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John Borg

John Borg lived in Eagle, Alaska, where he lived a subsistence lifestyle of hunting and fishing, served as the mayor of the community, and worked as the postmaster at the Eagle Post Office. After establishment of the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, he was generally unhappy about the National Park Service presence in Eagle and about the effects of the Preserve on the lifestyle of the local residents. Now retired, John continues to live in Eagle year-round and is known for helping with the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race when it passes through town every February, including providing transportation to and from the runway. In 2019, John received the Edward H. Stoll award for 50 years of service to the National Weather Service Cooperative Observing Program (COOP). John began taking weather observations in 1969 and has been taking river observations along the Yukon River since 1978, both of which he continues today. The information that John collects provides tremendous support for the National Weather Service in one of the most remote places in Alaska.

John Borg appears in the following new Jukebox projects:

Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

Interview Title	Abstract	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Date of Interview
John Borg	John Borg was interviewed on August 27, 1991 by Dan O'Neill at the post office in Eagle, Alaska. John is easy-going and though generally unhappy about the National Park Service presence in Eagle, he speaks without rancor, or even much visible emotion, about the effects of the establishment of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. The recording includes extraneous noises, as, periodically, mail box doors clatter when people come in to check their mail, and John monitors airplane radio transmissions. When pilots call him to ask the wind conditions, he leans over his desk to look up the flag pole outside, then, depending on how the banner waves, he passes on his estimate of wind speed and direction. In this interview, John talks about living in Eagle and the local reaction against the National Park Service and the establishment of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. He also talks about regulation and management issues surrounding subsistence, preservation, and development.	91-22-20	Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve	Aug 27, 1991