Port Protection

The locals of Port Protection use their skills of sustainability to survive the harsh enviroment.

The Port Protection folks are faced with having to depend on one another in order to survive.

When equipment breaks down in the remote landscape of the Alaskan wild, sometimes the only way to fix things is to use some backwoods ingenuity.

The Alaskan wild offers game for those in Port Protection willing to make the hunt.

In Port Protection, wood is the lifeblood of the community. Whether it is the collection of it, or its general use in their daily lives, the people in Alaska live and die by the lumber they are able to utilize. Gary finds cutting down a dead standing tree comes with its own complications. Sam uses its buoyancy to help collect it from long distances. Hans and Timbi get some help to create a zip line for their stockpile. Curly helps a friend whose house is under threat of a fallen behemoth and Mary cuts down her first tree alone.

The bays and straits around Port Protection offer a bounty of edible aquatic life. As a community that focuses on a subsistence lifestyle, the breadth of food beneath the surface is unparalleled. But, in order to reap the reward, they must pay the price. The danger of the open ocean can take life as easily as it gives it. Sam and Stuart build shrimp pots out of discarded materials. Gary uses the extreme tides to chase down clams and invertebrates. Curly aims to catch his first king salmon of the season. Hans and Timbi use the break in weather to store their shelves with more halibut. And Mary Miller finds pleasure in the little things at smaller estuaries.

The community of Port Protection depends on each other to survive like a family.