Articles
In July 2025, Brandon Calhoun officially became the new Harbormaster for the City & Borough of Sitka. Previously, Calhoun served as the Harbor Maintenance Supervisor. Sitka welcomes Mike Martello as the new Harbor Maintenance Supervisor.
For the 30-year-old Eliason Harbor (built in 1996, with a second phase in 1998), Sitka received grant funding from the State of Alaska. The 2025 state harbor matching grant is dedicated to the $1.1 million project, specifically to “general electrical maintenance and float repair, the goal being to extend the life of the harbor,” acknowledges Calhoun. Richard I. Eliason Sr. Harbor is the furthest north of Sitka’s harbors.
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1993. That was the year that Lee Hanson, fresh out of Sitka High School, raised his first boats at Crescent Harbor and Thomsen Harbor.
While these were relatively straightforward operations, since the boats actually went down “in harbor” this was still a significant landmark – or watermark – for young Hanson.
But the first whispers of what would become his obsession with marine salvage actually began even earlier, in 1984, when the self-described “local boy” became a Certified Scuba Diver.
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Rafe Hanson was born and raised in Sitka. He attended a private Seventh-day Adventist school before earning his GED. His father is Salvage Master Lee Hanson. “I have grown up my entire life in that industry. I’ve worked on my dad’s current tugboat, and he taught me commercial diving.”
That background is closely tied to the subjects he photographs. His work focuses largely on landscapes and seascapes, along with documenting commercial fishing. Hanson has photographed throughout Southeast Alaska, including Baranof Island and Chichagof Island – places he describes simply as “the gorgeous tract of public lands we get to call our backyard.”
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A Timeline with Selected Highlights
“The Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) was founded in 1912 at a meeting held in the office of W. G. Beatty, General Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Alaska. This meeting was a landmark in the history of American Natives, the aboriginal inhabitants of North America. Twelve Southeast Alaska men and one woman are known as the organizers and founders of ANB. They acted in response to the growing sense of frustration felt by the Natives of Alaska”
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In 2026, Eliason Harbor will be approaching its 30-year lifespan. Built in 1996 (with a second phase in 1998), Richard I. Eliason Sr. Harbor is the furthest north of Sitka’s harbors.
The Harbor Department did not receive the hoped-for federal funding from the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PDIP), for which they applied in 2024.
However, Harbormaster Stan Eliason thinks they will get State of Alaska funding. With an application submitted in July of 2024, “It looks like they will fund the $1.1 million project,” which would involve “electrical upgrades and dock upgrades at Eliason Harbor.”
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Sitka photographer Bobbi Jordan’s name for her photo on the cover of the 2025 Sitka Harbor Guide is Orca Dreams. The photo was taken by Jordan in Glacier Bay, Alaska in May of 2023.
Jordan tells a tale of how she and Lyle Sparrowgrove, despite being long-time Sitkans, had never visited Glacier Bay. In 2023, the couple took a seven-day Alaskan Dream Cruise.
“We went with the intent that I could photograph as much as possible with no interruptions (no dogs, etc.). The experience itself was amazing since it was our first time there, in spite of having lived here forever.” The day when the photo was taken was “a whole amazing day, Orcas swimming along with the boat, the light, everything.”
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Sitka is in the midst of a multi-year effort to develop a comprehensive adaptation plan centered on its fishing community.
The project is being led locally by Linda Behnken and Natalie Sattler of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association and the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust. The two Sitka-based organizations frequently collaborate to strengthen fisheries and fishing communities through research, education, economic opportunity, and community engagement.
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The Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT) is a non-profit organization based in Sitka that strengthens Alaska fishing communities through research, education, and economic opportunity.
ASFT and its partner organization, the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), promote sustainable fisheries and thriving fishing communities through initiatives which aim to: Increase resident access to local fisheries, Promote collaborative research and stewardship, Foster energy efficiency and independence, Support workforce development, and Increase food security.
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The Sitka Harbor Dept. did not receive federal “Port Infrastructure Development Program” (PDIP) grant funding in 2023, so “We are re-applying again in 2024,” says Harbormaster Stan Eliason. Grant results will not be known until fall, 2024.
These funds would be used to upgrade electrical systems at Eliason Harbor. “The pilings have 22 years of life left,” said Eliason, who would like to get “at least 20 years of life from the electrical system. In a perfect world, the pilings, electrical and everything else would have the same service life expectancy.”
