Our Motto “Where we go, they go” Alaska’s Resource Protection K9 Teams

By Federal Wildlife Officers/Canine Handlers, Pete Harvey and Robert Barto

Alaska’s Resource Protection Teams: Patrol Captain/ Canine Handler Rob Barto with Eider and Senior Federal Wildlife Officer/ Canine Handler Pete Harvey with Togo. pc. Lisa Hupp

Imagine you are a Federal Wildlife Officer on a very busy National Wildlife Refuge. You just received a call from a concerned citizen stating they heard gunshots near a refuge lake while they were observing nesting migratory birds. The bird watcher stated they saw a huge flock of birds leave their nests as soon as the shots were fired. When the flock cleared, three birds lay motionless on the ground. It was not hunting season.

You respond to the area and try to locate the individuals responsible, but they are gone. So begins your investigation. The large lake is surrounded with high grasses. You follow a trail of flattened down grass to an area where it looks like someone had laid down. You search in vain through the grass to try and locate any shell casings or other evidence. Where do you go from here?

You know that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has nine Resource Protection Canine Teams throughout the country, and one of the teams is located in your area. You call up the team and ask for their assistance.

Eider ready to go to work,. pc: Lisa Hupp

This is where Federal Wildlife Canine Togo or Eider and their handlers Peter Harvey and Rob Barto come in. We are certified as Resource Protection Teams. This means Togo and Eider can detect illegally taken wildlife (currently certified in caribou, moose, brown bear and black bear detection), locate evidence of illegal activity (casings, knives, bullet fragments, etc.), track for missing persons, and help apprehend dangerous and violent offenders. Togo and Eider are one of the very few K-9s in the world that are trained for wildlife detection AND handler/public protection.

In this scenario, we would be able to use Togo and Eider’s unique ability to locate “articles” or “evidence” that has human odor. For instance, they would be able to locate any shotgun shells or rifle casings. Both canines are trained to perform a specific function that alerts us to when they have located evidence with human odor. Such evidence could be used in either our or other officer’s investigations.

Both teams are based on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge but work throughout the state. In addition to the Kenai, the K9s have worked on the Yukon Delta and Tetlin Refuges and assisted the BLM during caribou hunting season along the Steese and Taylor highways. They have participated in search and rescues and duck, moose and caribou hunter law enforcement. In one case with a happy ending, Pete got a call about a hunter harvesting a sub legal moose. Togo was sent out and quickly found the car but the harvested moose turned out to be legal! Both dogs live with their handlers in kennels but not as house pets.

Federal Wildlife Canine Togo was born in the Czech Republic and came to Alaska after training in Pennsylvania. Togo and Pete got to work in August of 2022. Togo got his name from the famous dog team that carried lifesaving medicine to the town of Nome, Alaska, during the 1925 Serum Run. He enjoys being active outdoors, hiking, swimming and eating milk-bones. Federal Wildlife Canine Eider is a four-year-old German Shepard and Belgian Malinois mix. He came from Belarus and was trained in Michigan in 2020. Eider was the first FWS K9 certified for both wildlife detection and handler protection.

Meet the Dogs

Do you want to see these dogs in action? Come to our indoor/outdoor presentation at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer, Saturday May 6, 2 pm for adults and 4:30 pm for Junior and Teen Birders. You must register because space is limited, but you can do that online here.

April Advocacy Report: Friends collaborates to make an impacr.

by David Raskin, Friends Board President

Arctic Refuge
The federal lawsuit continues by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and the State that challenged the moratorium on oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain. Friends had intervened along with many conservation organizations and Tribal governments on behalf of the Biden administration. AIDEA and the State filed their reply brief, and AIDEA requested oral argument, which the court will likely schedule now that their reply brief has been submitted. We await the announcement for the second lease sale required by the legislation.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) filed the Federal Register notice regarding the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the December 2021 SF 299 application by Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation (KIC) for a winter right-of-way (ROW) across the tundra in a wilderness study area. The draft EA is scheduled for September 2023 followed by a public comment period. The permit will require compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act regarding potential impacts on polar bears. We expect this to move to a full Environmental Impact Statement process that may result in a requirement for an incidental take permit, which could become a major problem for the ROW application. It should be noted that the request for a winter right-of-way across the refuge may have implications for Alaska National Interests Conservation Act (ANILCA) and the Izembek road controversy.

A draft report on the Kaktovik claim of historical vehicle use for subsistence activities in the Arctic Refuge tundra, including wilderness study areas, is still under review. Under the solicitor’s opinion in the previous administration, the refuge is open to motorized vehicles, but there has been little activity to date.

Izembek Refuge
On March 14, 2023, Secretary of the Interior Haaland withdrew the illegal Trump administration land exchange that authorized a road through the biological heart of the Izembek Wilderness. This paused the legal proceedings, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the Court to moot the case, which would end the lawsuit and nullify the land exchange. However, we expect that King Cove will oppose DOJ and ask the court to continue the case while King Cove works to get Secretary Haaland to propose another illegal land exchange. We are concerned that she will either do that or work with Senator Murkowski on legislation to do a land exchange by a similar process that former Secretary of the Interior Jewell denied. Meanwhile, Secretary Haaland has instructed the FWS to prepare a supplemental EIS to correct deficiencies in the Trump land exchange process, which is expected to begin within a month.

The Izembek coalition is working at all levels of the administration to convince Secretary Haaland to consider alternatives to a road, such as an all-weather ferry between King Cove and Cold Bay that would serve the entire region. Toward that goal, key members of the coalition had a productive meeting with Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau and other key Department of the Interior officials on April 8. A non-road alternative would put an end to the threats to Izembek Refuge, ANILCA, and up to 150 million acres of federal conservation lands currently protected by ANILCA.

Kenai Refuge
No new threats to the Kenai Refuge!

Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge
We have heard nothing further on the results of Hilcorp’s shallow exploration on Doyon Corporation inholdings in the Yukon Flats Refuge. There is great concern that this may lead to oil and gas development that could negatively impact the world-class wildlife and fisheries and subsistence resources in the refuge.

Volunteer! Volunteer! Volunteer!

Friend Sharon Baur teaching at the Shorebird Festival; pc: USFWS

Teaching in Arctic Village; duck banding in Tetlin, maintenance at Galbraith Lake and on the Kwethluk River, event planning, spring clean-ups, hosting an art show, showing kids the great outdoors and reaching out to the public – the refuges are asking for our help in a big way! Refuges from Alaska Maritime to the Yukon Delta have come back from the pandemic drought in volunteer projects to requesting our help with more than 15 projects. Most of these are now posted on our Volunteer Page along with the Volunteer Application .

Friends duck banding on Tetlin Refuge in 2022; pc: USFWS

Please consider donating some time to help a refuge this year. You could make a big difference. Projects range from a 10 day commitment at Izembek to a two hour shift at an outreach table in Homer, Soldotna, Kodiak, or Fairbanks. How about spring in Homer at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, May 3 to 7. Friends cosponsors the Festival and we need volunteers as bird guides, Friends outreach table, event help and much more. If you are in Anchorage or Fairbanks, help is needed for outdoor schools for upper elementary children. Opening a child’s eyes to nature is really our only hope for the future of wild places and wildlife. The outdoor schools are coming up quickly as well. Closing dates for applications vary but some are as soon as March 30.

There truly is something for everyone in our project list. In addition, both the Kenai and the Alaska Maritime Refuge will have projects not yet listed that will need help throughout the year. Watch for those. For more information go to the Volunteer Page or contact us at volunteer@alaskarefugefriends.org.