SITKA Administrative History

Aerial view of Sitka, July 9, 1965. Sitka National Monument is at the top of the photograph. (Photo courtesy of the Office of History and Archaeology, Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation)

Overview

This section treats events of the last twenty years, from 1966 to 1986. It includes a discussion of the creation of Sitka National Historical Park in 1972 that incorporated the monument property and added the Russian Bishop's House. Following completion of the visitor center, park staff began interpretation programs that included the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center, an outgrowth of a Native arts program at Sitka sponsored by the Board of Indian Arts and Crafts, U.S. Department of the Interior. The addition of the Russian Bishop's House expanded the values that the park commemorated to include the Russians in North America.

The changing context

In January 1966, Sitka's Saint Michael's Cathedral, one of few remaining structures built by the Russians in North America, burned. This disaster jolted Alaskans to recognize how few properties remained from the area's colonial past. At the same time, Alaskans were planning celebrations to commemorate the centennial of the purchase of Alaska by the United States from Russia. A few years later, in 1969, Atlantic Richfield Company discovered a rich oil field at Prudhoe Bay in northern Alaska. People recognized that Alaska would change rapidly.

Simultaneously, the National Park Service was becoming more involved with historic and urban parks. Residents of the United States were undertaking projects to celebrate the nation's bicentennial. Increased attention was focused on the past and preserving evidences of it. In 1966, Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act. The act expanded the National Register of Historic Places and provided grant funds and later tax credits to encourage preservation, restoration, and adaptive re-use of historic structures.

In 1971, Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Section 17(d)(2) of this act directed the Secretary of the Interior to study Alaska's federally-managed lands for possible designation as national parks, monuments, forests, wild and scenic rivers, and wildlife refuges. Nine years later, in 1980, Congress used the studies as the basis for the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. This act classified more than 100 million acres of Alaska lands in 36 federal areas as parks, refuges, and other national conservation system units. About forty percent of the land became part of the national park system. The National Park Service operations in Alaska expanded to fifteen administrative units that included scenic, scientific, cultural, and recreational areas and properties. As units statewide and staffs at the units grew, the Alaska Area Office at Anchorage became the Alaska Regional Office.

Expansion of the monument

Sitka residents became interested in preserving its historic buildings and interpreting the community's history early in the 1960s. They hoped to increase tourism to their town, and began elaborate preparations to celebrate the Alaska purchase centennial in 1967. A major waterfront redevelopment program was carried out in 1964. After the January 2, 1966, fire that destroyed the Russian Orthodox cathedral and three other historic structures in downtown Sitka, community members and city officials began to work with the National Park Service to plan for preservation and perhaps, reconstruction, of buildings to commemorate Sitka's long, rich history. The San Francisco Service Center conducted a field study at Sitka in 1967. In October of that year, George B. Hartzog, Jr., Director of the National Park Service, and the assistant and regional directors met with Alaska's Governor Walter J. Hickel and discussed the service's interests in the state. The possible expansion of Sitka National Monument was one of the topics discussed. [288]

Theodosius, the Russian Orthodox Bishop of Sitka, met with representatives of the National Park Service in San Francisco in February 1968. At that meeting he expressed the need for assistance from the National Park Service to preserve the historic sites and buildings in church ownership at Sitka. That spring, groups such as the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce were approached to support the idea.

The same year the National Park Service published Sitka Alter natives Study. The report considered three possible courses of action regarding Sitka National Monument. The first was no new acquisitions; the park service would cooperate with other managers of historic properties at Sitka. The second was to acquire the Russian Mission, as the Russian Bishop's House was then called. The final alternative was to acquire the Russian Mission and the reconstructed blockhouse in downtown Sitka. At the blockhouse site, the plan called for construction of a complex of buildings that recreated a part of Russian Sitka. Proposed structures at the site included a section of the palisade, the blockhouse, the Native Russian Orthodox Chapel, and Native cultural structures including a small log school and community house. The study team recommended the third alternative. It also supported redesignating the monument, which was created by presidential proclamation, a national historical park, a category created by Congress.

The study argued for acquisition of the Russian Bishop's House because it was the most important remaining Russian-built structure at Sitka. The owner, the Russian Orthodox Church, was not financially able to provide the desperately needed stabilization work. The State of Alaska did not appear to be in a position to preserve the building. If it did not become public property, the authors of the study argued, the building would probably be destroyed.

A city-sponsored plan, Sitka Historical Sites--A Plan for Redevelopment, was adopted in 1969. It endorsed the alternatives study prepared by the National Park Service. The city's plan also recommended that the National Park Service manage Castle Hill and Old Sitka historic sites, properties at that time part of the Alaska State Park system. [289]

These two plans were presented to Alaska's congressional delegation. In 1971, Senator Ted Stevens introduced S1497 concerning additions to Sitka National Monument. Representative Nick Begich introduced a similar bill in the house, HR5803. The bills proposed acquiring the Russian Bishop's House. The block house acquisition was not part of the introduced legislation. The City of Sitka, Sitka Historical Society, and the Alaska Historical Society expressed strong support for the bills. Sitka National Monument Superintendent Daniel R. Kuehn traveled to Washington, D.C. , where he testified at Congressional hearings on the proposed legislation. [290]

Public Law 92-501 was signed by President Richard M. Nixon on Alaska Day, October 18, 1972. Sitka National Monument was redesignated Sitka National Historical Park. The law also enlarged the fort site unit to include the city and state tidelands and a strip of land along Sawmill Creek Road, although the park did not own the lands. Finally, Congress appropriated funds for the National Park Service to purchase the Russian Bishop's House. The act stated that acquisition of the house was for the purpose of "commemorating czarist Russia's exploration and colonization of Alaska. . . . " [291] Transfer of ownership was finalized in 1973 after satisfactory resolution of a civil suit brought against the Orthodox Church in America concerning two feet of land on the west end of the property. [292] The park service paid $106,000 for the land and buildings at the site.

The National Park Service acquired the lot, the house, and two small structures, a school built in 1897 and a residence built in 1887. Several years later, in 1976, the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska of the Orthodox Church in America signed an agreement providing for donation or permanent loan to the National Park Service of church objects in the buildings. For its part, the National Park Service agreed to care for and store the loaned items and to permit the Church to use the chapel in the Russian Bishop's House on certain liturgical occasions.

The reconstructed blockhouse in downtown Sitka was not mentioned in the law. Efforts to transfer management responsibility to the State of Alaska failed, as did attempts to get ownership of land transferred to the park service from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The park service continued to have the responsibility for maintaining the site. Its officials continued to recommend that the site be transferred to state ownership.

The 1972 legislation was important not only for the property and money it added to the Sitka facility, but also because it gave Congressional sanction to a park system unit created by presidential proclamation.

