Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released their draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, outlining a path to build a road through one of the most important wetland habitats in Alaska. This proposed road threatens not only migratory birds and sustainable Indigenous lifeways in this region, but it also lays out a path for the transfer of lands specifically protected by the Alaska National Interests Land Act (ANILCA) across Alaska for development.
“The proposal to build a road through the Izembek Refuge as outlined in the SEIS today is an extremely dangerous precedent for fish and wildlife habitat protection in Alaska,” says Marilyn Sigman, President of the Friends of Alaska NWRs. “The Izembek Refuge is wilderness, and species such as the Emperor goose and Pacific black brant depend on this place as their breeding habitat. A road bisecting the refuge puts the conservation of these lands at extreme risk.”
The lands proposed for exchange are not equivalent in conservation value. The land exchange as proposed would swap lands within the Refuge with lands currently owned by the King Cove Corporation. Dozens of native tribes and tribal entities, including the Native Village of Hooper Bay and its village corporation, have opposed this land exchange.
We have joined with many conservation and tribal partners to oppose the road across the Refuge throughout the Biden Administration and thus are extremely disappointed to see this land exchange to enable road-building come at the tail end of this Administration.
By Karyn Murphy, Homer Friends member and Alaska Maritime Refuge Liaison
During this past summer, I was given the opportunity to join with a biologist from the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and a grad student from Oregon to go to the Barren Islands for several weeks to work and live at the East Amatuli Island field camp. The seabird rich, uninhabited Barren Islands are about 60 miles south of Homer where Cook Inlet flows into the Gulf of Alaska. Our focus would be three-fold: check productivity plots of Fork-tailed Storm Petrel burrows and measure any chicks found; set up mist nets to capture petrels as they returned at night to feed their chicks and to collect the puke they regurgitated upon capture for later analysis; and setting up timelapse camera gear to monitor puffin colonies.
Fork-tailed Storm Petrel chicks are cute fluffballs! We recorded wing length, weight and amount of down all of which helps approximate age of the chick.
The data we gathered contributed to decades long records which indicate not just how well the refuge’s trust species are doing but also what the birds’ health has to say about the health of the ocean they feed from. Weather was very stormy and windy with a few lovely sunny days. The icing on the cake was getting picked up by the refuge research ship the R/V Tiglax for our return to Homer. What a challenging and rewarding opportunity! So grateful to have had this time at the East Amatuli Island field camp. I hope others are inspired to volunteer for opportunities within our Alaska national wildlife refuge system!
I’m not laying down on the job here. We were often up to our armpits reaching to the very back of the storm petrel burrows to find and gently extract the chick for measurements.
Forecast 50 mile an hour gusts canceled Yukon Delta’s Walk for the Wild in Bethel, wind-lashed rain across Homer Spit dampened enthusiasm for the Alaska Maritime Walk and buckets of rain resulted in no takers for 3 of the 4 guided Walks offered at Kenai Refuge. And if that wasn’t bad enough, high winds toppled a tree cutting power to the Kenai Refuge Visitor Center. The 15 that showed up for the Trails Discovery Room in the Visitor Center had to enjoy it by flashlight! Only the Anchorage Walk scheduled for a different day pulled off without a hitch in lovely fall weather. Between the four planned walks, only about 25 people actually walked and $790 was raised. Walk for the Wild is a national program to get people moving in nature and also raise money to support the work of Friends groups.
Ready to outreach but no one to outreach to! Becky Wick holds down the tent at the Kenai Refuge. Friends Marie McConnell, Tim Shipman, Dan Musgrove and Christina Paxman as well as Becky gamely turned out to run the event but no takers. PC Marie McConnell
But Anchorage was glorious. Meg Parsons (far right) led the Walk held at the Campbell Creek Science Center which preceded our Octobermembership meeting. PC Poppy Benson
Only the furry really enjoyed Alaska Maritime Refuge’s wet and wild Walk on the Homer Spit. Interpretive signs lined the 5K route. Carla Stanley and Kevin and Jeanne Walker helped on the soggy event which attracted only 7 walkers to our outreach table.
This past summer four Friends volunteered in different capacities with the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge in Kotzebue in far northwestern Alaska. Selawik had not asked for volunteers in many years but Brittany Sweeney, new to her position as Deputy Refuge Manager, saw an opportunity to augment their small staff. Here are our volunteers’ stories.
I Had Never Introduced Myself to an Entire Village Before: But here I was with a VHF radio in my hand. By Saralily Stein, Anchor Point Friend
“Good morning Selawik! My name is Sarahlily, and my friend Lynda and I are here from the Fish and Wildlife Service. We’ll be leading nature crafts in the NANA building this afternoon from 1:30 – 4:30pm. Ages eight and up are welcome to join us.” I looked over at Adam, and he gave me a thumbs up. Phew!
