By Poppy Benson, Outreach Chair
As Friends newcomer Keith Jost of Anchorage said, “This is a really nice group of people.” And so they were – all 70 of them that converged at Kelly Lake Campground on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges on July 12. Friends came from throughout south-central Alaska to canoe, fish, hike, learn about wildfire on the refuge, eat great food, and enjoy the company of other refuge supporters. 31 camped overnight enjoying loon calls in the night and scolding by yellow-legs in the day.
The planning team was blown away with this enthusiastic response so we think we might need to do something similar every year. The demand is there for this type of experience. We more than met our objectives in getting people together to strengthen Friends bonds, getting people out on a refuge, making new friends, and learning about Friends, some of the issues facing refuges, the Kenai Refuge and the very significant Swan Lake fire.
We were fortunate in that two of the founding members – David Raskin our first president and Carla Stanley our first vice president were able to make the event. They were part of a handful of citizens that met at the Kenai Refuge Education building in November of 2005 and decided to form Friends. It has been quite a ride since then. We have grown to over 375 members, with 100 – 200 attending every meeting in person, at refuge watch parties or by zoom, dozens in the field volunteering and numerous refuge projects funded by Friends.
Could we make something similar happen in Fairbanks? Perhaps at the Tetlin Refuge? Want to be in on such fun times and show your support for Alaska’s National Wildlife efuges? Join us. We would love to have you.
Thanks to our photographers: Becky Hutchinson, Carla Stanley, Kieth Jost, Claire Holdaway, Kristine Sowl, Dan Musgrove, Marie McConnell, Paul Allen and Poppy Benson
