Author: Poppy Benson

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Tracking Rufous Hummingbirds’ Travel Itinerary: Tues, 3/17, 5pm AKDT

Presented by Todd Eskelin, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Wildlife Biologist

Tuesday, March 17, 5 – 6 pm Alaska Daylight Time

  • Soldotna – Todd Eskelin in person with reception to follow. Bring green treats for St. Patrick’s Day if you can. Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Ski Hill Road.
  • Anchorage – Watch Party at REI’s Community Room, 500 E. Northern Lights
  • Homer – Watch Party at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Hwy.  
  • Zoom – Zoom link to be posted HERE

Rufous Hummingbirds are in trouble with their populations down 60% percent in the past 30 years.  They are declining faster than any other western hummingbird.  What is going on for this small bird, the northernmost of all hummingbirds?   

Join us to hear from Todd Eskelin, a Kenai Refuge wildlife biologist and one of only 3 Alaskans permitted to band hummingbirds.   Hear about how Todd and partners are taking their search for answers to the next level with radio transmitters on the birds to better understand migration risks.

Todd has been utilizing traditional banding methods since 2019 to track how many hummingbirds are returning to breeding grounds on the Kenai Peninsula. It is an incredible journey from wintering grounds in Mexico for tiny birds who cannot soar but must beat their wings for every mile. Rufous have the longest migration routes of any hummingbird species.  By recapturing banded birds, researchers have learned that adults are making it back and a few are returning year after year. Why are adults making it back and eventually aging out, but juveniles are not stepping up and replacing them in the breeding pool?



Rufous Hummingbird with transmitter at Alabama Banding station. PC Jasmine Meichner

Now Todd and partners from the Banding Coalition for the Americas and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center are ready to launch into the next phase by attaching tiny radio transmitters on Rufous and tracking their migration journey south.  Todd hopes to find out what habitats are important to them and where the risks are during migration. 

They hope to learn some of the important stops and the migration route between Point A on the Kenai Peninsula and the wintering grounds. Maybe it is Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming or Browns Park Refuge in Colorado that will be a critical connection to the wintering grounds. Come learn how this new technology may be the key to unlocking the mystery of migration and how this can help conserve this important pollinator that has a life history spanning 3 countries. What will it take to save them and how can National Wildlife Refuges play a role in that?









Todd Eskelin with an Anna’s Hummingbird in Homer. This bird is not yet known to breed on the Kenai Peninsula.

Biography

Todd Eskelin may be the only person who has handled a hummingbird and a bald eagle in the same day, so ask him about it.  Todd has traveled all over the state banding birds.  In previous positions, he was the head bander at Alaska Bird Observatory, an eider observer from small planes all over western Alaska, and helped set up MAPS banding in Izembek, Alaska Peninsula and Becharof national wildlife refuges before getting a permanent job at the Kenai Refuge in 2001.

Todd was raised in Soldotna, went off to college at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon but came back to Soldotna.  Family, a chance to volunteer on a Kenai Refuge lynx study during college and love of the landscape drew him back. Todd says that the Kenai Refuge is one of those unique nexus points where multiple biomes and habitats collide and he finds that fascinating.  Todd says “What’s not to love” about a refuge with a high diversity of species, breath taking beauty and a place to feed the family with moose and salmon.

It was Todd’s wife Leah Eskelin, visitor center manager at the Kenai Refuge, who convinced him that his work with hummingbirds would be interesting to people and got him into giving talks and banding demonstrations.  “I’m not even a people person. I just want to do my research and band my birds on a quiet Sunday morning”.  He may not think of himself as a people person, but Todd’s enthusiasm for hummingbirds will be infectious.  Join us.