Staff

Park historian William T. Ingersoll left Sitka in the fall of 1966. Another historian, Raymond Geerdes, succeeded him and stayed until 1968. With the appointment of Daniel R. Kuehn in 1969 the park was soon to again have a superintendent. Appointed to oversee Sitka as an historian, Kuehn was designated superintendent when Regional Director John A. Rutter split the management of Glacier Bay and Sitka National Monuments.

During Kuehn's tenure a number of significant artifacts were added to Sitka National Historical Park's collections. These included the Herring Rock Robe, a collection of 136 spruce root baskets, 200 of E.W. Merrill's glass plate negatives, and Katlean's hammer. Kuehn also obtained the permanent loan of a number of Coho Clan artifacts including a 12-foot totem, a Chilkat robe and suit, and a large carved frog.

Like his predecessors and successors, Kuehn was active in the Sitka community. He helped to found the Sitka Ninth Infantry, which paraded in authentic uniforms made by the Harpers Ferry Center. The group was a popular feature of historical ceremonies such as those held annually on Alaska Day, October 18. Adopted into the Kiksadi Clan, Kuehn also held leadership posts in the Alaska Native Brotherhood, the Chamber of Commerce, the Sierra Club, the Sitka Historical Society, and the Sitka Rotary Club. [293]

Geerdes had hired Ellen Hope Lang (later Hays), a Sitka resident and Tlingit, to work at the park. Lang was an employee at the park for almost 10 years. After a brief interlude in 1973 when Vernon Ruesch served as superintendent, Lang became the park superintendent. She held that position until 1978 when she accepted a position in the Alaska Regional Office of the National Park Service at Anchorage as Native liaison, from which she has since retired. In addition to her park duties, Lang was active in community and statewide historical and cultural groups. On April 17, 1967, she became the first woman member of the Alaska Native Brotherhood, a southeast Alaska Native organization founded in 1912. From 1975 to 1981 she was a member of the State Historic Sites Advisory Committee for historic preservation, and from 1972 to 1978 a member and president of the Alaska Humanities Forum state committee. Her other community activities included the Board of Trustees for Sheldon Jackson College and the Central Council, Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. After retiring from the National Park Service, Hays continued her involvement with Sitka National Historical Park by assuming a leadership role with the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center.

Susan Edelstein followed Lang as superintendent from 1978 to 1980. During Edelstein's tenure, Gary J. Candelaria accepted the position of Chief Interpreter and Park Ranger. Formally trained as a forester at Oregon State University, Candelaria started working for the National Park Service in 1975 at Saratoga National Historical Park in New York. In 1977 he transferred to Ozark National Scenic Riverways Park in Missouri. There he decided that he wanted to work at a historic site and at a small park. The Sitka opening appealed to him, he applied, and in March 1979 started working at the park. He has been active in several of the historical groups at Sitka; serving on the board and as president of Sitka Historical Society, as branch manager of the Alaska Natural History Association, and most recently, as part of the group to plan activities at Sitka to commemorate the bicentennial of the signing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

The present superintendent, Ernest J. Suazo, came to Sitka National Historical Park in October 1980. Prior to working at Sitka, Suazo had been in the National Park Service's management training program in Washington, D.C. There he carried out several special assignments. Earlier, Suazo worked as an administrative officer at Dinosaur National Monument and Chamizal National Memorial. The stability of the staff during the recent years of the park's history has been important for the park, especially for providing continuity in the Russian Bishop's House restoration project

In contrast, there has been frequent turnover of project supervisors for the Russian Bishop's House restoration project. Staff from Denver Service Center, the Alaska Regional Office, and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park at Skagway have had leadership responsibilities for phases of the Russian Bishop's House restoration and leadership responsibilities have shifted as well. One individual, Gene Ervine, initially worked on the project as a laborer. He became involved with the Russian Bishop's House again as part of the Park Service's Harpers Ferry Center where the interpretive exhibits are being designed and built.

Throughout the contemporary period, the park participated in a variety of intern programs with the local schools to provide training for students and to obtain workers at the park. In addition, the park staff accepted a number of people given Alternative Sentencing by local courts. In 1982, for example, these programs involved 54 people who performed 1.93 work years of labor at the park.

Visitation

Seventy to eighty percent of 1960s visitors to Sitka National Monument/Historical Park came on cruise ships between May and October. [294] In 1967 the first jet airline service direct from Sitka to Anchorage and Seattle became available. The superintendent noted in his monthly report for June 1967 that the airline service increased park visitation. [295] (That year was also the Alaska purchase centennial and tourism figures were higher throughout the state.) About the same time, the state started its Marine Highway ferry system. During the past twenty years, visitation at the park as well as to Alaska has boomed. In 1985 a record 121,067 people visited the park. [296]

Most park visitors were on half-day tours of Sitka and their visit to the park was 25 to 30 minutes. The visitor center be came the focus of most people's visit to the park. Few actually got out into the park. [297]

Administrative issues

Under terms of the statehood act tidelands, except within city boundaries, became the property of the State of Alaska. Part of the visitors center had been built on property not owned by the National Park Service. Some of the land belonged to the City of Sitka. The other part belonged to the state. Park service personnel sought long-term leases to the tidelands and definition of its water rights to Indian River to protect the park's resources. In the 1972 legislation, Congress defined these areas as within the park. The law expressly prohibited the park from purchasing public property. The land could be donated to the federal government, however.

The City of Sitka granted the park a 55-year lease at minimal cost, $1.00 per year, to the 1.61 acres of tidelands it managed that were adjacent to the park on July 29, 1964. The lease was amended on December l, 1964, to correct the termination date of the lease to August 1, 2019, instead of 2119. A new lease was signed on March 28, 1972, to conform to new boundaries. It en compassed and slightly enlarged the first lease. The revised 55-year lease was for 69,943 square feet of tidelands and will terminate on March 28, 2027. [298

In 1964 the park staff approached state officials about transferring ownership of Lots 5 and 6, USS 3695 on the east boundary of the park that belonged to the state. No action on the request has been taken. Most of the land was within the Sawmill Creek Road right-of-way and development of the strip is extremely doubtful. At the same time the park applied to the state for a long-term lease to the tidelands adjacent to the park. In 1967 the park service arranged for a cadastral survey of the tidelands in question, required before the lease could be processed. The purpose of the lease was "to prevent further change in the salmon spawning habitat, to protect the Monument from any stream course change that would result in extensive erosion, and to preserve the historic scene commemorated there." [299] The lease of the state tidelands adjacent to the park was finalized on December 10, 1971, shortly after the state received title to the land. The park received a 55-year lease at $1.00 per year to 47.915 acres of tidelands adjacent to Sitka National Monument as described on Alaska Tidelands Survey 649, approved September 24, 1971. At that time the purpose of the lease was said to be to provide tidelands adjoining the Lark for recreational use and preservation of a historic site. [300] This lease was revised on March 22, 1973, when the National Park Service applied to construct a breakwater along the beach. The state had no objection. This lease will expire on March 21, 2028.

