Couple seeks five more years for their floathome in Camp Coogan Bay near Sitka

Kenneth and Monique Wilkinson have asked the state for five more years to keep their floathome moored year-round in Camp Coogan Bay, about 5 miles southeast of Sitka.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is taking public comment on the renewal through Nov. 18, according to its public notice. The new permit would run through September 2031.

The floathome measures 100 by 30 feet, with about 600 square feet of living quarters, according to the application. Two smaller floats are attached, and the notice also lists a log breakwater. Rock bolts and anchors of up to 5,000 pounds hold it all in place. Firewood is sometimes tied to the home or its anchor while it's brought aboard.

The permit covers about 1.38 acres of state-owned tide and submerged lands. The uplands next to the site are Forest Service land, and it's reached by boat. In 2016, the state's notice for the same permit listed three floating docks and no breakwater, and the application asked for up to 1 acre.

Under DNR's area plan for northern Southeast, floathome permits run five years and can be renewed if the home still meets the original permit's requirements and any conditions DNR sets. A permit doesn't give the holder ownership of the state land. DNR can change the proposed use or add conditions before it issues the renewal.