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Friends Save Art in the Arctic; Fairbanks Art Show Celebrates Refuges

By Poppy Benson, Outreach Chair

It looked like this annual event that for 10 years had been lighting up a Fairbanks Friday night with art highlighting Kanuti, Arctic and Yukon Flats refuges was doomed. Severe staff losses at the three Fairbanks based refuges left them with no capacity for this or other outreach and education events.  But Fairbanks Friends wouldn’t let it die.  A group has been meeting for weeks planning out this event scheduled for First Friday, October 3 at the Black Spruce Brewing Company.  The art would remain on display for the month of October.  The call for artists will go out April 1 with proposals due by May 1.  The theme will be selected shortly and it along with how to submit art will be found on this page.  The intent of this art show is to use art to create interest in and a different perspective on the wildlife and habitat of these northern refuges.  If you love art, refuges, and community events, now is the time to get involved.  Contact us at info@alaskarefugefriends.org to help make this happen.



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Are You a Fish & Wildlife Retiree? Reunion in Anchorage, Sept

This nation-wide reunion of Service retirees sponsored by the Association of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Retirees will be held from September 21 – 25, 2026 at the Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage. Helen Clough, former chief of planning for the Alaska region, and Robin West, former Kenai refuge manager, are the co-chairs and would love to hear from you that you could help with planning. They also can give advice on what to see and do in Alaska outside of the talks, field trips and reconnection time at the reunion. Let them know you are interested. You do not need to be a member of the Association to attend.

Caption for Photo:  Oh to be young (or not so young) and in Alaska in the first years of the new national wildlife refuges created or expanded in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).   This 1987 photo was taken at a holiday event of refuge planners in the Anchorage regional office who were responsible for creating the first land use and management plans (CCPs) for these new, or newly configured refuges.  Front row left to right:  Maggi Arend, Mary Lynn Nation, Leslie Kerr, Clay Hardy, back row Connie Wasink, Poppy Benson, Mike Haase, Danielle Jerry, Chuck Diters, Bob Seemel and Joe Mazonne  – all retired and some are gone.


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Shorebird Festival May 6 – 10: What to Know this Year

By Marcy Melville, Shorebird Festival Coordinator

Spring comes fast in Homer, and so do the birds. The 2026 Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival will return May 6–10, with five full days of birding, learning, art, and community.

This year’s festival keeps the heart of what people love, with a few highlights we can’t wait to share. With nearly 200 events during the festival, there is plenty to be excited about. Registration opens March 20th at 11:00 AM, so mark your calendars! Printed programs will be available for pickup at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in early March and will also be available on the Shorebird Festival website.

This year’s featured artist is Yumi Kawaguchi, whose festival artwork features the American Golden Plover. Yumi’s beautiful work is known for its detail, warmth, and woodcut style. During the festival, she will be hosting an artist workshop as well as participating in the MotherBird Fair. Learn more about Yumi and where to meet her during the festival here.

Our 2026 keynote speaker is Alvaro Jaramillo, a biologist, guide, and educator with decades of experience birding and studying birds across the Americas. Alvaro will be part of several festival events, including his keynote talk, where he will share how birders use different ways of thinking to see and understand birds. He’ll also be introducing this year’s festival film, Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching, which he appears in. Learn more about Alvaro and his role in the festival here.

More details will be shared soon as spring approaches.  Until then, enjoy the longer days and the quiet before the birds return.




The American Golden Plover, featured bird of the 2026 Festival, as portrayed by Festival Artist Yumi Kawaguchi.   This lovely art will be featured on shirts, sweatshirts and other products coming soon.


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February 2026 Advocacy Report

By Nancy Lord, Advocacy Committee Chair

Among the latest for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the news that the Department of the Interior (DOI) has now opened the coastal plain (the primary calving grounds for the Porcupine caribou herd) to oil and gas leasing nominations. The call is for nominations and comments (our emphasis) on which tracts should be offered in the first of four required lease sales mandated under the “big beautiful bill.” 

As you will recall, previous leases in the refuge gathered virtually no industry support. The first lease sale, held in January 2021 under the original program, brought in just $16.5 million—less than 1% of the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Most leases were purchased by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), a public corporation of the State of Alaska. Only two private companies, Knik Arm Services LLC and Regenerate Alaska, participated, and both ultimately relinquished their leases. The second lease sale, held in January 2025, received no bidders and generated no revenue at all. The promise that Arctic Refuge leasing would meaningfully contribute to the federal budget was squashed.