Planning

In addition to coping with the day-to-day pragmatic administrative issues, planning for the park's future also demanded the Sitka park service staff's attention. As described above, the National Park Service conducted several studies of the monument and other historic resources in Sitka during the late 1960s and early 1970s. These studies led to the park service acquisition of the Russian Bishop's House and redesignation of the monument as a historical park in 1972.

Shortly after acquisition of the Russian Bishop's House, a National Park Service planning team began developing a general interpretive plan for the Sitka park. Members of the planning team included Ellen Hope Lang (later Hays), Superintendent, and Ken Adkisson, Park Ranger, at Sitka; Tom Ritter, Interpretive Specialist from the Alaska Regional Office; James T. "Rocky" Richardson, Regional Chief of Interpretation, Pacific Northwest Regional Office; Donn Follows, Interpretive Planner, and Jean Swearingen, Interpretive Planner, from Denver Service Center. The final plan was approved and printed in October 1976.

The park's resource preservation management objective, as stated in the plan, was "To preserve the decisive battleground site of the Russian conquest of Alaska in 1804 and of the cultural resources, historic objects, and artifacts of the native Tlingit-Kiksadi Indians as well as the Russian colonization." [301] Exhibits and programs at the park were to interpret Tlingit culture, European culture and interest in Alaska that led to the 1804 battle, the battle, and the results of the battle. The Russian Bishop's House was to be restored. Its role in the park's interpretation was poorly defined because restoration work was just beginning.

Because the Russian Bishop's House was not incorporated into the 1976 study, an addendum to the plan was prepared in 1979. A cooperative team that included several members of the earlier planning effort participated. The members of the 1979 team included Susan Edelstein, Superintendent, Sitka National Historical Park; Jean Swearingen, Denver Service Center; Cliff Soubier, Harpers Ferry Center; James T. "Rocky" Richardson, Pacific Northwest Regional Office; and Robert Foster, Alaska Regional Office. As a result of their meeting at the park, the team issued an addendum to the 1976 plan.

The 1979 plan stated that the historic fabric of the Russian Bishop's House would not be compromised. The integrity of the building to the period of restoration, 1843-1853, would be maintained. The addendum recommended that the visitor center house Tlingit interpretive exhibits and the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center. The European period materials would be moved to the Russian Bishop's House. The plan also recommended interpretive signs for the trail through the park and a wayside exhibit shelter that, ideally, would be near the city dock and the Russian Bishop's House.

The park service managers felt that the two planning efforts needed to be integrated to achieve a cohesive park-wide interpretive program. A planning team of specialists from Harpers Ferry Center, key staff of the Sitka park, and an interpretive specialist from the Alaska Regional office met at Sitka in June 1981. By this time restoration work on the Russian Bishop's House had progressed far enough that it was time to address the interpretive exhibits in the house and to begin to plan to rehabilitate the exhibits in the visitor center.

As a result of the June meeting, Harpers Ferry Center issued an interpretive prospectus for the Sitka park in October 1981. This report resolved several issues concerning adaptive re-use of the Russian Bishop's House. It also blended the programs of the visitor center and the Russian Bishop's House. The park's expanded theme was to explore the relationship of Russian and Tlingit cultures with the natural environment of Sitka. Five areas would be developed: Tlingit culture, Russian exploration and colonization, the Russian Orthodox Church, the clash of cultures, and the perpetuation of Tlingit culture and art. [302] The plan detailed the interpretive program for the Russian Bishop's House. The constraints of the building size, anticipated traffic pattern, and preservation requirements dictated a limited interpretive program. The exterior and second floor of the Russian Bishop's House would be restored and furnished to the 1853-1867 period. The dates of interpretation were changed to associate the building with Ivan Veniaminov (later Saint Innocent) who was not associated with the earlier period. The first floor interpretation would have text, graphics, and artifacts. The report stressed that the structure was an artifact itself and should be treated as such. New exhibits would be designed for the visitors center. The auditorium would be where all films, slide shows, and public programs would be held. [303]

In 1982 the Sitka park staff began preparing a land protection plan that was mandated for each unit of the National Park Service that had private or non-federal land or interest in land within its authorized boundary. The Sitka park's land protection plan was formally approved on April 15, 1985. The plan defined four resource management and visitor use objectives. The first was to preserve and protect natural and cultural resources in the park. The second was to preserve and maintain a safe, clean, accessible, and interesting park for visitors. The third and fourth were to promote understanding of the history and culture of the Tlingits (including the contemporary people) and the Russians. The plan's first land protection priority was for acquisition of the private property adjacent to the Russian Bishop's House to prevent development that would intrude upon and detract from the site. The second priority was acquisition of Lots 5 and 6 owned by the State of Alaska on the northeast boundary of the park. The park was prohibited by Public Law 92-501, the 1972 law that expanded the park, from acquiring state or municipal land except through donation. Although not a land protection issue, the plan recommended that the blockhouse site be transferred to the State of Alaska. [304]

Recently, a draft Resource Management Plan for the park has been developed. The purpose of this planning effort was to provide guidelines, directions, and rationales for preservation and management actions at the park. Eleven park issues were identified and discussed in the draft plan. In priority listing of importance, the issues were: (1) preservation of the 1804 fort site, (2) Indian River water allocation, (3) preservation of the park's totem poles, (4) historic collections, (5) preservation of the 1804 battle site, (6) acquisition of artifacts and archival materials, (7) preservation of House 105, (8) preservation of Old School, (9) erosion control adjacent to the visitor center, (10) controlling the spruce aphids, and (11) the Russian blockhouse. Alaska Regional Office notes indicated that the first issue, bank erosion threatening the 1804 fort site, had been resolved and should be eliminated from the final version of the plan. [305]

Ideally, this series of plans addressing interpretation programs, land protection, and long-range issues should guide the park in the coming years. For the first time, the park has defined, in writing, its goals, objectives, and prioritized issues.

Public involvement and reaction to the park

Sitka residents have mixed feelings toward the national park. They are and have been interested in attracting tourists and consider the park and its programs excellent visitor attractions. When the blockhouse at the park was torn down Sitkans protested to the park service for reconstruction of another blockhouse. Residents, community groups, and the city government supported enlarging the park in the early 1970s. After the park acquired the Russian Bishop's House, however, the city denied park service applications to close Monastery Street and provide easements. Later, when city residents saw the galleries on the house redone to correct the unacceptable shrinkage of wood, some complained about how their tax dollars were being spent. Yet they are pleased that the building has been saved and is being restored. Many toured the building during the special Alaska Day festivities held at the house the past several years. Few Sitka residents have taken sides on the Indian River water rights issue.

