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The Tripod Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance December 2015 Annual meeting At the annual meeting of the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance on December 3rd in Anchorage, the Board elected the following officers for 2016: Judy Bittner, President; Jonathan Sewall, VicePresident, Erin McLarnon, Secretary and Jules Mead, Treasurer. Ballots for the election of board members were also counted at the meeting and the following were elected; Seat A, Kenai Peninsula, Lee Poleske, seat B, Yukon, Richard Burnham, Seat C , At–Large #1, Erin McLarnon , Seat D, Iditarod Trail Committee, Mark Nordman. Among the reports given at the meeting was one by Chugach National Forest representative Karen Kromrey (at right).
Some of the work on the southern trek of the Iditarod Trail on the Kenai Peninsula: trail re-route constructed near Little Bear Creek to mitigate flood damage, trail layout between Victor and Ptarmigan Creek, Primrose Creek bank stabilization and road repair to mitigate current and future flood damage to the Primrose trail head, trail head sites at Vogt Lake, Bear Lake and Nash Road surveyed and plated, awaiting easements from the Department of Natural Resources to finilize plans, trail head designs completed for Vogt Lake, Victor Creek, Nash Road and Bear Lake, continued planning for cooperative project to re-establish a channel of Little Bear Creek, with Cook inlet Aquacultuire, to protect a section of the Iditarod Trail and completed a trail re-route to a more sustainable location and replacement of a bridge on thePrimrose section of the Iditarod Trail.
Trail easement project report: 1,889 miles of state easement, rights-of-way and navigable waters now exist for the 2,107 miles of trail. Management agreements have been completed for six safety cabins located on Department of Natural Resources managed land, two actively used State owned and managed safety cabins, one built by the Alaska Road Commission, were restored. Remainng segments for state and private lands: 210 miles of the Iditarod National Historic Trail do not have easements, 36 miles of which are state lands; 85 miles of the race route do not have easements, 29 miles of which are state lands.
(more on the annual meeting in next month’s newsletter) 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 Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance PO Box 2323, Seward AK 99664 IditarodHTA@gmail.com http://www.Iditarod100.org Alaska members who apply for their 2016 Permanent Fund dividend online can donate part or all of it to the Alliance through the 2016 Pick. Click. Give Program.
Tripod, December 2015 From the past… “Fairbanks Daily News Miner” December 28, 1917 IDITAROD NEWS IS REPORTED BY DEPUTY MARSHAL From Deputy Marshal G. G. Geraghty, of Iditarod, the marshal’s office today received the following interesting report of happenings and conditions there: Flat, Alaska. Oct. 31, 1917. Hon. L. T. Erwen, United States Marshal, Fairbanks, Alaska Sir: As no mail left here since the close of the month of September I shall make report of general conditions in this precinct for the two months together. The following occurrences are considered as being worthy of mention: Births Sept.__, a boy, to Mr. and Mrs. Arne Erickson; Oct. 5, a boy, to Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Strandburg; Oct. 6, a boy, to Mr. and Mrs. Cyril P. Wood; Oct. 8, a boy, to Mr. and Mrs. Emil Jensen. Deaths Celia Ebana, wife of James Ebana.
Died of tuberculosis, Oct. 10; Dave Ray, at McGrath, October 27th, caused by fall of 50 feet from wireless pole in course of construction; Charles Smith, an oldtimer on Bear creek, is reported as having died some time in September after 14 days of intense suffering, caused by bladder trouble. Marriages Harry Harms, chef at the Yukon Gold Company’s mess house, and Mrs. Johanna Letnea, on October 7. Roads and Trails The Yukon Gold Company’s new tractor road from their power house on the Iditarod river, to Flat, a distance of approximately 9 miles, has been completed, and their new steam tractor is marking time awaiting the freeze-up. They expect to use 12 bobsleds with four cords of 4-foot wood to the sled, and make two trips per day. They use approximately 7,500 cords of wood per annum. The trails are still in bad condition, as we have had very little snow.
This season the trail will go as it did last season. i.e., via Dikeman, Tolstoy and Ophir. Sundry The river closed here October 28th, which is considered rather late for this section of the country. As yet there is no signs of game, rabbits, ptarmigans, etc., in this section; neither is there evidence of any fur-bearing animals. Practically no game killed here this season. Twitchell, the reindeer man, just arrived with 100 head of reindeer for the market. He has about 1,000 more now grazing around the foot hills of Crater mountain. Capitol Christmas Tree by Caitlan Dowling Every year, a different National Forest is selected to provide the Christmas tree that will be lit on the lawn of the U. S. Capitol. This year’s Capitol Christmas Tree or “The People’s Tree” came from the Chugach National Forest. The tree that was selected was just outside of Seward, Alaska near the Iditarod Trail.
Present at the official cutting ceremony were Bureau of Land Management Administrator Kevin Keeler, Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance President Judy Bittner, and youth Caitlan Dowling (above). The tree traveled to Anchorage by truck, by boat to Seattle and then was taken across the country to Washington D. C. by truck, stopping at communities along the way. The tree was lit on December 2nd. Among the decorations on the tree, were Iditarod National Historic Trail logos, provided by the Alliance. (at left). More information is available at www.capitalchristmastree.com