While we continue our Arctic Refuge litigation with coalition partners and the attorneys at Trustees for Alaska, we cannot rest on the possibility of legal success or the chance that industry will continue to be uninterested in the area. We have multiple opportunities to discourage bidding by speaking out loudly and often, including during the just-opened 30-day nominations period.

The Alaska Wilderness League says this: “Executives and investors pay attention to risk. They pay attention to reputational damage. And they pay attention when a project becomes synonymous with controversy and opposition. If bidding on the Arctic Refuge means headlines, protests, investor questions, and sustained public backlash from day one, many companies will decide it simply isn’t worth it.” 

In addition to protesting the lease sales by letting potential bidders and financers know how much we value these refuge lands as refuge, we can submit comments by mail or email  More information on how to submit comments can be found here. Be sure to put in the subject line:  Coastal Plain Leases.  Comments must be received by March 5.

  • By Mail: State Director, Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, 222 West 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK 99513–7504
  • Email (and this is the whole address) BLM_AKSO_AK932_AKLeasesales@blm.gov

Photo Caption (Above)   The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is an important bird nursery not just for northern birds like this snowy owl but for birds that migrate south to all 50 states and other continents.  200 species nest on the Arctic Refuge with 70 species specific to the coastal plain (area to be leased for oil and gas). PC:Melissa Groo/FWS


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Sheefish: What We Have Learned – Recording Here

Presented by

Bill Carter, Selawik National Wildlife Refuge Fish Biologist

With comments by Co-investigators Ray Hander, USFWS Fish Biologist and Randy Brown, USFWS Fish Biologist (retired)
This meeting was recorded on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 in Kotzebue, AK.



Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 5 pm Alaska Time

  • Kotzebue – Bill Carter  – change of venue – Selawik National Wildlife Refuge Headquart, 160 2nd Ave. Refreshments.
  • Soldotna – Watch Party at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Ski Hill Road
  • Anchorage – Watch Party at REI’s Community Room, 500 E. Northern Lights Blvd.
  • Homer – Watch Party at Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Hwy.
  • Or from anywhere via ZOOM  





The inlet-lake-river complex of Selawik National Wildlife Refuge is highly productive and an ecosystem unique in the whole state of Alaska.  Selawik River, PC Steve Hillebrand/USFWS

Straddling the Arctic Circle in a remote corner of northwestern Alaska lies Selawik Refuge, a special place of extreme climate, free-flowing rivers, abundant wildlife and an iconic Arctic fish – the sheefish.  The upper Selawik River is one of two spawning areas in the region for sheefish, known as Sii in the local Inupiaq language.  A large permafrost thaw slump began sliding into the river in 2004 releasing so much sediment that it turned the clear Selawik River muddy like the Yukon for nine straight summers.  Fish biologists and local people were concerned about the effect on the spawning grounds.  Come hear from Bill Carter, Selawik Refuge fish biologist, about what they learned about sheefish and this slump in a study spanning nearly 20 years.   Find out how they determined that the impact was not what many feared but that sheefish proved to be remarkably adaptable. Join us to learn the current knowledge of Sii (aka sheefish or inconnu) in the Kotzebue Sound Region.   

Sheefish are an important subsistence food year-round for Alaska Native Peoples and other residents of rural Alaska.  Sheefish is so important for subsistence that the Inupiaq name for the region is Siilvik, meaning in English “the place for sheefish”.   Check out this podcast of Kotzebue resident Siikauraq Martha Whiting  talking about how locals catch, preserve and cook sheefish.














Although a member of the salmon family, sheefish flesh is white and may be preserved by drying or freezing.