This July, I spent nine days volunteering with Selawik National Wildlife Refuge. With the help of refuge staff and tribal administrators, I led three nature art workshops in the villages of Selawik and Buckland.
Two workshops focused on botanical ink making. Participants used local plants such as kikmiññat (cranberries) to make watercolor paintings. We had a great time experimenting with different leaves, berries, and flowers. In addition to the art side of the project, we tried to include both cultural and scientific components by incorporating the Iñupiaq plant names and using acids and bases to modify the colors of the inks. In Selawik, the ink workshop had only three participants. In Buckland, we had forty!
The other workshop focused on cyanotype printing. Also called sun printing, this craft uses light sensitive paper to make botanical prints. We took a plant walk to gather materials and then used those plants to make cards and socks.
In Selawik, I was joined by Lynda Knutsen, who was working at Selawik refuge on a detail. Refuge Information Technician (FWS Village liaison) Adam Ramoth picked us up from the airport, showed us around, and made sure we had everything we needed. We stayed in a funky little bunkhouse with creative plumbing, friendly neighbors, and a couple of opinionated outdoor dogs. Selawik is a boardwalk community. So, instead of driving cars around on gravel roads we rode around the wooden boardwalks on “Hondas” (four-wheelers) with a little trailer to carry our totes of art supplies.
In Buckland, refuge deputy manager Brittany Sweeney joined me, and the two of us stayed in the school building. Tribal administrator Sheila Washington helped us get the word out and corral the many enthusiastic kids during the workshop. I was so impressed by these kids! They were kind to each other, sharing the art supplies with one another and helping each other find what they needed. Making ink with them was a blast.
In between workshops, I stayed in Kotzebue at the refuge bunkhouse. Just across the Chukchi Sea from Russia, Kotzebue was a great “homebase” to explore, relax, and prep for workshops. In addition to managing the many logistics that go into village travel, Brittany went out of her way to welcome me, even inviting me and Lynda over to her home to try local sheefish.
A huge thank you to Friends for making this trip possible. A special taikuu (thanks) to Jerry Hupp who coordinated logistics, ordered the art supplies, and organized the budget. I hope to volunteer again in the future!
Friends secured a small grant from the Fish and Wildlife Service Retirees’ Association to fund Sarahlily’s travel and supplies.
Buckland Village children with the ink they made from plants and postcards created with the ink. PC Brittany Sweeney.
Two in Town: Bev and Louis first visit to NW Alaska
As told to Poppy Benson
“I’m grateful I went,” said Bev Cronen of the three weeks she and her partner Louis Dupree spent volunteering at Selawik refuge headquarters in Kotzebue. “It was interesting to just get a taste of what it is like to live off the road system,” she added. “I took pictures of prices in the store because I am sure my friends wouldn’t believe it. $14.87 for a loaf of Dave’s Bread!” Bev and Louis also got in on a community meeting when Senator Sullivan came to town. More than 50 locals attended and those that spoke expressed their concerns mainly about the Ambler Road. The prevailing sentiment was anti-road. Locals felt they did not have enough say in a road which would be disruptive to them and their way of life. Bev and Louis also enjoyed just walking around town observing people and their neighborhoods.
Bev and Louis answered the call to help with office work and a variety of small maintenance tasks. With no administrative staff at the refuge, the four full time and two part time employees have gotten quite behind on simple things like dealing with files, small paint jobs and shredding documents. Bev reported that the government housing was lovely, the staff very hardworking and working with Brittany Sweeney, Deputy Refuge Manager was a highlight. And the feeling was mutual. Brittany dedicated a Selawik Refuge Facebook post to the two writing the refuge owed them a “HUGE thank you . . . .. They assisted with anything and everything we asked, from maintenance tasks to mail runs, filing and more. Our office has never looked better than after their visit; these two avid sailors left us in ship shape!” Bev reported it was gratifying to help the staff and she would go back again.
Bev Cronen and Louis Depree of Homer at Selawik Refuge Headquarters in Kotzebue. PC. USFWS/Brittany Sweeney
Off to a Good Start: New Refuge Liaison Visits the Refuge
Our Friends refuge liaison positions were created so that each of the 16 refuges have one member that looks out for that refuge and its needs. It isn’t often however, that the refuge liaison pays their way out to a remote refuge to really get to know the refuge and the staff. Nancy Deschu of Anchorage did juist that in July traveling to Kotzebue. Nancy has a particular interest in rivers and fisheries being a retired hydrologist and spent time with refuge biologist Bill Carter with the idea of writing an article. She also got filled in on refuge concerns – new broad band towers proposed for the refuge, the Ambler Road, not enough staff and not enough money. Refuge staff wondered if Friends could help with grant writing, chasing soft money, volunteers for at least three-week stints and increasing public awareness of this little-known refuge. Both Brittany Sweeney, Deputy Refuge Manager and Nancy felt the trip was invaluable for getting Nancy up to speed on Selawik concerns.