Visitor center and fort site

Shortly after the visitor center opened in 1965, permanent interpretive exhibits relating to the Tlingits, Russians, and the battle that the park commemorates, were placed in one wing of the building. Reginald Butcher from the Western Museum Laboratory and Edward Pilley from the Western Regional Office spent two weeks in March 1966 installing the exhibits. Sheldon Jackson Museum loaned the park 25 Tlingit pieces that were used in the display. These pieces will be returned to the museum when the new exhibits are installed in the visitor center. The park service staff hosted a preview of the exhibits for local Tlingits who provided information. A total of 842 people, most of whom were Sitka residents, attended the open house at the park the weekend after the exhibits were installed. [306] Shortly after she began working at the park in 1969, Ellen Hope Lang arranged for three local Tlingit clans to indefinitely but conditionally loan the park seven houseposts, a totem pole, a carved frog totem, dance robes, and other ceremonial clothing and objects. These pieces were placed on exhibit in the visitor center. After Sheldon Jackson Museum became the property of the State of Alaska in 1985, the museum loaned all of the Russian pieces in its collection to the park. A few are currently on display; others will become part of the Russian Bishop's House exhibits.

Visitor Center, Sitka National Historical Park, 1983. (National Park Service photo)

As the Alaska Native people became more politically active following passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971 and as people became more sensitive to objective interpretations of history, particularly with respect to ethnic minorities in the United States, the Sitka visitor center exhibits were revised. In 1978 the exhibit titled "The Massacre at Old Sitka--1802" was changed to "The Destruction of Old Sitka--1802" to be less one-sided. [307] In 1979 the park contracted with Andrew Hope, a Sitka Tlingit, to write a manuscript about the totem poles at the park. Marilyn R. Knapp used the material compiled by Hope to write Carved History, the Totem Poles & House Posts of Sitka National Historical Park that was published by the Alaska Natural History Association for the park in 1983. Harpers Ferry Center designed new exhibits for the visitor center that will be in stalled in 1988.

In 1979 the park staff, with counsel from Denver Service Center and Harpers Ferry Center, established the park's policy regarding collections of artifacts and manuscripts. Although not actively collecting, the park had acquired a collection of artifacts and archival materials. There were 492 pieces for the Tlingit fort site and Redoubt St. Michael (Old Sitka) site. The latter site was excavated during the 1930s. Objects recovered included iron nails and spikes, tools and pieces of tools, ceramic fragments, bricks, and charcoal. The park also had a collection of 136 Indian baskets.

The collections policy stated that the park would conserve Native and Russian objects as opposed to restoring them. Major additions to the collection were not necessary. The park would accept donations, and on occasion, long term loan of items relating directly to the 1804 battle, items of Tlingit or Russian culture not represented in the park's collection, and items relating to the 1867 transfer of Alaska and the influence of American occupation on the Tlingits and the Russians. The policy statement suggested that the artifacts from the archeological sites (including excavations at the Russian Bishop's House) not selected for display be placed in storage or, in the case of the materials from Redoubt St. Michael, be turned over to the State of Alaska. During 1984, 1985, and 1986 the park received funding to work on the collections. More than 1,000 artifacts were cataloged and their condition assessed.

An addition to the visitor center for storage and exhibit of 12 totem poles was proposed by the park staff in 1979. The room was to hold 11 of the park's original totem poles and one totem carved as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps project during the 1930s. In the proposal the staff argued that a climate-controlled environment was needed to preserve the poles. [308] Funds for the addition were not forthcoming. Instead, a storage shed behind the visitor center was constructed. A maintenance building was built behind the visitor center in 1978. It had a shop and garage on the first floor, and storage and museum office on the second floor.

The wooden footbridge over Indian River had been destroyed by the river in 1961. Responding to "numerous complaints," a new footbridge was designed by Romaine Hardcastle and built by the Neighborhood Youth Corps. On August 9, ten days after the footbridge was completed, a log jam broke in the river above the bridge and tore the bridge out. [309] The present park footbridge, built of wood and concrete, that spans Indian River was constructed in 1968. In 1980 a new trail, called the "Battleground Trail," was added in the park. It went around the edge of the 1804 battle site. Employees hired under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) "loaned" to the park service from the U.S. Forest Service built the trail. Alaska Lumber and Pulp Company at Sitka donated the wood chips for the trail. To emphasize their importance to the park, the Tlingit fort site and the battle site were landscaped that same year. The fort site area was scarred from the trenches dug in 1970 for the totem pole treatment program. Park staff coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Officer who concurred with the park service's determination that the landscaping would not adversely impact the site. [310] Also in 1980, the park had a physical fitness trail in stalled on the north side trail.

Storm damage and erosion

Over the last twenty years, several storms have damaged the park's trails. An usually fierce storm on Thanksgiving Day, 1984, cause an estimated $8,000 damage to the trails. Most recently, a storm early in 1987 damaged the trail and knocked down a number of trees in the park.

Erosion continued to threaten several of the park's resources. Offshore gravel-dredging operations in Sitka Sound, described in the preceding chapters, continued intermittently until 1978. In 1979 the owner of a trailer court just north of the park illegally put fill into Indian River to enlarge the size of his property. In 1980 he sought a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the action. Park service personnel objected to is suing the permit and argued that the action had accelerated erosion of the bank where the fort site was located. In 1981 the Corps of Engineers ordered the fill removed because the permitting process was not followed. The trailer court owner ignored the order. The results of all these actions was that the river established a meander that intensified erosion of the bank adjacent to the Kiksadi fort site. The rate of erosion was two to eight feet annually. The park service's objections did prevent the several proposed gravel and sand operations for tideland areas near the park from receiving permits. [311]

The Sitka Native community wrote to the park superintendent about the erosion threat to the fort site in 1980 and again in 1982. In his 1982 letter, Frank O. Williams, Jr., President of the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center Board of Directors, expressed the opinion that the original purpose of the park, to commemorate the 1804 battle, was being ignored. He acknowledged that the money for the Russian Bishop's House was needed to prevent the loss of the structure and that the park service had new parks to administer at the same time that the erosion problem became acute. Nevertheless, he appealed for action to preserve the fort site. [312] Sitka park service personnel asked for assistance. In 1982 Denver Service Center staff conducted an erosion control study. Various alternatives to control the problem were considered.

