On Nov. 17, 1986, a plan to replace the sunken ferry Tustumena was canceled. Although the Alaska Marine Highway System decided not to replace the Tustumena with a new $50 million boat like previously planned, they were still planning to purchase four new high-speed ferries for the Southeast area. AMHS also opened a plan for public comment to use these four fast, yet small, ferries instead of a typical larger ferry for Southeast runs starting in 1988.
The City and Borough of Juneau was considering buying the dock from Marine Park to the ferry terminal from Sealaska Corp. for $470,560.
Meanwhile, near Anchorage, about 5,000 caribou disappeared from the lower Alaska Peninsula herd during the past year. The cause to the sudden drop in caribou population could not be tracked by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, who counts the animals every year. Since the population decreased so dramatically, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reduced the bag limit for the animals in that area.
“This Day in Juneau History” is compiled by Empire free- lancer Tasha Elizarde, who sums up the day’s events — 30 years ago — by perusing Empire archives.
