August 2023 – Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges

Reports from the Field: Friends Volunteers in Action

by Poppy Benson, Friends Board Vice President

We have over 20 volunteers out this summer and fall and here are the early reports.

Galbraith Lake Bunkhouse – The area “is to die for”, said Friends volunteer Bev Cronen about her work site at Galbraith Lake in the Arctic Refuge. “There aren’t very many places you can look in every direction and see wilderness and beauty.” Bev and her husband Louis Dupree of Homer drove their camper up the Dalton Highway to help the refuge assemble the insides of a new bunkhouse. Bev went on to say that they really enjoyed the refuge people and volunteers they worked with and were glad to be a part of this. She praised their supervisor Paul Banyas for his flexibility and adaptability as they had several surprises when they arrived at Galbraith Lake after a long day of packing the trailer with furniture parts, tools, and supplies and pulling it up the Haul Road. They arrived at 11 pm, only to find that the bunkhouse still had carpenters working in it and the old bunkhouse was full of archeologists. Thank goodness Louis and Bev had their camper but Paul made it all work.

First meal on the newly assembled table in the new Galbraith Lake bunkhouse. From L to R – Refuge Intern Clay, hired carpenters Zack and; Nathan, Refuge maintenance worker Paul Banyas, Friend Louie Dupree, and refuge volunteer Ken. It was an amiable group that finished the work in time to go hiking. pc:: Bev Cronen.

Kenai River Festival, Soldotna. Every year we help the Kenai Refuge at their booth and do outreach of our own at the Kenai River Festival in early June. Volunteer participation was great this year under Marie McConnell’s leadership. Seven friends volunteered: Marie, Lynne Schmidt, Dan Musgrove, Becky Hutchinson, Anna Haylock, Carolyn Weathers who helped with the refuge activities and Michelle Semerad who came from Anchorage to help. Marie reported attendance at the festival seemed to be down and more of a tourist audience than in prior years.

Marie McConnell and Lynne Schmidt of Soldotna at the Friends outreach table at the Kenai River Festival in June. pc: USFWS

Meet the New Refuge Managers!

By:Poppy Benson, Friends Board Vice President

One holds dual citizenship and moved to Fairbanks from Amsterdam; one came to Alaska after googling “Duck Jobs”; the third’s passion is herpetology but his refuge only has one amphibian – the wood frog – and no reptiles. Arctic, Selawik and the Koyukuk/Nowitna/Innoko complex all have new refuge managers, and their stories are fascinating.

Merben Cebrian has taken what has to be the most unusual and worldly path to Refuge Manager of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Not only does he hold dual US/Dutch citizenship and have a Dutch wife, but he grew up in the Philippines where he spent much of his childhood in nature. The US Army took him to Africa, the Middle East and Fairbanks where he ended his military career and enrolled in the University of Alaska Fairbanks earning a wildlife biology degree. Merben spent 20 years in Alaska as a wildlife biologist on the Tetlin Refuge and with the Bureau of Land Management in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Glenallen.

Merben Cebrian, Arctic Refuge Manager with a tufted puffin chick on the Alaska Maritime Refuge where he took a seasonal job last summer as a “trial run” for a return to Alaska.

He left Alaska to become the Bureau of Indian Affairs Midwest regional biologist and program manager working with 36 federally recognized tribes. This was challenging with intensive human-nature interactions in a highly political landscape. The past few years he has lived with his family in the Netherlands working as a free-lance biologist. But Alaska was on his mind. So last summer Merben took a seasonal job on the Alaska Maritime Refuge as an opportunity to experience a new ecosystem, check out job possibilities and see how his family would do with him away. Arthur Kettle, his supervisor on that job, called him a “big thinker” and very diplomatic. That is what Friends noted as well when we met with him in Fairbanks last month. Merben says he hopes his broad background will serve him well in dealing with the challenges and opportunities of the Arctic Refuge.
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Yes, googling “Duck Jobs” and a passion for waterfowl hunting got Wil Wiese to Alaska even though neither Alaska or the Fish and Wildlife Service was on his radar. His background of growing up hunting and fishing in Wisconsin, a biology degree and, most of all, lifelong experience running skiffs and fixing motors won him a volunteer waterfowl survey job in the Arctic. He was smitten by the Arctic coastal plain, working in remote field camps and the village of Kaktovik and never left. Wil was hired permanently by the Arctic Refuge before becomingSelawik Refuge’s Deputy Refuge Manager and now Manager. Wil switched from biology into management because, “I do like wildlife a lot but I actually like people a lot better. Working with people and helping them come up with solutions to conflict is what really gets me excited.”

Wil Wiese, Selawik Refuge Manager, said “I love living as a guest of the Kikiktagrukmuit and being surrounded by Iñupiat Ilitqusiat (values). I’m welcomed by the respect, humility, generosity, and humor that abound, and admire the hard work and adaptability required of folks.”