The alternative preferred by the National Park Service, protective rip-rap placed 50 percent in the river and 50 percent on the river bank aroused objections by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. That department wanted all rip-rap placed on the river bank. Its preferred stabilization method however, was the use of vertical steel sheet piling. Park service officials opposed the piling on the grounds that it would be unsightly, that bank soils could not adequately support it, and that it would provide only marginal and essentially unmeasurable benefit to spawning salmon, the vast majority of which spawned upstream of the proposed rip-rap. In the end, Coastal Zone Management staff in the Office of Governor ruled in favor of the alternative preferred by the National Park Service.

In June 1985 contractors installed 4,600 cubic yards of toed-in armor shot-rock rip-rap and backfill along the river bank for stabilization. In his annual report for that year Superintendent Suazo wrote that the rip-rap replacement represented the "culmination of over 42 years of effort to properly stabilize the banks of the Indian River." [313] The next year 1,300 cubic yards of stones were scattered along the river bank for stabilization.

Water rights

Erosion proved to be less complicated than a Federal Reserved water rights issue challenging the park staff. In 1967 the park formally applied to the State of Alaska for a certificate of appropriation for Indian River instream flows on the basis of recreational use for that portion of the river that flows through the monument. The application asked for enough water for successful salmon spawning runs and aesthetic purposes. The park claimed a priority date of 1890.

No action was taken by the state on the park's application be cause a specific quantity of water was not requested and the stated use was in actuality a non-use, according to the 1966 State of Alaska Water Use Act. The park did not want water rights to divert, impound, or withdraw water, just a guaranteed instream flow. A minimum instream flow estimate of 35 cubic feet per second was proposed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the park service concurred with the figure.

In 1971 the superintendent wrote that the park's amended application had been denied. "The purpose was to assure an adequate water supply to preserve the aesthetics, the historic scene, and the salmon activity, which the river provides. Our application was denied because these are non-consumptive uses.

The City of Sitka uses Indian River for a water supply and Sheldon Jackson College uses it for emergency power generation. There is real danger that their maximum use of the water for these purposes could result in no water flow through the park. [314]

The City and Borough of Sitka received a certificate of appropriation to 3.9 cubic feet per second of water from Indian River. The city's priority date, when it began taking Indian River water, was claimed to be 1914. In 1980, the State of Alaska denied the City and Borough of Sitka's request to increase its allocation of water from Indian River from 2,500,000 gallons (3.9 cubic feet per second) per day to 6,000,000 gallons per day. The reason given was that Indian River did not maintain adequate flow throughout the year to meet currently allocated water rights. Between 1982 and 1985 the City and Borough of Sitka constructed a new primary water line from Blue Lake. Indian River was relegated to a back-up source for the city's water.

Sheldon Jackson College received a certificate of appropriation to use 32,315,800 gallons (50 cubic feet per second) of water from Indian River per day for hydroelectric generation. The college's use of Indian River water for this purpose went back to 1914. In the early 1980s Sheldon Jackson College increased its use of Indian River water, although it did not exceed its state allocation. The college upgraded its dam and hydropower and hatchery intakes on the river. It was not the major upgrade contemplated in 1982, but did require more water. At that time, the college applied to the state for rights to 5 cubic feet per second of Indian River water for the salmon hatchery that had been in operation since 1975. The National Park Service objected, and argued that the college could legally dry up the lower river during certain periods of the year, adversely affecting the natural salmon spawning habitat of the lower river and the recreational and interpretive values of the park. The park service also argued that the college had never been issued a state certificate of appropriation for any water use associated with aquaculture. Its third argument was that the college planned to raise chinook salmon, a species foreign to Indian River and one whose successful rearing would require a large quantity of year round raceway water. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game also objected to the college's application, and it was not acted upon.

The park service appealed the state's 1971 decision not to approve its Federal Reserved water right application after amendments to the State Water Use Act were passed in 1980. Those amendments defined instream use of water as a beneficial use, clearing the way for certificates of appropriation to be issued for the purpose of instream flows of water. The park service argued that the park predated the other users of Indian River water. Its use dated to 1890. The college's hydroelectric system that was constructed in 1929 did not meet the college's current demands for electricity. The park added that the college's aquaculture program only began in 1975. [315]

In 1985 park officials contracted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare a fishery instream flow quantification study that would be used in the adjudication process to determine water rights to Indian River. They also arranged with the Pacific Northwest Region of the National Park Service to prepare a complementary recreation and interpretation instream flow quantification study. The studies will document fishery, recreational, and interpretive values and impacts in the park, with reduced instream flows of Indian River water. However, in 1986 the water rights issue remained unresolved. [316]

Totem pole restoration

The Alaska State Museum, U.S. Forest Service, and Sitka National Monument cooperated in a major totem pole restoration project in 1971. A specialist, Joe W. Clark, from the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin, recommended techniques to arrest decay of the totem poles. [317] At the park, the totems were taken down and treated. They were soaked in a preservative solution. To save money, monument officials allowed treatment pools to be dug on the former Indian fort site.

A program to copy the remaining seven original poles at the park and one of the Civilian Conservation Corps poles began in 1978. The National Park Service's cultural resources cyclic maintenance program provided funding to carve new poles. Carving the first pole cost $4,000; the last $22,000. The totems were carved by Alaska Natives at the park, and the carvers were asked to converse with visitors. The carvers were also required to use hand tools and traditional organic paints. Two poles were carved in 1978, one in 1979, one in 1980, two in 1984, and two in 1986. After the original poles were copied, the staff proposed to dry, treat, and if possible, display them. Facilities to display the original poles were not available, and a proposal to build a suitable area was not funded by the park service. Instead, the poles were placed in storage. At present, nine of the original poles are under partial shelter and one original pole is under full shelter.

In 1979 the park staff decided that they would not have third generation poles carved. They felt that the historic integrity would be lost if copies of copies were carved. They would continue to regularly treat the poles displayed at the park with preservative--a mixture of varnish, paraffin wax, and mineral spirits. As discussed above, the staff requested a controlled environment addition to the visitor center for storage, display, interpretation, and periodic curatorial treatment of the Brady collected poles. [318]

An entirely new pole, the Bicentennial Pole, was added to the park during this recent period. Duane Pasco carved the 27-foot high pole in 1976. It depicts 200 years of Pacific Northwest coast Indian history. The design is in keeping with traditional form and style of Pacific Northwest Coast totemic art. The pole was placed in front of the visitor center. [319]

