The history of communications in Alaska is synonymous with the role of the military. The military provided Alaska's only communications links to the lower ‘48 until the advent of satellite technology. This means, of course, that the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army were responsible for the inception, construction, operations and maintenance of the communications system. The Western Union Telegraph Expedition (WUTE) began construction in a line in about 1866, but it was never completed. On March 2, 1903 U.S. Congress appropriated $485,000 for the construction of telegraph lines and submarine cables, known as the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS), connecting Seattle with Juneau, and Sitka with Valdez, and operated by the Army Signal Corps. The purpose of the cable was to connect Alaska's military posts with each other and with the rest of the United States, improving the command and the tactical communications as part of America's early warning network . During the 1930s, the Army Signal Corps abandoned all the WAMCATS wire facilities and operated exclusively by radio links. To reflect the changing technology, Congress renamed WAMCATS the Alaska Communications System (ACS). On March 7, 1942 the Coast Artillery Troops installed the first submarine and subterranean lead communication cable at Biorka Island in preparation of WWII. There were two types of cable installed in Sitka during this time. The first type of cable was referred to as inter-island communication cable, and was not part of the Alaska cable. The inter-island cable was local submarine and subterranean cable that connected islands or points on the same island via underwater routes, and provided communication facilities for local agencies. The other type of cable was the harbor defense fire control cable. This type of cable was also a submarine cable, however it was used expressly for the fire control system of a harbor defense installation. The submarine cables were laid between the various harbor defense sites in Sitka Sound: the former Fort Ray, from the vicinity of Harbor Mountain, northward to Lisianski Peninsula, eastward to Cape Edgecumbe on Kruzof Island, and southward to Biorka and Golf Islands. The military installed approximately 40 miles of the lead communication cable in Sitka Sound. The declassified Executive Order 12356, states the original location of the lead communication cable, and the estimated amount:

LOCATION CABLE LENGTH (ft.)

Kita Island to Biorka Island 38,343

Signal Island to Long Island 21,550

Golf Island to Ataku Island 34,608

Signal Island to Shoals Point 56,510

Lisianski Point to Old Sitka 8,106

Halibut Point to Kasiana Island 6,530

Long Island to Cape Burunof 7,700

St. Lazaria to Kruzof Island 9,600

Kasiana Island to Apple Island 3,660

Apple Island to Abalone Island 3,625

Biorka Island to Ataku Island 15,620

Cape Burunof to Kita Island 4,110

McClure Island to Apple Island 650

Clam Island to Abalone Island 850

TOTAL CABLE LENGTH 211,462 ft. (40 miles)

The majority of the remaining cable runs between Signal Island, Apple Island, McClure Island, Passage Island, Clam Island, Abalone Island, Kasiana Island, the Causeway, Charcoal Island, Alice Island, along the Sitka Channel, Halibut Point, Old Sitka, Lisianski, Kruzof Island, and Harbor Mountain. There is approximately 125,000 feet of submarine cable left in Sitka Sound. There is approximately 50,000 feet of lead cable left on outlying FUDS islands, located in Sitka Sound. There is approximately 36,000 feet of the lead cable still buried under 18 inches of topsoil on Kruzof Island, along the Baranof Island road system, and at Lisianski Peninsula. Many sections of the cable run across muskeg wetlands. According to declassified Signal Corps records, the following lead communication cable was intended for removal from the waters of Sitka:

CABLE TO BE REMOVED CABLE LENGTH (ft.)

St. Lazaria Island 9,600

Kruzof Island to Makhanati Island 56,510

Makhanati Island to Long Island 21,550

Long Island to Cape Burunof 7,700

Cape Burunof to Kita Island 26,440

Kita Island to Biorka Island 38,343

Little Biorka 1,000

Biorka Island to Ataku Island 15,620

Ataku Island to Golf Island 34,608

TOTAL CABLE LENGTH 211,371 ft. (40 miles)

The amount of cable removed by the Signal Corps is unknown, however during site investigations, lead communication cable has been found on many of the islands that had been planned for cable removal in 1944. According to Signal Corps records, only a small amount of submarine cable was recovered.

Removal of this cable will contribute to the successful management of the Tribe's

Natural resources and promote a healthy community that protects the interests and

resources of the tribe for our future.

for more information on the harmful effects of lead please visit the Centers for Diseases Control web site at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/