Wil writes that Selawik Refuge in northwest Alaska is a place often overlooked by those seeking scenic vistas but he finds stunning beauty in the snow-covered, seemingly endless tundra, spruce blanketed Waring Mountains, and meandering bends of river and stream. The best part of the refuge to him is in what it provides for the people who live in it and from it. You can’t eat scenery, but you can eat from Selawik Refuge because its waters teem with sheefish, whitefish, pike, and salmon; the wetlands are thick with waterfowl, expanses of tundra are blanketed in berries, and caribou migrations flow across the landscape. You can hear more about Wil’s personal journey in a podcast My Life Wildlife .

_______________________________________________________________________________When I asked David Zabriskie, “What is a snake guy doing in Alaska?” he responded “Making money to fund my snake hunting trips!” David has the most experience of the three with the National Wildlife Refuge System having begun his career as a student trainee at the Wheeler Refuge in Alabama, followed by refuges in Mississippi, on remote Pacific Islands, Tennessee, Alaska, and Arizona before returning to Alaska to work as the Deputy Manager and now Manager of the Koyukuk/Nowitna/Innoko Refuge Complex on the Yukon River.

David Zabriskie, Koyukuk/Nowitna/Innoko Refuge Manager on Johnston Atoll in the North Pacific where he was working at the time.

I also asked David what he liked most about his refuges and he replied, “These three refuges are in the heart of salmon country. These intact ecosystems support an amazing plant and wildlife diversity. The opportunity to work with the indigenous communities along the Yukon River on resource management is fulfilling.” Managing three refuges, two of which are bigger than any refuge found in the Lower 48, is a daunting task. Add to that David was the lead on the Alaska Region’s first plan for a Wild and Scenic River, the Comprehensive River Management Plan (CRMP) for the Nowitna River. I asked him what he saw as his biggest challenge and he said, “Besides limited staff and budgets, the biggest management challenges are climate change and food security for the subsistence users in this region.”

Congratulations to our new managers! Friends look forward to working with you.

Friends Sponsored Trip to the Arctic Refuge

Caribou, Mountains and the Marvelous Marsh Fork: Friends First Sponsored Arctic Refuge Trip a Blast

By Poppy Benson, Friends Board Vice President

A very compatible and interesting group of eight lucky Friends members from California, Oregon, Fairbanks, Anchorage and Homer signed up quickly enough to get on this trip (it filled in two hours after newsletter publication). pc: Jerry Britten

Just go! Just go to the Arctic Refuge. Our trip was too much fun. Caribou every day, the tundra in full bloom, mountains more magnificent than any of us expected, wolverine tracks in the mud, coral fossils from an ancient sea on every gravel bar, floating the splashy Marsh Fork of the Canning River, a golden eagle camp flyover, Marv and Jerry’s first grayling, springs and a secret canyon. This trip exceeded all of our expectations.

We flew over the Continental Divide in a 4-seater Cessna 185. The Marsh Fork drains north, to the Arctic Ocean. pc: Nancy Deschu

Our adventure started at refuge headquarters in Fairbanks where Arctic Refuge Wilderness Specialist and sage of the Arctic, Roger Kaye, filled us in on the history of the Refuge. This was a Friends trip so getting the inside scoop on the Refuge was part of the deal. Later, we spent an hour with Arctic Refuge Manager, Merben Cebrian. Next, we met our wonderful guides, Aaron Lang and Chris Mannix from Wilderness Birding Adventures who knew every bird and flower and were a real comedy act. Then two flights in progressively smaller planes before we landed on a bouncy tundra strip to spend our first night beside the river under the midnight sun.

Paddle raft teamwork is fun. We took turns paddling or riding in the oared boat which was better for photography. pc: Poppy Benson

For the next 10 days we alternated a day of river rafting with a day of hiking with great weather and minimal bugs. There was work – dragging the boats across the aufeis to get to the river the first day, hauling gear, repairing the gravel bar “landing strip” so our pilot could pick us up at the end; and there were joyous experiences – wading into the cave to discover the stream did not spring from the earth but fell from the sky into the cave in a hidden waterfall, watching a caribou succeed in crossing the river after a long struggle against the current, seeing the big blonde grizzly swim the river and spotting the northern shrike chick its parent was noisily defending. It was heaven.

Flowers, birds, views and loafing were highlights of our hiking days pc: Poppy Benson

This was the first time Friends attempted to “sponsor” a trip to a remote refuge. The point was to get Friends out on the Arctic Refuge so we had a chance to form our own bond with the land and its wildlife. All of us felt touched by the grandeur of the place. The landscape was incredibly vast and wild and needs our care and protection.

Carol Harding from Homer said “Seeing the caribou moving north every day,“ was the best part of the trip for her. For Marv Ritter of Oregon it was watching the lone caribou fight the river current. Caribou were part of every one of our days. pc: Poppy Benson.

Based on this trip’s success and the demand to get out on refuges, we are planning a summer 2024 Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge raft trip.

From Bethel to Soldotna to Homer to Fairbanks; Friends were reaching out in April and May.

by Poppy Benson, Friends Board Vice President

From a Ducks Unlimited Banquet in Bethel to The Month of the Military Child in Fairbanks, Friends were reaching out to new and old audiences spreading the word about Friends and Alaska’s incredible 16 National Wildlife Refuges.