Sheefish are the largest of Alaska’s whitefish and commonly live upwards of 35 years and weigh as much as 60 pounds. Unlike salmon, sheefish can spawn multiple times over their long lives.  They inhabit large systems of interconnecting lakes, rivers and estuarine waters in the Yukon, Kuskokwim, Selawik, and Kobuk rivers in Alaska. Sheefish typically inhabit brackish waters in winter to feed and then begin to move upstream during the summer. In late summer, the mature fish spawn in specific upstream stretches of the river. After spawning, they quickly head back downstream to the feeding grounds.

Biographies

Bill Carter knew he wanted to be a fish biologist since age 6 when he watched Jacques Cousteau on television.  Bill came north to Alaska for adventure where he ran sled dogs for Iditarod mushers for several winters. He worked 16 seasons as a fish technician at the US Fish and Wildlife Service Northern Field Office in Fairbanks, often on fish projects at the Selawik Refuge. He received his master’s degree from UAF and in 2014, Bill was hired as the fish biologist for the Selawik Refuge.  One aspect that Bill finds special about the Refuge is the many interconnected waterways – from the vast wetlands to the hundreds of lakes and ponds, to the bays, to the ocean. There is a great diversity of fish habitats in the Selawik Refuge, but salmon do not occur. Sheefish is the very special fish in the Refuge – an essential subsistence food for local people and of great ecological interest. 

Ray Hander began his work in fishery science as a volunteer in 1987 with the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.  His parents encouraged him to pursue this volunteer opportunity which they noticed in an Audubon newsletter.  A year later, Ray was hired as a fish technician and worked at the Kodiak Refuge from1988 until 1997.  He later completed a master’s degree at UAF, studying coho salmon. Ray has worked as a fishery scientist at the USFWS Fisheries Office since 2000 and in 2004 began research on sheefish at the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge.  Ray finds the Selawik Refuge and the sheefish research especially interesting due to the highly productive inlet-lake-river complex, an ecosystem unique in the whole state of Alaska. He has enjoyed working with the people of the Selawik region, finding a gracious welcome to work together towards further understanding of the life of sheefish.
Selawik Refuge’s entrance sign features a sheefish as “ambassador animal” for the refuge .  It was created in 2024 by Inupiaq artist Norma Ballot and former refuge educator and artist Christina Nelson.  



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Refuges Support Christmas Bird Counts

By Poppy Benson, Outreach Chair

Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is the nation’s longest running citizen science project.  It has produced over 100 years of data to provide a picture of the health of bird populations. Seven Alaska national wildlife refuges participated in Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) even though the counting circles usually don’t include refuge lands.  Some hosted potlucks after the count, others are the organizers and Kodiak had staff and volunteer teams.  The relationship between birds, Audubon and the refuges goes way back to when the first refuges nationwide and in Alaska were created to protect birds.  So, what did they find?

  • Alaska Maritime Refuge – Homer; Record sea ice limited water bird sightings and the total numbers of individual birds counted (4,144 – ½ of last year), but 69 species were spotted by the 31 observers, more than the average of 65. Highlights were a first record for count day of a Wilson’s snipe, only the 3rd CBC sighting of a storm -petrel, 5 species of woodpeckers and 4 species of owls.  The refuge hosted morning send off and post count potluck.
  • Alaska Peninsula/Becharof Refuges – King Salmon; Four participants including one refuge employee turned out and found 18 species and 1698 birds about a third of which were red polls.  In addition, biologist Jamie Welfelt is the organizing force and keeper of the data even though an out of state trip kept her from counting.  Highlights were a hawk owl, northern shrike, trumpeter swan and Bohemian waxwings. 