Russian blockhouse

The reconstructed blockhouse in downtown Sitka continued to be an unresolved resource issue for the park service. At the time it was built in 1960, park service officials recommended that the building be transferred to the State of Alaska or be incorporated into the national monument as a detached unit. [320] In 1964 the Bureau of Land Management gave the state a twenty-year lease to the property. Instead of accepting management, the state proposed that the park service consider expanding in Sitka and take the state's two historic sites there, Old Sitka Site and Castle Hill. The blockhouse was part of the plan proposed by the park service in the late 1960s to create a Blockhouse Hill unit of the park that would encompass 3.28 acres in downtown Sitka and include reconstructions of a portion of the stockade wall, second blockhouse, Native church, and several Tlingit community houses that had stood at Sitka in the 1860s. The blockhouse unit, however, was not included in the 1972 legislation that created the park and added the Russian Bishop's House. [321]

In 1970 the state relinquished the lease to the blockhouse land. Park service officials thought that if they maintained the blockhouse they should own the land. The best agreement that could be reached was a memorandum of understanding with the Bureau of Land Management that took effect on July 28, 1970, providing for park service management of the site. In 1976 the park service offered the blockhouse to the Alaska Division of Parks. The state agreed to the suggestion and applied to the Bureau of Land Management for a 25-year lease of the land. Staff of the Bureau of Land Management did not process the state application, however, and in 1981 the state notified the park service that because of declining budgets it would be unable to accept administration of the blockhouse and withdrew its lease application.

Still operating under the 1970 memorandum of understanding, the park service had a Youth Conservation Corps team clean up the blockhouse grounds and adjacent Russian graves and construct a trail at the site in 1983. The site is a law enforcement problem, exacerbated by its distance from the park. Sitka park staff continue to maintain the site at an estimated cost of $1,500 per year. [322]

Questions about the blockhouse's historical integrity were raised. Nomination of the site to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 was tabled by the State Historic Sites Advisory Committee. The structure was a reconstruction, and not an accurate one for the site. It does, however, fit that part of the Sitka park's mission to interpret Tlingit-Russian relations in southeast Alaska.

Although not a replica of the blockhouse that stood on the site, the residents of Sitka consider the blockhouse a local landmark and tourist attraction. They had pressured the park service for a replica blockhouse when the 1926 one that stood in the park was demolished in 1959. The Sitka Committee for Development of Historic Sites was unhappy when the plan for reconstruction of historic structures on the rock outcropping where the blockhouse stands was dropped. Because of community feelings, the National Park Service has not proposed demolition of the structure as a management option. [323]

Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center

The Board of Indian Arts and Crafts, U.S. Department of the Interior, established an experimental Native arts program at Sitka in 1962. The board had been created by law in 1935 to promote the development of Indian arts and crafts. At Sitka, they hired talented Natives to demonstrate their arts and crafts and to develop new and upgraded craft products. When the National Park Service began planning a visitor center for Sitka National Monument in 1963, they agreed to have a wing of the center for the Indian arts and crafts program. The craftspeople moved in July 1965 to the visitor center. [324]

On February 24, 1968, the Board of Indian Arts and Crafts met at Sitka. At the time, the board operated programs at Sitka, at Nome, and at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. Board members present included Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. (with American Heritage in New York), Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell Wilder (Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas), Mr. and Mrs. Royal Haserich (Lone Star Ranch, Colorado), and Lloyd L. New (Institute of American Indian Art, New Mexico). Others present included Robert G. Hart (general manager of the board, Washington, D.C.), George Fedoroff (Alaska manager for the board, Anchorage), Peter Seeganna (employee of the board, Sitka), Robert E. Howe (Superintendent of Sitka and Glacier Bay National Monuments), Raymond Geerdes (Park Historian, Sitka), and nine Tlingit community leaders--one from Hoonah, one from Juneau, seven from Sitka--including Ellen Hope Lang and Charles Olson who were employees of the National Park Service.

The Tlingit people presented their ideas to the board. They proposed to develop a program that would help the park interpret Tlingit culture and the Tlingit people preserve their traditional art. They asked the board to remove the Eskimo art program from the Sitka center's program. Most appealing to the board members and the park service staff was that Tlingit people would be interpreting their heritage. The Board of Indian Arts and Crafts asked the National Monument staff and representatives of the Tlingits to develop a plan. The board would serve in an advisory capacity, and provide funding to set up the program. It was assumed that the park service would take over funding the program after the transition. [325]

The Alaska Native Brotherhood, Sitka Camp No. 1, Raymond Niel son, President, submitted its proposal to Park Superintendent Howe on April 16, 1968. The proposal revised the agreement between the National Park Service and Board of Indian Arts and Crafts for use of the building to "use by Thlinget cultures for perpetuation of such art forms appropriate to historic cultures of Southeast Alaska." [326] Approval from the park service and Board of Indian Arts and Crafts followed.

In 1969 the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center opened in the visitor center. The Sitka Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp provided teachers to demonstrate traditional southeast Native arts such as woodcarving, costume making, and silverworking to students and visitors. A.P. Johnson was the center's director from 1969 to 1971 and also an instructor. The park provided craft shop facilities and equipment. The Board of Indian Arts and Crafts allocated $40,000 to the center over a three-year period.

Each participating organization viewed the center differently. To the Tlingits it was a place to teach and learn about their heritage; to the park service it provided Native arts and crafts demonstrations for visitors; and to the Board of Indian Arts and Crafts it was a living demonstration center.

The major obstacle to the program's success the first years was not the differing philosophies but lack of funds. The program expenses in 1971 were $40,850, in 1972 were approximately $20,000, and in 1973 were $34,947. The teachers/demonstrators were paid $3.00/hour, well below the wages of a seasonal laborer at the park who received $4.62/hour. [327]

From the start the program was well received by the southeast Natives, the park service, and the public. The Tlingit people planned and conducted the program successfully and took great pride in the center. Many took classes which brought them to the park. The greater Sitka community supported the program. In 1971, the Sitka Borough School District contracted with the center to provide a cross-cultural studies program in the elementary schools. In 1972, the Sheldon Jackson College Native Studies program allowed students to take classes at the cultural center and receive college credit for them. This arrangement continued until 1985. The National Park Service got credit from the Tlingit community, the Board of Indian Arts and Crafts, and the public for making the cultural center project happen.

The center's program included a permanent demonstration and teaching staff of two or three instructors annually, and visiting artists. Woodworking, silversmithing, and costume making were the major areas of concentration. Courses were also offered in spruce root basket weaving, skin and beadwork, Native foods, Tlingit dancing, and anthropology. Esther Littlefield was the instructor/demonstrator in the costume department from the opening of the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center until her retirement in 1983. When Secretary of the Interior James Watt visited the park on August 25, 1983, he presented Littlefield with a plaque on behalf of the National Park Service for her dedication and service. [328] Over the years, the cultural center sponsored a number of special, short-term workshops. Probably the best known instructor was Nathan Jackson, wood carver, who carved several of the park's totem poles. The cultural center and park staff closely cooperated on carving of a Bicentennial pole in 1976. Items made at the center with materials provided by the center became the cultural center's property. Students were required to make two objects. One belonged to the student, the other to the center. Because of these arrangements, the center amassed a Tlingit art and craft collection.

