Bob Rockwood

“My name is Bob Rockwood. I work for the City and Borough of Yakutat. We're out here doing stream restoration for the salmon, working with the Tribe and Forest Service. This (2024) is my second year doing this.

It started off when I saw a post for a city laborer job. Then it transitioned into doing the trails, and parks. Then this was one of our collaborative projects with the Forest Service and the Tribe to kind of help the environment with the fish.

I'm a commercial fisherman. I do trolling and set-netting. The fish has dropped off quite a bit. So any kind of project like this, I really enjoy being on because it kind of helps the fish habitat so that the fish have a good place to spawn, even in manmade ditches.

I've always been an outdoorsy person. I'd rather be out here than behind a desk or working in an office or anything. Fresh air every day. Just knowing that we're helping out the environment means quite a bit to me and my crew.”

—Bob Rockwood, crew lead with the City and Borough of Yakutat

“I’ve lived in Yakutat most of my life. I've gone out after I graduated from high school. And gone to school and then came back, started a family and then here I am.

My son is on the crew. We also fish together. He’s a good hard worker. It means quite a bit to see him out helping out with the environment and the rest of our crew.

The environment in Yakutat is just gorgeous. You got the mountains, the ocean, all the rivers. All the different types of animals. Wolverine. Wolves. Ermine, otter, mink. Tons of fish. Miles and miles of sandy beaches. Strawberries. Salmonberries.” 

—Bob Rockwood, crew lead with the City and Borough of Yakutat

“We do this work for the fish and the environment. It'd be nice to see more projects like this all over the place. All over the Southeast and pretty much all over the world. There's so much wilderness that is just lost because of human development. So a lot of people don't get to see things like this. They see urban development and putting in neighborhoods and things like that. But they never actually see us out here doing the environmental stuff that actually helps feed millions of people.

This is the kind of job you should have. I love it out here.” 

—Bob Rockwood, crew lead with the City and Borough of Yakutat