Hawk owl was an unusual find for King Salmon, headquarters of the Alaska Peninsula/Becharof Refuges.  PC  Mary Friesche and Tom Collopy/ North Wind Photography










  • Kenai Refuge – Soldotna; final count data isn’t available.  Extreme cold affected this count as well although the potluck at the refuge visitor center post count was warm.  Two wrens and an unusual number of ravens were noted. 
  • Kodiak Refuge – Kodiak takes the prize for most species (74), most individual birds (10,504) and the most participants (74 includes 26 feeder watchers).  High winds prevented boat and mountain observations and were undoubtedly responsible for both the number of species and individual birds being about 15% below average. Most common species with more than 1000 birds each were emperor goose, mallards and greater scaup.  Less common sightings were trumpeter swans and snow goose.
  • Koyukuk/Nowitna Refuges – Galena; Extreme cold of minus 35 on count day limited bird activity so the two counters, both refuge employees, allowed a second day of counting when it was only minus 18.  They found 5 species.  1 counter reported 7 birds.  Ruffed grouse (called willy chickens locally because of their white meat) are increasing around town and that is believed to be tied to the snowshoe hare cycle which is also high.   
  • Tetlin Refuge – Tok – a long streak of minus 55 degree days meant few birds on the move at Tetlin although it had warmed to minus 20 by count day.  6 species and 50 birds were counted by the 5 counters including 1 feeder watcher organized by the refuge and supplied with loaner binoculars.  Ravens and boreal chickadees were the most common birds.
  • Yukon Delta Refuge – Bethel; 8 groups of counters organized by the refuge found 10 species for a total of 125 birds plus an unknown number of ravens.   Pine siskins were an uncommon bird for count day.  Bryan Daniels, refuge biologist, thought they should have seen more chickadees, redpolls and grosbeaks given the good weather.

The Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 as an attempt to replace the “Christmas side hunt”, a competitive event with the goal of killing as many birds as possible, with something that would help birds not kill them.  From small beginnings the new event took hold.  The data collected by observers over the past century allow for study of the long-term health and status of bird populations. 

Above:  Kodiak with its open marine waters, relatively mild climate and strong local Audubon saw the most species, most birds and had the most counters.  PC: Isabel Justiniano Iriarte

 

 



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January 2026 Advocacy Report

by Nancy Lord, Advocacy Committee Chair

First, for some positive news.  Congress has agreed on a bipartisan 2026 DOI appropriations bill that rejects the deep cuts to the refuge system that had been proposed by the Administration and maintains a budget that will allow the refuges to continue essential work. It also ends the threat of a February shutdown.  This bill will also fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and increase funding for refuge system law enforcement. Alaska’s Senator Murkowski, chair of the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, was a leader on this effort. Please consider calling or writing to thank her. Senator Murkowski’s contact information is here.

We have not given up on the Arctic and Izembek Refuges. In both cases, we’re working with coalitions represented by the non-profit law firm Trustees for Alaska to pursue compliance with laws.

In the case of the Arctic Refuge, last month the Senate rolled back environmental protections to include only minimal ones, to expedite the oil and gas leasing program that mandates four lease sales within the next ten years. With allied groups, we’re suing the Department of the Interior on issues related to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Wilderness Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

In the case of the Izembek Refuge land exchange and road, our lawsuit contends that the Department of the Interior failed to follow mandated steps for approving a transportation system (road) within a designated Wilderness area and, in addition, failed to address the requirement for a land swap to meet ANILCA’s conservation and subsistence purposes. The State is currently pursuing permits to build the road. Trustees commented on the application for a Corps of Engineers 404 permit on behalf of the coalition of groups involved in the lawsuit.

In other news, the Fish and Wildlife Service has begun conducting a fast-tracked review of the refuge system to, in the words of the Dec. 16 directive, “look for refuges or hatcheries established for a purpose that no longer aligns with the mission” of the agency, and for “opportunities to achieve efficiencies in the areas of governance, oversight, and span of control.” Our Friends group submitted comments on the review by the Jan. 5 deadline (later extended to Jan. 15) and will comment again when recommendations appear. One major concern for refuges is that lands may be targeted for sale or trade into private ownership or a public land status with lower conservation protections even though ANILCA prohibits the disposal of lands from Alaska refuges.