Birders flocked to the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer in early May giving us our biggest opportunity to recruit new members and talk up all the refuges beyond the Alaska Maritime with which we cosponsor the festival. Sixteen Friends from Soldotna, Anchorage, Homer and Colorado worked our outreach booth for 4 days signing up 40 new and renewing members. Most also volunteered with other Festival events as well. Beyond the booth, we had opportunities to reach out to this audience of Alaskans and lower 48 birders at the keynote event and again at the Birder’s Coffee which we host.

Friend Susan Watkin’s painting of a moose crossing through the refuge’s Sterling Highway wildlife underpass served as a photo booth and a highlight of the Kenai Refuge exhibit at the Sports and Recreation show in Soldotna. Five Friends under Marie McConnell’s leadership worked at a Friends table co-located with the Kenai Refuge allowing Friends to help with fun refuge activities, share their knowledge of the Kenai Refuge and recruit members. This was a different audience with important ties to the Kenai Refuge and 12 new members were recruited.

Becky Wick and Tim Shipman work the Friends booth at the Soldotna Sports and Recreation Show. The 12 new members recruited at the Show bring Friends membership in the Kenai/Soldotna area to 50. pc: Marie McConnell

Also on the Kenai, the refuge’s Greenup, Cleanup service project turned into an outreach event when Friend Becky Wick showed up with 10 members of her hiking group. Plenty of opportunities to chat about Friends while cleaning up three refuge campgrounds and access roads on Saturday and the refuge’s muti use trail on Friday. Tim Shipman, long time Team Friends organizer, remarked that the campgrounds were cleaner this year.

Although not technically an outreach event, our members turned the Kenai Refuge Greenup, Cleanup into one by inviting friends, family and a hiking club. L to R Dan Moultrie, Becky Wick, Dan Musgrove and Robin Musgrove. pc: Marie McConnell

Ten people flying from Alabama to Bethel for dinner was just one unexpected twist to our first ever Bethel outreach event. When Yukon Delta’s Refuge Manager, Boyd Blihovde, told his new Friends liaison, Ryan Peyton, that he wanted to see Friends do an event in Bethel like a Ducks Unlimited (DU) banquet, he was talking to the right guy. Ryan, a long time DU member, quickly saw the benefit in developing a relationship between the waterfowl rich refuge and the waterfowl group who has done so much for habitat conservation. Ryan hosted a Friends’ outreach table at the DU banquet adjacent to the refuge’s information table. The DU banquet is the biggest conservation event in Bethel with over 125 people attending including the 10 from Alabama. Ryan hopes he set the stage for a greater role in next year’s event and other cooperative activities with DU.

Ryan Peyton, a long time Ducks Unlimited (DU) member and Yukon Delta Refuge liaison, staffed our first ever outreach effort in Bethel at the Bethel DU Banquet. About 125 people attended including people from out of state. pc: Laurie Boeck/USFWS

Military children and families are an important part of the Fairbanks community. Due to refuge staff transfers, the northern refuges were at risk of being a no-show at the community event marking Month of the Military Child. Arctic Refuge’s Friends liaison Jeff Walter came to the rescue and singlehandedly ran the northern refuges’ booth which was visited by at least 90 people, half of them children. The focus here was not on Friends recruitment but interesting the kids and families from Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base in wildlife and wildlife refuges.

Jeff Walters, Friends Arctic Refuge liaison, was the sole staffer for the northern refuges booth at a Fairbanks community event celebrating the Month of the Military Child. About 90 people, half of them children, stopped at his table.

This spring was an exciting time of growth for Friends outreach due to the new audiences, diversity of locations and sheer numbers of Friends who volunteered. Thanks to all who helped.

Board News! transitions…

By: Friends Board

At our June 6 Friends’ Board meeting, Marilyn Sigman was appointed as President. replacing long time President, David Raskin. Marilyn joined the Board in 2022. She is a retired wildlife biologist and science and environmental educator who has previously chaired the Boards of Alaska Geographic (under its previous name, the Alaska Natural History Association), the Alaska Conservation Foundation, and the Alaska Natural Resources and Outdoor Education Association.

Caroline Brouwer was appointed to a new position of a second Vice-President which we amended our bylaws to include. Caroline has served on the Board since 2020 and has been involved in advocacy for the National Wildlife Refuge System since 2008, lobbying on behalf of funding increases for the Refuge System and policy changes. She spent 14 years working in Washington, DC on behalf of public lands advocacy and national wildlife refuges with Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Refuge Association.

In other actions, Tara Schmidt was reappointed as Board Secretary, a position she has served in for six years. Since being appointed to the board in 2017, Tara has served as a liaison, first with the Kenai Refuge and is now working with the Innoko, Nowitna, Koyukuk Refuge Complex. She is active with the Outreach and Education Committee and the Shorebird Festival Committee.

Tara, Poppy Benson, and Jason Sodergren were reappointed as Board members, with Poppy continuing in her role as a Vice-President and Jason as Treasurer. Elections for these positions will be held in February next year.

We thank David Raskin for his long and dedicated service as a founding Board member, Board President, and tireless advocate for Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges.