creative problem solving is my best. I almost can’t stop myself… My worst attribute: stress. Sometimes I let stress take over, and it does affect my ability to perform, which results in a crash that needs rest to recover from.

ADVERTISERS INDEX

3-Tier Alaska 89 3tieralaska.com

Airport Equipment Rentals ....................... 139 airportequipmentrentals.com/ Alasconnect 65 alasconnect.com

Alaska Dreams Inc 68 alasconnect.com

Alaska Pacific University ............................. 35 alaskapacific.edu

Alaska Railroad 35 alaskadreamsinc.com

Alaska School Activities Association 25 asaa.org

Altman, Rogers & Co. 27 altrogco.com

Alyeska Tire. ................................................ 11 alyeskatire.com

Anchorage Chrysler Dodge 12 accak.com

Anchorage Convention Centers 85 anchorageconventioncenters.com

Anchorage Sand & Gravel ........................... 50 anchsand.com

Arctic Slope Telephone Association 79 astac.net

Avis Rent-A-Car 19 avisalaska.com

Bagoy's Florist & Home .............................. 29 bagoys.com

Chugach Alaska Corporation 88 chugach.com

City and Borough of Wrangell 91 wrangell.com

Conam Construction Co ............................. 97 conamco.com

ConocoPhillips Alaska 101 alaska.conocophillips.com

Conrad-Houston Insurance Agency 82 chialaska.com

Construction Machinery Industrial 2 cmiak.com

Cook Inlet Tug & Barge Inc ......................... 81 cookinlettug.com

Craig Taylor Equipment 131 craigtaylorequipment.com

Crowley Fuels 119 crowley.com

Cruz Companies.......................................... 51 cruzconstruct.com

Denali Commercial

Denali Industrial Supply 107 denali-industrial.com

Design Alaska ............................................. 25 designalaska.com

Donlin Gold 73 donlingold.com

Equipment Source, Inc 117 esialaska.com

Fay Ranches .................................................. 7 fayranches.com

First National Bank Alaska 5 fnbalaska.com

GCI 15, 31 gci.com

JAG Alaska 83 jagalaska.com

JD Steel Co Inc ............................................. 95 jdsteel.com

JEFFCO Inc 27 jeffcogrounds.com

JENNMAR 109 jennmar.com

Kinross Alaska ............................................. 49 kinross.com

LifeMed Alaska 43 lifemedalaska.com

LONG Building Technologies 61 long.com

Lynden ...................................................... 140 lynden.com

Manley Brautigam Bankston P.C 13 mb-lawyers.com

Material Flow & Conveyor Systems, Inc. 99 materialflow.com

Matson Inc. ................................................. 39 matson.com

MICROCOM. 3 microcom.tv

MT Housing Inc..

mthousing.net

Nana Regional Corporation..

nana.comt Nenana Heating Services, Inc ..................... 81 nenanaheatingservicesinc.com Nortech Environmental & Engineering 67 nortechengr.com

Northern Air Cargo 132, 133 nac.aero

northrim.com

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