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Sitka, Alaska’s largest employer, The Alaska Pulp Corporation, shut down the town's pulp mill in 1993. Almost overnight, two thirds of the work force lost their jobs. 100 families moved away. The pulp mill closure signaled a huge turning point for our island community of 8,500. Political leaders blamed environmentalists for the mill failure. This bitterly divided the town, pitting environmentalists against timber industry proponents. During that troubled time, Lisa Busch stepped into the breach. She spearheaded the formation of a new organization to provide retraining money for ex-pulp mill workers, so they could find new employment as trail crew workers. Busch argued that an improved trail system would improve the quality of life for our citizens and provide jobs. It would also breathe new life into our economy, by making the town a tourist attraction for urbanites seeking to experience nature. Busch made her concept a reality by creating Sitka Trail Works.
Lisa's ability to unite people makes the Sitka Trail Works a model environmental organization. It has bridged the bitter rift between environmentalists and timber industry proponents, by employing displaced timber workers and helping the community to move beyond the mill closure. Sitka Trail Works has built miles of trails for the community and for tourists, who bring needed revenue to the town. As an organization, The Sitka Trail Works continues to evolve. It now constructs, maintains, and promotes trails in the largest land mass city and borough in the country. Lisa has followed up by forming the Sitka Tree and Landscape Committee, which coordinates new landscape projects. She believes the Tree and Landscape projects are critical to improving the quality of life and uniting residents through community-wide works. She raises money through local businesses, and volunteers her time to write grants.
Lisa worked as a public radio reporter while building up Sitka Trail Works. In her free time, she wrote the grants, thousands of letters, and made the hundreds of phone calls to raise money and support for the project. Her commitment succeeded. The organization now has over 500 members and has built over two million dollars in trails. As president of Sitka Trail Works, Lisa lobbies local, state, and federal agencies, promoting trails as environmentally proactive and good for business, a win-win solution for all.
Lisa Busch has an unusually strong sense of community and a strong will to help her fellow Alaskans. She has made our community a better place to work, a better place to live, and a better place to visit. She has bridged the divisions in our town by helping to restore work, dignity, and hope for the unemployed, and generating a new appreciation of the natural world around our community. We now have a world-class trail system that improves our quality of life and draws nature lovers from faraway places. Linda Busch’s achievement suggests a metaphor for our community, as well: the trails have united us by putting us on the same road, rejuvenating us by providing new economic opportunities, and by bringing us closer to the natural world that sustains us all.
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