This event was recorded live on November 19, 2024 in Anchorage, with other participants at watch parties and on Zoom.
“I think of the Cessna 206 as a Swiss army knife. It can do so many things well…and that makes it a very useful plane for aerial survey work” Heather Wilson as quoted in Vogue magazine. Heather flying the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Cessna 206 over the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. PC Erinn Springer, Vogue.
Heather Wilson has said that if she could have one animal adaptation it would be flight! She’s been featured in Vogue,Outside, andSmithsonianmagazines and now she will be here with us on the 19th to share her unique dual-function position of both pilot and wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Migratory Bird Management. Learn how aerial bird surveys are conducted, the logistics of flying and surveying in some of the most remote parts of Alaska, and the research and management implications of the survey data she collects. Heather’s work takes her to ALL of Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges and her surveys determine hunting regulations and management actions for an array of common and threatened species.
Heather is currently the project lead/pilot-observer for:
Population surveys for winter and fall brant at Izembek & Maritime National Wildlife Refuges
Breeding pair surveys across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Coastal Zone, Arctic Coastal Plain, Copper River Delta, Kenai and Kanuti National Wildlife Refuges
Molting goose surveys and captures in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Use Area and Innoko Refuge.
She touched on these, as well as other waterbird surveys and field work past and present across the state.
Counting Cackling Canada Geese by eye on the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge flying only 125 feet AGL (above ground level). PC Tim Bowman/USFWS
Biography
Heather Wilson’s interest in conservation (and aviation) developed from growing up and working in the mountains, rivers, and forests of northern California. She holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and a B.A. in Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. After several years of working as a field biologist in North, Central, and South America (focused on neo-tropical migratory birds and bats), Heather moved to Alaska in 2001. Within a year, she became a private airplane pilot, adding commercial, instrument, and float ratings in 2008.
Heather has said what she likes most about her work is the autonomy and challenge of aerial surveys in Alaska and getting to blend biology and piloting. She also enjoys visiting the vast lands that Fish and Wildlife Service manages across Alaska, seeing all the animals from above (100 ft), and working with a great group of people, “biologists and pilots are salt of the earth”. Although Heather is Anchorage based, she flies bird surveys throughout the state on National Wildlife Refuges, and beyond. Most of her aerial surveys serve as the primary population indices for setting hunting regulations through the Pacific Flyway and Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council, as well as assisting in conservation of Threatened species. When not in the work plane, Heather is busy compiling data and preparing for more surveys.
In her off time Heather enjoys hiking, skiing, hunting/fishing, playing music with her family and flying in the family’s Piper Super Cub. Heather Wilson with her children in the Super Cub.
See some great footage of bird flocks and learn more about her work as a Wildlife Biologist/Airplane Pilot in these short videos.
My first view of the Arctic Interagency Visitor Centerwas through a windshield splattered with mud. I had just completed, in pouring rain, the drive from Fairbanks to Coldfoot over the Dalton Highway. In spite of that grimy beginning my two week volunteer time was a beautiful experience. The southern edge of the Brooks Range was in full fall colors and the weather remained warm and often sunny. The South Fork of the Koyukuk ran clear, no ice.
The visitor center is an imaginative building with enticing exhibits that give visitors a good introduction to the vast wilderness reaching in all directions around them: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the northeast, Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge to the southwest, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge to the southeast, Gates of the Arctic National Park to the northwest, and the Dalton Highway Corridor (BLM). It was very fun to interact with visitors who were trying to understand wilderness and how to experience it. The staff representing the three agencies (Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management) were friendly, helpful and appreciative. Judy Brant and I were there to help with the final two weeks of being open to the public. There were several days when the visitor count was well over 100, and there were never any days without interesting visitors. One of our jobs was keeping count and never counting anyone twice. Sometimes this required group effort! Many visitors were tourists who wanted to experience the Dalton Highway. Others were hunters, miners visiting their claims and aurora watchers.
There is a Fish and Wildlife Service field camp a short distance north of Coldfoot with a variety of lodging possibilities from dry cabins to comfortable houses. Judy and I stayed in a house that had recently been upgraded. It was very comfortable and had indoor plumbing; a luxury in the far north. We both appreciated the convenient housing that gave us time to do some exploring.
But Anchorage was glorious. Meg Parsons (far right) led the Walk held at the Campbell Creek Science Center which preceded our Octobermembership meeting. PC Poppy Benson 
Fall colors on the Dalton Highway. PC Randy Lewis