Month: January 2024

Open post

A Night at the Museum

by Poppy Benson, Vice President for Outreach 
 
“Whoever thought of this was a genius,” said Meg Parsons about the pairing of artists and conservation groups at the Art and Conservation Night at the Anchorage Museum on December 13.  The public event, which also featured speakers and refreshments, was part of the annual Alaska Bird Conference.
Meg said it was a great success for Friends in terms of numbers of people talked to, enthusiasm, new members recruited (about 6), and publicity for the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival.  Meg said there was “LOTS of interest in the Festival,” which Friends cosponsors with the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.  Marie said, “I get more out of being there than I put into it.  Love volunteering for Friends.” Marie said people wanted to support us and it was fun talking to the other conservation groups and the artists. The Fish and Wildlife Service also had a booth educating on the dangers of lead shot for loons

Exploring the role of art in bird conservation was a goal for the evening. The art was tempting, and this beautiful raven went home with Marie. pc: Marie McConnell


Open post

Can You Help Move Friends Forward?

By Poppy Benson
Vice President for Outreach

We just finished out a great year of volunteering, educating, and advocating for refuges.  But it takes a lot of us volunteering to run Friends so that we can create opportunities for you and offer real help for the refuges.  We need YOU to help make it all happen for 2024. 

Our biggest immediate need is a Treasurer as Jason Sodergren is stepping down from the Board after 16 dedicated years.  Fiduciary responsibility is a key Board function, and this position is part of the executive committee.  Anybody out there with a love of refuges and a comfort level with budgets?  And no, you don’t have to stay 16 years!  A two-year commitment is all we ask.  

We also need three new Board members of which the Treasurer would be one to bring us to 11.  With 16 refuges and 76 million acres we have a lot to keep track of.  We need a Board big enough to balance this work load.  Our only employee, Melanie Dufour, has most of her time allocated to running the Shorebird Festival which means we are a working Board.  The advantage of being on our Board?  We know what’s going on with monthly briefings from Refuge Managers and other staff.  We get to know Refuge staff, the issues and the land.  We know our refuges are worthy of our time.  We know we are doing a good thing in lending our talents to help carry out our mission of educate, support and advocate for Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges.

Meet our newest refuge liaison:  Karyn Murphy for the Alaska Maritime Refuge.  Karyn writes, “Living on Kachemak Bay, I have been a naturalist guide, local scientist-in-residence and an artist incorporating the natural elements of the coast into my creations. Because of this, the Maritime Refuge has always been close to my heart and I am thrilled to become more involved in representing this amazing area and the people doing research.”

We also need refuge liaisons for Izembek and Selawik refuges.  Izembek is so important and so isolated.  A friendly voice checking in with them and carrying their needs to the Board will be much appreciated by the refuge.  The same with Selawik.  They have a fun staff but Friends has not been very responsive to them because we just don’t have “A Person” watching out for them.  A liaison checks in with “their” refuge once a month and prepares a brief report on what is going on with them and any needs they have.  A liaison is the bridge between a refuge and the Board.

Want to serve on a committee?  Have communication skills?  We need a communications committee to work on the newsletter and other communication methods.   This would be a brand-new committee.  The outreach committee could use somebody in Kodiak or Bethel or an additional member to help Pam Seiser in Fairbanks or Meg Parsons in Anchorage.  Both our finance and advocacy committees could use another member or two, and we don’t even have a fundraising/grant committee and need one.  Last year the refuges asked us for $50,000, and we don’t have that kind of money.  Yet we want to start a scholarship for Native youth and pay for interns on understaffed refuges and . . . . .and. . . 

We are a fun and very dedicated bunch dealing with the best of Alaska.  Join us!  Contact us.





Open post

January Advocacy Report

by Caroline Brower, Vice President for Advocacy

With the holidays wrapped up, and Congress back in session, talk has returned to the budget and potential budget cuts. We as Friends can’t do much about whether or not Congress argues itself into a government shutdown, but we DO have the ability to advocate and lobby– yes, lobby– on behalf of wildlife refuges.

Two budget deadlines are upcoming. The first is January 19, includes four of the twelve appropriations subcommittees, but it does not include wildlife refuges. The second deadline is February 2, and includes the remaining eight subcommittees, such as the Interior Department and refuges. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed this week to a top-line budget number, or basically a cap of what can be spent government-wide this year. We have not seen an Interior-specific number yet. This top-line agreement is a good first step towards preventing a government shutdown, but it is no guarantee.

The biggest concern Friends have regarding the budget for the rest of this fiscal year (FY2024, which ends September 30) is that the House is determined to cut funding. Refuges are already badly understaffed and desperately in need of additional funding. The only way we can get more is to lobby for it. The House included a 10% cut to refuges in their FY2024 budget bill, which would hollow out the System and close dozens of refuges. The Refuge System did an examination of their 568 refuge units several years ago, and determined the true need of the Refuge System (nationwide, not just in Alaska) at $1.5 billion. Current funding is ⅓ of that– $541 million.

The best way you can help Alaska’s 16 national wildlife refuges in the next few weeks is to ask Senator Murkowski , Senator Sullivan , and Representative Peltola to keep refuge funding strong. Tell them a personal story about how important these refuges are to you and ask them to keep funding strong, at least equal to the current funding levels of $541 million. The links attached to each of their names will take you to the email form on their websites.

Thank you for your advocacy and your support for all of Alaska’s wildlife refuges!