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Ask any Sitkan – or indeed, any Alaskan (especially fishermen and mariners) — if they have heard of NOAA, and they will likely respond with a light in their eyes and a nod of their heads.
The acronym “NOAA” stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This federal agency was organized in 1970 under the US Department of Commerce.
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My month on the NOAAS Oceanographer (R 101) in the South Pacific was indeed most memorable. I still have my file from that adventure, which was in the late 1980s, maybe 1987 or ‘88.
The USPHS called for volunteer physicians from the Commissioned Corps and the Clinical Director at Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital where I served in Sitka approved my TDY.
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Imagine: You pilot your boat quietly into a secluded bay, savoring the perfect reflection of the shoreline mirrored in the still surface.
The only sound is the swish of water along the hull. You step out onto the back deck and take a deep breath of clear crisp air—ahh, clean and quiet! Wait…no engine rumble echoing off the forested shore?
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Electric cars are increasingly commonplace these days. And electric trucks – including models from Ford, GMC, and dedicated EV manufacturer Rivian – are finally rolling off the assembly line. But what about boats?
Small electrically powered boats have actually existed for over one hundred years! Larger vessels such as emissions-free commercial ferries — pioneered in Scandinavia — have been silently sailing the seas for at least 7 years now, in a variety of configurations and stages of conversion. Norway’s Yara Birkeland – the world’s first fully electric and autonomous container ship – entered service in spring of 2022.
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I’ve been fascinated by the view of the historic Fisherman’s Quay building with the boats moored out front and the Sisters Mountains looming above. It is challenging because of the scale of the mountains and the way the light flattens the buildings.
I’ve worked on different versions many times and about ten years ago finally felt that I did justice to the scene. I’ve known and loved (the boat’s late skipper) Larry Calvin for years because of his delightful nature and tireless support of this wonderful Tongass forest where we have both been fortunate to spend our time.
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The Sitka Harbor Department’s plans for 2023 include, first and foremost, replacement/repair of Eliason Harbor’s electrical infrastructure.
Says Harbormaster Stan Eliason, “This is a high priority, and we are currently in the midst of applying for a federal grant for the project. We should hear back by October of this year.” Funds are to be obligated by September 30, 2026, and expended within five years of obligation.
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The foremost expert on the topic of fishing and sustainability in Southeast Alaska might just be Sitka’s own Linda Behnken. Many in the state – and the country – would agree with this assessment. As a longtime commercial fisherman, executive director of The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) and “birth mother” of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT), Behnken carries a lot of street – or wave – cred.
Behnken sees two significant challenges to sustainability. The first – and perhaps most daunting – of these is Climate Change.
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Beth Short-Rhoads – Fish to Families and Schools
Coral Pendell – Keeping the Boat “in Good Trim”
Renee Trafton – Unconventional Taste of Southeast Alaska
Louise Brady – Protecting the Foundation of Life and Home
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For 20 years Matt Goff has been adding to his website SitkaNature.org. In that time he has shared many thousands of nature photos he’s taken around Sitka.
Anything in the natural world can catch Matt’s focus – including the weather, rocks and the stunning scenery Sitkans are lucky to experience. He especially loves to photograph the wide variety of life found in Sitka’s marine and terrestrial habitats. He’s taken pictures of more than 2,500 species in the area so far and says he’s “got many more to go!”.
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“What’s on our radar for repair and replacement is Eliason Harbor Electrical,” says Sitka Harbormaster Stan Eliason. “Electrical replacement needs to be done and could take as much as $5 million. It is a serious need, but it’s difficult to say when it’s actually going to happen.”
Eliason is still planning on replacing the Fishermen’s Work Float. “That is a pretty critical piece of infrastructure, to get the fishermen back out there and fishing.” Eliason explains that the work float is a Tier II grant, while Tier I grants get priority.
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Sitka is located on Baranof Island… in the heart of the Tongass National Forest, the largest temperate rain forest in the world… Access to Sitka is by air or water only. While an influx of Russian Traders and American colonists in the 18th and 19th centuries has resulted in a mixed citizenry, the total Tlingit population has now rebounded…
The mission of the Kayaaní Commission is to preserve our spiritual way of life. The religion of the Tlingit was the Earth. The Tlingit are one with the Earth. (We are) here to preserve and protect traditional ways of our ancestral knowledge.
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