Petersburg’s tribe will repair a U.S. Forest Service cabin south of town, in collaboration with the federal agency. Harvey Lake cabin was built 60 years ago on Woewodski Island. It hasn’t been open to the public for the better part of a decade, because it needs a new foundation and deck. Carin Christensen is with the U.S. Forest Service. She said the repairs wouldn’t be possible without help from the Petersburg Indian Association – or PIA.
“Forest Service didn’t have the right funding source,” she said. “We couldn’t get our ducks in a row. And then PIA said, ‘We have the funding and the interest.’ And we were like ‘Let’s make them a partner.’”
The tribe has worked with the U.S. Forest Service on projects like road maintenance, but this is the first time they’ve collaborated on cabin repairs.
The repairs are estimated to cost $328,000. The tribe will pay for them with money from a federal program that aims to provide safe transportation and access to tribal lands. The Petersburg Indian Association has been participating in the Tribal Transportation Program for nearly two decades, paving roads, putting in sidewalks, and building trails in and around Petersburg. The repairs qualify for the funding because remote cabins sometimes provide emergency shelter for boaters in bad weather or with mechanical trouble.
Petersburg District Ranger Ray Born said the Petersburg Indian Association has a five-year agreement with the Forest Service.
“Once we get the cabin done, we have the next five years to maintain the trail and maintain the facility in collaboration with PIA,” he said. “And this kind of does lay a nice groundwork for future work. I think we can do this again and again, and the Forest Service, of course we can’t get everywhere, so partners are really valuable.”
Born said the U.S. Forest Service doesn’t have the resources to do everything they’d like to. He said many of their partners have more resources and can work more quickly. And he said while the agency hasn’t partnered with tribes much in the past, it is becoming more common.
“We’re trying to do more and more partnerships with tribes now,” he said. “And part of it is that we want to meet with them on a regular basis to kind of keep them informed and talk about different projects.”
Petersburg Indian Association Council President Debra O’Gara said the tribe has an excellent relationship with the local Forest Service staff. She wrote in an email “We’re very excited to be a part of and support the rebuilding of the Harvey Lake cabin so that tribal citizens, community members and visitors can once again use the cabin and enjoy the surrounding area.”
The cabin repairs will likely be put out to bid in the spring of 2025, with the goal to finish in 2026. Once the repairs are done, the cabin will be available to rent on recreation.gov.