In 1972 the National Park Service started funding the cultural center. That year a contract for $41,000 was made with Alaska Native Brotherhood, Sitka Camp No. l. The brotherhood appointed an Arts and Crafts Committee to supervise the program. The committee evolved into a five-member Cultural Center Board of Directors chosen by the brotherhood at their annual election of officers in October. Two park service employees, Ellen Hope Lang and then superintendent Daniel R. Kuehn served as voting members of the center's board of directors for several years. What later was viewed as conflict-of-interest, at the time was critical for the program's success.

The contract called for a minimum of 100 hours per week of cultural demonstration. A provision in the contract allowed for sale of items produced at the center. Proceeds from such sales would be returned to the center for the purchase of supplies, to pay visiting artists, or to send center staff members to outside cultural events. Later contracts were for up to $80,800, and the center operated year-round. Recent cuts in the park's operating budget forced the park staff to reduce the contracts to $40,000 for a four-month summer program. [329]

The contracts, initially for three years and more recently for one year, issued by the National Park Service required a demonstration and interpretation program. The Alaska Native Brotherhood, Sitka Camp No. 1, viewed the center as a teaching center, with interpretation and demonstration to visitors as a secondary function. Over the years the different philosophies be came more pronounced. The Board of Directors of the cultural center sought to change the name in 1981 from Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center to A.N.B. Cultural Center. The change was not made. At that time the Sitka park service staff asked itself and staff at the Alaska Regional Office whether or not the objectives of the park and cultural center were complimentary. Another concern was over issuing a sole source contract to the Alaska Native Brotherhood. Sitka staff held discussions with Alaska Regional Office staff and with the cultural center board. The issues remained unresolved. The cultural center board has been considering the possibility of acquiring land, building a center, and discontinuing its contract with the National Park Service. [330]

In 1986 the cultural center operated from June 1 to September 30. The Alaska Native Brotherhood, Sitka Camp No. 1, and the National Park Service signed a cooperative agreement allowing Tlingit craftspeople to use the space in the visitor center during the non-contract period. The Alaska Native Brotherhood, Sitka Camp No. 1, successfully competed in bidding for a contract for 1987.

Russian Bishop's House

At the same time that the park service undertook the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center program, they had started working on plans to expand the park's program to include interpreting the Russian period of Alaska's history. Plans included acquisition of the Russian Bishop's House and reconstructing structures around the Russian blockhouse.

After the January 2, 1966, fire that destroyed the Russian Orthodox cathedral, the congregation met for services in the Russian Bishop's House chapel. The building was in very poor shape, and the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska did not have the money needed to preserve the structure. The congregation elected to reconstruct the cathedral instead of preserving the Russian Bishop's House. In 1968 the bishop approached the National Park Service about purchasing and restoring the house. In 1969, Bishop Theodosius moved from the house into a new residence.

Congress appropriated funds to purchase the Russian Bishop's House in 1972. The land and building acquisition cost $106,000. In addition to the Russian Bishop's House, the park acquired two related buildings on the property, House 105 and the Old School. House 105 built in 1887 and moved to the lot in the late 1950s or early 1960s, had been rental housing for priests and their families who could not be accommodated in the Russian Bishop's House. The school was built in 1897 to alleviate lack of space in the Bishop's House. [331]

Russian Bishop's House.

Restoration work on the Russian Bishop's House began immediately after acquisition. In 1973 staff from Denver Service Center started background research and prepared measured drawings of the building. Because of the accelerating deterioration of the building, Congress appropriated $50,000 in a Construction Appropriation Act in 1974 to the National Park Service for historical, archeological, and architectural advance planning studies for the house. At that time, park planners estimated that reconstruction costs would total $1,244,000. The money appropriated, along with some unspent funds from other projects, was used to get the Russian Bishop's House restoration underway. [332]

During 1974 and 1975 staff at the Alaska Area Office completed two Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act compliance actions. The first was for acquisition and stabilization of the Russian Bishop's House; the second was for archeological excavations at the site. Both actions were deter mined to have no adverse affect. [333]

In June 1975 archeologists from the University of Alaska, Fair banks conducted excavations on the Russian Bishop's House property to determine if any of the foundations or building lines of the original galleries remained. In addition, artifacts recovered would help in interpretation of Russian Alaska. The ground was too disturbed to provide information about earlier foundations. Although the majority of artifacts recovered were construction items, a surprising number of kitchen pieces were found. Anne Shinkwin, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, author of the contract report, suggested that these pieces had been deposited with fill material after the original construction. [334]

Also in 1975, Joe Clark, the wood products pathologist who had worked on the totem pole restoration project at the park, studied the attic, foundation and crawl space, and the exterior walls.

Following this preliminary work, staff at the park began talking with city officials in 1976 about closing Monastery Street, adjacent to the house, and about easements. The most critical easement was for the purpose of regrading the site to improve drainage. Other easements were sought to preserve a visual corridor around the site. To date, none of the easements has been granted. [335]

Early in 1976 a study team met at the park and developed a multi-year stabilization and restoration plan for the Russian Bishop's House. It was agreed that restoration work would progress concurrently with background research studies. The team members included Hank Judd, Chief Historical Architect for the National Park Service; Ellen Hope Lang, Sitka National Historical Park; Gary Higgins, Clement Dressner, and Anthony Donald, Denver Service Center; and the Regional and Deputy Regional directors. The team anticipated that the project would be completed in Fiscal Year 1982.

The next year Zorro Bradley, archeologist with the National Park Service in Alaska, began archeological salvage on the insulation barriers in the ceilings of the first and second floors. The purpose was to determine if any architectural features from earlier years could be found. None was found. A variety of artifacts were recovered, however, including several Russian coins from ca. 1840-1850. Other archeological work preceded ground disturbance at the site for new utility lines or building foundations. In 1978 Dick Ping Hsu conducted archeological investigations along the north and south walls of the house. Craig Davis did some testing during 1982 in the proposed utility corridors at the site. He found a Russian period trash pit. Catherine Holder Blee conducted excavations under the Old School in 1983.

