by Betty Siegel, Volunteer Coordinator
January: We had a Friends Board Retreat and 5 of us went to Hawaii for the Peer to Peer Workshop with the Friends of the Pacific Islands Refuges
February: No Report
March: has been a busy month as the Friends have approved the Refuge Requests to date and new Volunteer Opportunities have been posted on our website. Friends had a table at Homer’s Volunteer Fair at Islands & Ocean on March 21 and 22. The Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival Volunteer Sign-up recruitment at the fair resulted in a dozen or more members and interested non-members signing on to help. To date, 21 individuals have volunteered for 62 events. Of the 21, at least 13 are current members while the rest are interested in joining Friends or receiving more information about our organization.April: Volunteer recruitment for for Dalton weed pull, Camp Goonzhii: Christina Whiting, and for Tree Swallow Banding; Volunteers recruited for Shorebird Festival, 41 at this time, with over half being Friends members; Other volunteers recruited for Attu 75th in Anchorage and Mat-Su Valley area, but these go directly to the Attu 75th coordinator.
May: has been a very busy month for Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and Friends volunteers at two major events: Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer (May 10-13) and Battle of Attu 75th Anniversary Commemoration events in Anchorage (May 17-19).
- As the Volunteer Coordinator for the Shorebird Festival, I utilized 45 volunteers in various jobs throughout the four days, including the Viewing Stations, Friends Coffee, and event management duties for workshops, lectures, programs, bird walks, and much more. They put in more than 150 volunteer hours and received a free festival poster and a complimentary ticket to a keynote address. The festival could not occur without the support of these awesome volunteers. Thank you, one and all! (Probably half were Friends members!)
- For the Attu 75th events, I advertised and recruited volunteers to assist Susan Churchill, the event volunteer coordinator. Although this was not a Friends volunteer opportunity, three Friends did work all three days for a total of 30 hours each. Thank you Chuck Iliff and Tom Choate! We three were honored to have been a part of this memorable event organized by Alaska Maritime NWR (and various other partners).
- Kenai National Wildlife Refuge requested our help in advertising and recruiting volunteers for two events in June: Trail’s Day and Kenai River Festival. We recruited the leaders and all the volunteers for both events. Thank you Tony Munter, Sharon Baur, and Tara Schmidt!
- USFWS Region 7 requested advertising and recruitment on our website for the Watershed/Salmon Education Project in Anchorage (April and May). Three Friends volunteered: Susan Pope, Jim Theile, and Dave Schroyer. Thank you!
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: We advertised and recruited applications for Camp Goonzhii (August/Sept), Christina Whiting and Cindy Sisson.
- Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge: We advertised and recruited for the two Dalton weed pulls (June and July), receiving applications from two new Friends members, one for each month.
June: Kanuti NWR sponsored the 24th Dalton Highway Invasive Plant project the week of June 18-22. Three Friends volunteers pulled white sweet clover and bird vetch along the Haul Road river crossings between the Kanuti River just south of the Arctic Circle to the Dietrich River, north of Wiseman. This will be the last year of this project. Staffing shortages and cuts in many programs continue even as the invasive plants proliferate in the absence of more drastic strategies. The plans for next year will likely only involve monitoring down-river from the highway in a few rivers or creeks each summer.
Dragonfly Day was held on June 23 in Fairbanks with a local Friend (Joe Morris) staffing the Friends table and selling books for the dragonfly expert John Hudson. John contributed 50% of the sale price to Friends. This popular event was sponsored by the three Fairbanks refuges: Arctic, Kanuti, and Yukon Flats, with funding provided by Friends for the venue, advertising, and other expenses. There were @ 350 in attendance.
July. A previously approved project, Dalton Invasives- July, was canceled. The Kaktovik Polar Bear Viewing project was filled. Preparations for travel for Arctic’s Camp Goonzhii are underway for the two volunteers. Discussion continues with Tina Moran of Kanuti for winter opportunities at the Coldfoot Winter V.C.
August: Camp Goonzhii in Arctic Village, was postponed until Sept. 12 due to a death in the village.
Many Friends have been busy, however, organizing outreach events, writing grants, planning a workshop for 2019, advocating for Refuges, and getting out the newsletter and social media posts.
September: There was one volunteer opportunity, Camp Goonzhii, which Cindy Sisson attended. Thanks, Cindy, for representing Friends for this annual Arctic Refuge project: the science and culture camp in Arctic Village.
- In early Sept. I was invited to Fairbanks to accompany Tina Moran, Acting Manager of Kanuti NWR, and Kris Fister, National Park Service Chief of Interpretation, Gates of the Arctic and Yukon Charley National Parks and Preserves, on a two day trip to Coldfoot to discuss/brainstorm staffing and operation strategies for the Coldfoot Field Office (CFO) Winter Visitor Center.
- We discussed Staffing (both Refuge personnel and volunteers), Operation dates and times, Housing, Activities, Transportation, Alaska Geographic, Security considerations, etc. This is a potential Friends Volunteer Opportunity once all the details are worked out. The tentative dates are February 16 through April 6, 2019 when Arctic NWR’s new visitor services position filled Two Volunteers would greet the tour company vans of Aurora Viewing visitors from all over the world who come up to Coldfoot and Wiseman. This will be an exciting opportunity for volunteers to have the same aurora experience these visitors have at no cost! Stay tuned for more information as plans progress.
October: We have received notices from 12 interested members who would like to volunteer for the winter visitor center in Coldfoot next Feb.-March-April. These included 5 couples and 2 single individuals. Thanks to all who wish to volunteer! We will attempt to accommodate as many as possible during the approximately 7 week period the center will be open.
November: No new projects. I have been working out the scheduling for the Coldfoot Winter Visitor Center with the 16 Friends who have volunteered or expressed an interest in staffing it for a week or more at a time.