We are still working to try to end the government hiring freeze that does not allow even replacing retirees. Our refuges are suffering tremendously from staff shortages. For example, the acting manager/assistant manager at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge is retiring in March, which will leave the refuge with neither a manager nor assistant manager. The long-time captain of the research vessel Tiglax has also retired. As another example, Kodiak Refuge now has only one maintenance person for the visitor center, staff housing, offices and other facilities in the City of Kodiak plus 10 remote public use cabins and a field camp. It’s not safe to go to the off-road refuge alone so the sole remaining maintenance worker must recruit help. Chartering a plane or boat is necessary to maintain remote facilities since the refuge lost its pilot and boat operator and sold the boat to save money.  The one remaining biologist has the same problem getting to the field.  The busy summer field season is not far off! Contact your legislators to urge that the hiring freeze be ended!

Find contact information for the Alaska delegation here. If you live in another state, please contact members of your own delegation.  You can find get their contact information from the Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121)

Follow our Facebook and Instagram pages for additional information and updates.

Photo Above:  Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in fall colors.  PC Mary Frische and Tom Collopy/Wild North Photography/Friends



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Lovely Lady Leaves Lovely Legacy for Refuges and Friends

By Poppy Benson with Sharon Baur

Mary Frische, photographer, artist, ardent refuge supporter, volunteer and early Friends Board member left us last week at nearly 90.  Mary with her husband Tom Collopy photographed six Alaska refuges, Alaska Maritime, Kenai, Kanuti, Alaska Peninsula, Izembek and Yukon Delta, as Friends volunteers.  Their work is an integral part of the Alaska Maritime and Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Centers.  A show of their Yukon Delta and Alaska Maritime images was hung in the Wendy Williamson Auditorium at UAA for a 2009 event celebrating the 100th anniversary of those Teddy Roosevelt Refuges featuring historian Douglas Brinkley speaking on Roosevelt.  Their images have been featured in numerous refuge publications and talks and you can see more of them below.

Mary and Tom came to Alaska, photography and refuges late in life after retirement.  On one of their Alaska vacations, Mary told Tom “I don’t want to leave” so they moved to Homer in 2001.  They didn’t intend to get as deep into the photography business as they did forming Wild North Photography, and they had no prior experience with national wildlife refuges, but it all just evolved.  Former Alaska Maritime refuge manager Greg Siekaniec “discovered” them at a show of their work featuring the lands stewarded by the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust.  Greg recruited them to photograph for the refuge’s brand-new visitor center in Homer promising them a trip on the refuge ship Tiglax and passage to the Pribilofs to get the job done.  Tom says the lure of getting to places they wouldn’t be able to otherwise plus their growing love of refuges sold them on the volunteer job which took nearly two years.  Mary told me once that she couldn’t tell you which photos she took and which Tom took.  To the refuge they were always “Mary and Tom”, “Tom and Mary”. 

Tom and Mary on assignment on Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

But Mary’s support for refuges and Friends went even beyond the years they spent photographing refuges.  She served on the Board and as a liaison to Kodiak Refuge.  She was also a dear friend and inspiration to many Friends.

Former Board member Sharon Baur writes this about Mary.  “Mary was an extraordinary artist—an accomplished photographer and painter whose creativity flowed effortlessly through clay, film, and paint. Yet her greatest talent reached far beyond any medium. Mary had the rare gift of creating a space that felt happy, calm, safe, and full of humor. To know her was to feel welcomed and seen. That was her crowning art.  Mary brought joy so naturally, so generously. Through her, I learned to see with the heart and eyes of an artist. Her gift to me is cherished beyond words, and I carry it every day. In gratitude and love, I strive to pass on what she so freely gave—joy, beauty, and a way of seeing the world more gently.

I will miss her deeply.”

And so will all of us at Friends.  Rest in peace dear Mary and thank you for everything.



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Looking Back – Looking Forward; Alaska National Wildlife Refuges – Purpose, Place, & Promise; recording here

Presented by Robin West, Retired Biologist and 14-year Manager of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge

This program was recorded live on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 5 pm Alaska Time


Thanks to everyone who joined us in person and on zoom!

