A log preservation and repair program is coming to Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park/NPS

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and the National Park Service's Vanishing Treasures Program are offering a free Log Preservation and Repair Intensive Workshop from April 10-19. The workshop focuses on the hands-on skills necessary for repairing and reusing historic log structures. Participants will be working together on an actual structure. The goal is to complete a log cabin by the end of the workshop.

Topics to be covered in the workshop include:

* Scribing
* Foundations
* Windows and doors for log structures
* Dry vs. green logs
* Removing and replacing rotten logs
* Chinking
* Evaluation and condition assessment of log buildings
* Brief history of log construction in Alaska
* Finishes

The program will be offered April 10-13 and April 16-19 from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. There will be no class on Saturday, April 14, or Sunday, April 15

Classroom portions will be held in the National Park Service maintenance receiving room located on 1st Avenue and Alaska Street in Skagway. Field portions will be held in Bay 3 of the small boat harbor. Although the log work and assembly will be done inside, participants should be prepared to work outside as well.

You can register for the course at this page. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with additional information about the workshop. For questions and concerns, please contact Acting Chief of Maintenance Cory Thole at e-mail us or (907) 983-9263 or Trail Crew Lead Aric Baldwin at e-mail us

The Vanishing Treasures Program was created to support the preservation of traditionally-built architecture in the Western United States. It's designed to facilitate the perpetuation of traditional skills, and promote connections between culturally associated communities and places of their heritage.

When first established in 1998, “Vanishing Treasures” were defined as sites in the arid West that were being preserved in a state of ruin. Today, after the merger of Vanishing Treasures and the Western Center for Historic Preservation, the program has expanded its focus to any type of traditional architecture in the American West regardless of its condition.