Sea Level Consulting, LLC

03/02/2026

Built in 1905 as a clergy house for the Episcopal Mission, Yates Memorial Hospital in Ketchikan, Alaska was re-purposed in 1909 as a 12-bed hospital during the town's boom years. Under very difficult conditions, many dedicated and determined women worked tirelessly as nurses, to care for the sick and injured there.

After being vacant for 15 years, the National Trust listed it as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2020, bringing national attention to its uncertain future,

This past January however the preservation of this structure took a great leap forward when Historic Ketchikan completed its purchase of the building, opening the way for the nonprofit to begin restoration efforts. With some initial grants in hand, HKI is seeking the public’s support to keep the momentum going. The hope is for it to contribute to the broader revitalization efforts in Ketchikan.

Photo courtesy Yates Memorial Hospital/Historic Ketchikan

01/24/2026

A memorial for Dr. Nancy McKee was held on Sunday, January 18, in the Museum of Anthropology. She was an anthropological linguist and cultural anthropologist whose scholarship focused on inequality, language, and gender, grounded in decades of engaged research along the U.S.-Mexico border and in the Pacific Northwest. Nancy is fondly remembered as compassionate and caring, with a keen wit and a great sense of humor. She will be deeply missed. Her obituary can be found here: https://www.dnews.com/obituaries/nancy-p-mckee-4438710d

12/13/2025

Today’s coverage in Washington Post highlights the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawsuit seeking to pause construction of the proposed White House ballroom.

In their story, reporters Dan Diamond and Jonathan Edwards describe our request for a temporary restraining order to halt construction while the court reviews our claims that the project must undergo legally required planning, environmental, and congressional review.

We are committed to ensuring that any changes to the White House campus respect federal law, protect the site’s historic character, and uphold the public’s trust in the People’s House.

Read the full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/12/12/trump-ballroom-lawsuit-construction

11/24/2025

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving, discover how WSU archaeologist Erin Thornton is uncovering the true origins of turkey domestication — the only vertebrate ever domesticated in ancient North America.

10/24/2025

A most kind and generous man. A man without ego at a time and in a field steeped with competition. I am so thankful for his work and mentorship. He was an inspiration to me and so many.

Through seven decades as a distinguished archaeologist, professor, visionary and advocate, Bill Lipe contributed to the understanding and preservation of ancestral Puebloan culture while mentoring generations of scholars at and beyond.

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2025/08/07/in-memoriam-william-bill-lipe/

10/22/2025

Bearded vultures are unusual birds. Their diet consists primarily of bones, which they sometimes drop from great heights to break into smaller, bite-size pieces. They deliberately change the color of their plumage by rolling around in reddish-orange mud. And they return to the same nesting sites year after year, with generations of the species even reusing nests for centuries. Why that last tendency has been a boon to archaeologists: https://bit.ly/4o3hJFN

📸: Antoni Margalida

10/26/2024

Cheers to the Sitka Woman's Club! Congratulations!

06/27/2024

Yaayuk Bernadette Alvanna-Stimpfle was born to a King Island family in 1955. She wasn’t raised on the Bering Sea island, but her family kept it as close