  • Soldotna – Robin West in person at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Ski Hill Rd.  Soup supper and booksigning follows.
  • Anchorage  – Watch Party at REI’s Community Room, 500 E. Northern Lights Blvd.
  • Homer – Watch Party at Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Hwy.

From the seat of a canoe on a solo trip on the Yukon River, Robin West had time to think back on a long life and career in Alaska.  Out of that experience came a book and this talk.  It’s part adventure tale and part reflections on the development of national wildlife refuges in Alaska from someone who was there in that heady time when the refuges were just being created and expanded.  Come hear retired biologist and long time Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Manager Robin West relive stories about his thirty-year career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska as he shares the highlights of his first book, Thirty of Forty in the 49th: Memories of a Wildlife Biologist in Alaska.  The book captures Robin’s memories as he reflects back in time while on that solo canoe trip on the Upper Yukon River and into the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in 2019, forty years after he first visited the area.  The trip spawned thoughts of work accomplishments and challenges as well as created memories from this new adventure, including paddling through, and camping along the river during a massive wild fire.  














Robin West in 1979 on the upper Yukon River just a year after coming to Alaska and 40 years before his solo canoe trip.  PC Howard Metsker/USFWS.

Robin’s career in Alaska started during the contentious time of debate over which and how much federal lands in Alaska should be included in new or expanded refuges, parks or forests.  This was prior to the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980.  He will include discussions of this time period and of the lasting impact of the legislation, as well as an overview of Alaska’s conservation history.  His stories also will include first hand views of the evolution of national wildlife refuge management and how current issues like oil and gas development, road construction, and predator control have been addressed historically.  Robin had personal experience with two of our hot button issues – he worked on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge now slated for oil development and was manager at Izembek where land has now been traded away for construction of a road through the heart of the refuge.   Additionally, he will touch on other big topics from his tenure including the formation of agency policies, subsistence management, and climate change.

Biography in his own words

Alaska was not a place I ever imagined I would visit, let alone work for the bulk of my career.  Growing up in Grants Pass, Oregon, in the 1960s, my knowledge of the 49th state was what little came from reading the encyclopedia set that held a cherished place on our bookshelf and one movie I saw at the Fairgrounds.  I was intrigued, however, with science and wild animals, and I loved hunting, fishing, and visiting wild places – the wilder the better.  My goal in going to Oregon State University to become a wildlife biologist was only to work somewhere with critters.  While Alaska was not on my radar, when the opportunity came to go north to work after receiving my degree in Wildlife Science, I jumped at the chance.  I bought a one-way ticket to Anchorage and packed my belongings into 2 suitcases, 2 cardboard apple boxes, a backpack and a rifle case.  I never regretted it. 
















Robin West was Refuge Manager of Kenai National Wildlife Refuge for 14 years from 1995 to 2009.  Sockeye salmon in Bear Creek (Tustumena Lake) on the Kenai Refuge during his years as manager.  PC Gary Sonnevil/USFWS

That was in 1978 to start my career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska. For 30 years, I worked in Alaska as a contaminants biologist (working on oil and gas and mining issues), as a fisheries biologist (working in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), Assistant Manager at Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Refuge Manager at Izembek Refuge, a wildlife biologist overseeing the Migratory Bird Program in the Anchorage Regional Office, and as the Refuge Manager of Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.  The last five years of my career were in Portland, Oregon, retiring in 2014 as the Regional Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System for the Pacific Region with management responsibilities for over 50 million acres of land and water.

I enjoy writing, traveling, wildlife observation and photography as well as hunting, fishing, and canoeing and continue to pursue these interests around the world, having visited all seven continents and over 40 countries.  I have written three other books on wide ranging topics from a fictional work to bowhunting stories.  My wife Shannon and I moved back to Alaska from Oregon in 2023 to be closer to our adult children and grandchildren and now live in Soldotna with our labradoodle “Elu”.

Photo At Top of Page:  Robin at the start of his 2019 solo canoe trip at Eagle on the Yukon River.  PC Alexandra Jefferies



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