By Mike Schantz, Chair of Friends Finance Committee
As a result of staffing and funding pressures, Friends has seen a dramatic increase in refuge project support needs. In a meeting this past month, the Friends Board evaluated 40 project proposals from Alaska’s national wildlife refuges outlining needs for approximately $105,000 in financial support. We are pleased to report that as the result of your membership dues and the generous contributions of major donors: the Board approved $97,000 to fund nearly all the proposed projects for the current year. We also applied for and received an additional $11,500 in grants for refuge projects. This brought the total funds we have made available to refuge projects to $108,500. This is three times more than we have ever been able to fund before.
Most projects fell into two broad categories: wildlife research and education. The research projects we funded included collecting storm petrel geolocators on the Alaska Maritime Refuge, travel for volunteers to Izembek Refuge to work on brant and eelgrass surveys, a plane charter for a“Bears and Berries” study on Kodiak Refuge and the continuation of a common murre research project on the Maritime Refuge. Some of these projects are long-term biological studies that would otherwise have been terminated, devaluing years of data.
The education and outreach projects we funded included partial funding for interns on Kenai and Tetlin refuges, support of Migratory Bird Day at Becharof/Alaska Peninsula, production of a visitor orientation video for the Arctic Refuge, production costs and prizes for the Migratory Bird Calendar made with village children’s art and poetry, travel for volunteers to staff the visitor centers at Kodiak, Alaska Peninsula and Yukon Delta refuges, and buses for school field trips to the Kenai and Alaska Maritime refuges.
Projects to benefit refuge users or communities include purchasing materials for a new outhouse at a river launch on the Togiak Refuge, funds to facilitate the “Slug-out” black slug and orange hawkweed invasive species control event for Alaska Maritime and Izembek refuges and support for community events at Selawik and Togiak refuges.
As we have communicated over the past few years, the amount of federal funding on a per acre to protect and manage Alaska refuge assets has eroded significantly. This dynamic is not expected to let up any time soon. Cuts have already resulted in reduced educational programing, visitor center hours and programming, and biological studies. These changes degrade recreational and subsistence opportunities and impair refuge managers’ ability to protect these national treasures long term. As a result, non-governmental resources like those provided by Friends are becoming more important to the refuges.
While this was our annual request for proposals from the refuges, given how dynamic things are for refuge staff right now, we expect there will be more “asks” as we move towards summer. To support these unplanned opportunities and needs, the Board has established a Rapid Response Fund for Alaska refuges and allocated $25,000 to it.
The Sam and Mary Lawrence Foundation made a second $5000 Sea2Earth Grant to Friends with $2000 going to Innoko Refuge for a high school program and $3000 going to Kodiak Refuge for Salmon Camp in the villages. The USFWS Retirees Association is also a repeat grantor with $1,500 to the Alaska Maritime Refuge to support “Tiglax in the Bay” an onboard education day on the refuge’s ship for K-12 students. The Homer Foundation granted $5000 to fund Junior Birder and Teen Birder activities at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival which is cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and Friends. These generous grants will support wonderful educational projects.
Our ability to support the refuges in this manner, is a function of the donations that you, our members, have entrusted to us. Know that we take very seriously the responsibility to get these resources to the refuges as efficiently as possible. Your continued membership dues and unrestricted or restricted donations are ever more critical to maintaining the programing at these vital natural treasures.
Want to be at the center of serving the refuges’ needs? We desperately need a new treasurer on the Board. You would be the key player in making these projects happen for the refuges. Speak QuickBooks or willing to learn? Contact us at treasurer@alaskarefugefriends.org.
Photo Caption Above
For the second year in a row Friends are funding storm petrel research by paying for the charter boat to get biologists out to the islands where these seabirds nest. Biologists will be collecting the geolocators that they attached to the birds last year. In November at our monthly meeting, we will get to hear the results of this research which will tell us more about the health of the oceans as well as the life of these birds. PC: Randy Lewis/Friends.