The artifacts and books were removed from the house in 1976 after agreement was reached between the park and the Orthodox Church in America. Three paintings that had been damaged by water leaking through the roof were sent to Harpers Ferry Center for immediate treatment. The rest of the artifacts were placed at Arrowhead Transfer and Storage in Sitka. The transfer company agreed to temperature and humidity controls in the storage area. The artifacts had been inventoried by Harpers Ferry Division of Museum Services personnel in 1974 and the library in 1975, but removal awaited conclusion of the loan/gift arrangement. Under terms of the agreement, the church took several items, among them a paper holding Russian soil and a small metal box that holds the relics of a saint. These items will be returned to the chapel when it is once again used for religious purposes. Later, textiles and other paintings removed from the house were sent to Harpers Ferry Center. [336]

Preliminary research, restoration and stabilization work on the house began in 1976. The floor planks on the first floor were removed, and where possible salvaged. The first floor partitions, of no historical significance to the restoration period, were removed. The roofing was replaced with temporary roll roofing and the chimneys were enclosed in plywood. One of the first activities was to install a fire alarm system in the house. The next year, workers removed the west gallery stairs and put plastic sheeting over the windows. Late in the year, workers began dismantling and recording the chimneys.

Beginning in 1977 and finishing in 1979, historical architects worked to document the interior wall and ceiling finishes. After documenting, the twentieth century finishes were removed. The nineteenth century paint colors and wallpaper finishes were studied to be authentically duplicated, and most of the finishes were removed.

During the summer of 1978 a scaffolding system for the major exterior restoration work was installed. The rotted, lower portions of the north and south wood walls were removed. The insulation layer beneath the chapel was also removed. Historical architect and project supervisor Randall A. Conrad from Denver Service Center directed the installation of a reinforced concrete foundation in 1979. The north and south walls were rehabilitated in 1980. The galleries were reconstructed and a metal roof added in 1981. Mechanical and electrical design followed.

James Mote, a historian with Denver Service Center, prepared three studies for the house. These were published as one document in August 1981. The reports included a historic resource study, historical data section of a historic structure report, and historic furnishings report. The studies provided background information to help the National Park Service plan for the use and interpretation of the Russian Bishop's House. The historic resource study provided information about the Russian-American Company, its establishment in Sitka and relations with the Natives, and history of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sitka. The historic structure report provided information about the Russian Bishop's House specifically, its inhabitants and physical changes over the years. The final report was on furnishings. Specifically, the studies were to help the park carry out the programs defined in the park Interpretive Plan approved in October of 1976. In an addendum to the plan released in July 1979, the National Park Service said that "the integrity of the building to the period of restoration will be maintained above all other considerations." [337] The planning team recommended that the exhibits in the Russian Bishop's House not require an interpreter to be present.

In March 1982 Denver Service Center released the "Historic Structure Report, Administrative Data Section, Architectural Data Section" prepared by Paul C. Cloyd based on a March 1977 report by Anthony S. "Tony" Donald. This report provided data on the physical attributes and condition of the Russian Bishop's House. The earlier report recommended that the Russian Bishop's House be restored to its 1867 appearance. Donald argued that more photographic, documentary, and physical information was available for this period than for earlier periods. It also involved less loss of building fabric than alternatives to restore the building to earlier periods. A great deal of additional documentary and physical information was obtained between 1977 and 1982. The later report recommended that the interior and exterior of the house be restored to their 1843-1853 appearance. The plan called for the first floor interior to be adaptively restored to its historic appearance in 1843-1853 and be used for exhibits. The second floor would be restored to the same period and furnished appropriately. At an August 1980 meeting, National Park Service personnel from the Alaska Regional Office, Sitka National Historical Park, and Denver Service Center judged that an 1843-1853 restoration was more suitable to the interpretive themes of the park.

The planners decided that the Old School and House 105, both built later than the period to be interpreted by the Russian Bishop's House, would not be torn down. Instead, they would screen the house from adjacent more contemporary structures and would be used for support operations of the house. House 105 would be used for a shop area and storage. This was later revised to provide for offices and storage.

Throughout the years of construction, the National Park Service provided tours to the public. On Alaska Day, October 18, 1983, the park held a one-day open house. More than 900 people visited the site that day. In spring 1984 the park selected Rosemary Wagy to fill a less-than-full-time position to staff the Russian Bishop's House and open the building to visitors on a scheduled basis. That year approximately 20,000 visitors were guided through the building. As part of Sitka's Fourth of July and Alaska Day festivities in 1984 teas were hosted at the Russian Bishop's House. A living history program, an interview with Princess Maksoutov, wife of the last governor of Russian America, was developed. When Wagy resigned in 1985, however, the position was not refilled. [338]

Russian Bishop's House administration

Denver Service Center took the lead in the restoration of the Russian Bishop's House. Its staff included historical architects, archeologists, and historians. None had much experience with large, historic log structures. Although the log construction, detailing, and finishing of the house were typical of Russian wooden building techniques of the 1800s, they were unique on this continent. Another significant problem for Denver Service Center staff was preparation of planning reports at the same time stabilization and restoration work was underway.

The Sitka National Historical Park staff continued to staff the visitor center, maintain the totems and walkways, and oversee the cultural center. Additionally, they were involved in planning for the restoration and interpretation of the Russian Bishop's House and called upon to assist Denver Service Center staff working on the project.

The Alaska Regional Office had the responsibility for the Section 106 compliance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The Denver Service Center, however, would provide the recommendations for future actions to mitigate destruction of archeological and historical materials. Alaska Regional Office staff also participated in the Sitka park's planning.

The Harpers Ferry interpretation unit of the National Park Service was to design the exhibits for the first floor of the Russian Bishop's House and conserve many of the items in the Sitka park's collection. The wallpaper and installation of exhibits in the building is to occur in 1987. The completion of the restoration of the Russian Bishop's House was changed from 1982 to August 1, 1988.

With the different groups involved in the restoration project, conflicts were inevitable. In March 1981 the roles and authority of the parties involved in the project were clarified. It was agreed that Denver Service Center, with the approval or disapproval of the park and regional office staffs, would make design recommendations. The historical architect at the Alaska Regional Office would oversee day labor work and advise the park staff on design and construction control. Finally, all contacts between the government and the contractors would be through the appointed project supervisor only. Not unexpectedly, there have been problems with this arrangement, but for the most part the difficulties were resolved by the 1981 meeting. [339]

When completed, restoration of the Russian Bishop's House is expected to have cost five million dollars, more than three million dollars more than initially estimated. The costs to date have totalled $3,346,000.

Sitka National Historical Park changed a great deal in the last twenty years. What is regarded as a definitive solution to the Indian River erosion control problem was completed. More people annually visited the park. The park offered more programs for visitors: interpretive exhibits and slide and film programs in the visitor center that was new at the start of this period, the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center, and improved trails through the park. The park expanded its purpose to interpret the Russian period of Alaska's history, and within the next year it should complete the fifteen-year long Russian Bishop's House restoration project. The park staff increased in numbers during this recent period, although today it is smaller than it was three years ago. A superintendent is permanently stationed at the park. With completion of the Russian Bishop's House restoration, the question "what's next" begs for an answer.