The Tripod, June 2015

The Tripod Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance June 2015 Forest Service Plan revision Between April 27 and May 19, the Forest Service held community open houses at Cordova, Valdez, Girdwood/Whittier, Seward, Moose Pass, Soldotna, Cooper Landing, Hope and Anchorage on the Chugach Forest Plan Revision. The open house in Seward was held on May 13, and Forest Supervisor Terri Marceron (at left) and other Forest Service personal discussed what has been done so far, what needs to change and what does not with the existing Chugach Forest Plan and to set the stage for release and public review of the proposed revised Forest Plan in the fall of 2015. They took comments and answered questions throughout the meeting.

Several members of the Seward Iditarod Trail Blazers attended the meeting and urged the completion of the Southern Trek of the Iditarod Trail and that a management corridor be established not only to protect the trail, but to protect the entire quality, value and associated setting of the trial. For all the reports on and recommendations for the Chugach National Forest Plan Revision and an online comment form go to fs.usda.gov/chugach and click on the Chugach National Forest Plan Revision Plan feature.

The Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance promotes public awareness of the Iditarod Trail and its gold rush and Alaska Native heritage by encouraging education programs and historical research, assisting in the protection, improvement, maintenance and marking of the trail, developing partnerships that foster stewardship commitments and support from land owners, local communities, organizations and others. The trail for all seasons Suit over kennel dismissed Two Nome residents have dropped a lawsuit they filed last year aimed at shutting down a sled dog kennel that moved in 400 feet away. Kevin Bopp and his wife, Lynn DeFilippo hoped to close the 30-dog Arctic Sky Kennel operated by Iditarod veteran Nils Hahn and his wife Diana Haecker.

They sought a judge’s injunction to remove the dogs that they claimed created “unbearable noise and odor problems.” A jury trial to determine damages was scheduled to begin June 1 in Nome. The plaintiffs suffered a setback on April 30 when Kotzebue Superior Court Judge Paul A. Roetman denied the injunction. He found that the dog noise was substantially lower when the window was closed and the smell in the “exceptionally clean” kennel was limited to warm summer days. Following that decision, the plaintiffs filed to dismiss the suit. The parties signed a settlement agreement and both sides will pay their own attorney fees and other costs. Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance PO Box 2323, Seward AK 99664 IditarodHTA@gmail.com http://www.Iditarod100.org So far the Alliance has received $1,100 in donations through the 2015 Permanent Fund Pick, Click, Give Program.

Tripod, June 2015 The lawsuit reflects a statewide dilemma; conflicts with mushers are on the rise as more people move into outlying parts of Alaska. The dismissal is good news for mushers around the state said Hahn and Haecker’s lawyer Myron Angstman, an Iditarod veteran himself. From the past… “Iditarod Pioneer” June 5, 1915 LAST CONSIGNMENT OF WINTER MAIL ARRIVES OVER SEWARD TRAIL Tom Boyd, accompanied by “Smiling Albert,” arrived in Iditarod about noon Sunday with the belated Seward mail. He came by boat from Ophir, having made the trip from that place a distance of approximately 700 miles, by means of a poling boat fitted up with an “Evinrude,” motor. The consignment consisted of about 1,600 pounds, and comprised the last three weekly shipments over the Seward trail.

Coming over the trail to Takotna the consignment had been taken over the strip of land dividing the Kuskokwin and Innoko rivers, and thence down the Innoko to the Iditarod. The trip from Ophir was made in six days. Mr. Boyd had an interesting story to relate of his experience in getting the last three consignments of the winter mail to the Kuskokwin. There was absolutely no trail, and in many places temporary bridges had to be constructed in order to cross stream swollen from the spring freshets. Neither horses nor dogs could be used in the final stages, and for long distances the mail was transported on the backs of the carriers by relays. The trail in many instances followed sloughs, and these being filled with water, the carriers were compelled to keep to the high ground and go through the brush.

Speaking of the failure to get the mail through on contract time during the month of May, Mr. Boyd said that the break-up caught the contractors totally unprepared. He was satisfied that it was impossible to move the mail on contract time during the period of the break-up, but that after the ice was gone from the streams it was a comparatively easy matter to get the consignment through on schedule. When he had seen that it was impossible to get the weekly mail through from Takotna to Iditarod over the trail, he had assembled the different consignments there and decided on the river trip from Ophir. He had carried the motor for his boat from Takotna.

A portion of the mail consignment that had caused a good deal of profanity among the carriers along the trail was a pair of scales for the post office at McGrath, which when it had to be packed on the backs of the carriers made a full load for one man. It is suggested that the urgent need for the delivery of this bulky article by parcel post to the prospective metropolis of the upper Kuskokwin was that it would be in readiness to handle gold consignments to the Outside when the winter service goes into effect again next November. Alaska members It’s not too late to donate to the Alliance through the 2015 Pick. Click. Give Program. Alaskans who filed online for their 2015 PFD can add a donation through Pick. Click. Give until August 31, 2015. Just go to your MyAlaska profile and select your 2015 dividend. There is an option to add or change Pick. Click. Give donations.

Historic Preservation Historic preservationists have started Preservation50: Our Legacy, Our Future, a nationwide group to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 2016. The mission is to honor and raise awareness of the public value of historic preservation and to unify, diversify and grow the preservation community to continue it for the next fifty years. Partners and collaborators include private sector leaders in preservation, public agencies and national, tribal, state and local preservation organizations. To learn more visit www.preservation50.org iTREC! The 2015 Iditarod Trail to Every Classroom! (iTREC!) summer workshop will be held on July 27 to 31 at the University of Alaska Anchorage. We ought to take outdoor walks to refresh and raise our spirits by deep breathing in the open air. Luius Annaeus Seneca (c4 B.C.-65 A. D.)