Port Protection

Resourcefulness is key to survival in Port Protection. Sam sets out to extend the wear of his boots using mink oil — but first must find and trap the minks. Gary forages for sustenance, but extreme tides come only twice a month, so he must act quickly in order to find his dinner. Couple Hans and Timbi are determined to turn their property into a working farm, but recent injuries force them to rely on others in the community for help.

Curly Leach takes on pesky beavers. Sam Carlson encounters bad soil and must search for the necessary ingredients to sweeten it up. Rough weather and high winds complicate Timbi’s situation when she suspects she has a life threatening blood clot and can’t leave the island. Gary Muehlberger sets out to do some King Salmon fishing and encounters another competitor of the sea, which jeopardizes his attempts to catch a fish.

Sam has heard from other fishermen that halibut have been caught nearby. After months of living off of frozen food, he’s eager to catch some of the savory fish. Trapping season is coming to a close and Gary sets out for one last trapping trip in an effort to get enough fur to help meet his expenses for the year. Curly gets word that a massive tree is threatening a local house, and Mary sets out on the inexhaustible hunt for firewood.

Mary Miller heads into the nearby woods to hunt her first black bear. Gary Muehlberger sets out to trap a beaver in the hopes of teaching Port Protection’s newest resident, Amanda Makar, how to skin and treat it for its fur. Hans and Timbi Porter overcome their recent surgeries and hike up a nearby mountain for firewood to an astonishing patch of land known as “the blow down.”

When Curly tries help his friend Jiggy with a rotten tree that threatens to fall on his house, he finds his experience and determination tested. Mary passes the torch of knowledge to Amanda, teaching her the finer points of how to hunt and track game, to provide her with the tools to survive on her own. Sam readies the fire patrol boat, staging a fire drill with other community members, which involves setting a real fire.

Spring has arrived, and in Port Protection that means there is work to be done, despite lingering bad weather. Hans and Timbi start a greenhouse to grow fresh vegetables and herbs for the year. Sam scours an old warehouse for materials to build a portable stove. Mary travels to town to acquire supplies needed for the spring hunting season, and Curly takes Amanda out for a grueling lesson in dropping trees and collecting firewood.

Timothy and Amanda set out to catch halibut with some borrowed equipment. Gary decides to test his mettle (and age) and return to his old hunting grounds to catch a “hooter” and see if he’s still got it what it takes. Resident inventor Sam tries to cobble together a vertical-access wind turbine out of junk and scrap metal. And Hans tests the pH levels of town’s water supply, only to discover a dead-standing tree threatening the town’s pipeline.

The community of Port Protection encounters tasks and challenges as Gary goes shrimping, something he hasn’t done for a while. Meanwhile, Timbi searches for a natural remedy for Hans’ aches and pains. Curly tries to pull a tree from the forest, and Sam takes a camping trip into the island’s wilderness to hunt bear.

Spring has arrived in Port Protection and the community takes advantage of the season to complete necessary builds and essential chores, as Hans and Timbi call on the community to help build a duck pen, Sam scours the coastline for firewood, Curly constructs a new flatbed for his truck, and Mary heads inland for freshwater trout.

Gary Muehlberger makes a supply run to Wrangell, Alaska and is asked by Hans and Timbi Porter to bring back some very precious cargo (ducks) that the whole community is counting on. Timothy “Curly” Leech, needing meat for the summer season, sets out on a solo bear hunt. Sam Carlson and his friend try to solve the mystery of the town’s water shortage.