Author: Poppy Benson

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Looking Back – Looking Forward; Alaska National Wildlife Refuges – Purpose, Place, & Promise; Jan 20 talk

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

Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 5 pm Alaska Time

  • Soldotna – Robin West in person at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Ski Hill Rd.  Soup supper and booksigning follows.  Bring treats if able.
  • 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.
  • Via Zoom – link will be posted here closer to the program 

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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Winter Volunteer Opportunities: Travel to Kodiak? Do Something for Wildlife from Your Home? Make the Magic Happen in Homer?

By Poppy Benson, Outreach Chair

It is a sign of the times that refuges are looking for help in winter.  These and future opportunities are posted on our Volunteer web page.  Summer volunteer opportunities will be posted about March 1.

Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center –January, February, March or April

Kodiak has lost half their staff in the past year.  The young, very capable visitor center manager is the only one working out of the visitor center and has no other help to keep it open Tuesday through Saturday noon to 4.   The prime responsibility would be the visitor center desk and assisting the center manager.  However, if you could bring other skills to the table – social media? environmental education? event organization?  – so much the better as it might allow them to restart abandoned programs like First Friday Art Walk and children’s programs.  The refuge would supply very nice housing at refuge headquarters on the Buskin River and a refuge vehicle.  Airfare from Anchorage is under discussion.  They would prefer a three to four week (or longer) commitment.  See our description of volunteering in the Kodiak Visitor Center this past September.  This will be a quiet time of year and not like we experienced but – it’s Kodiak! and the staff is wonderful!  For more details on this project visit our Volunteer web page.



Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center is located right in the heart of downtown Kodiak in the midst of other visitor destinations:  The Baranof House, the Alutiiq Museum, the Chamber Visitor Center, the ferry dock, and the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral.  PC Poppy Benson/Friends

Save the Data!

Do you have a scientist’s curiosity and respect for data or a librarian’s desire to make information available?  The Fish & Wildlife Service needs help in selecting Refuge files for inclusion in the public-facing database: ServCat.  You can do this at home on your own schedule selecting which file batches you want to work on from Yukon Delta, Izembek, Selawik, Kodiak, or Kanuti national wildlife refuges.  You must have a computer.  An ideal way for our out of state members to help.  For more details on this project visit our Volunteer web page.

Make the Magic Happen; Homer’s Ice Lantern Walk Saturday, January 10, 5 – 7:30 pm

Homer people we need volunteers to make this popular event happen at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.  Can you make ice lanterns ahead of time at home?  Help set up Saturday afternoon from 2 – 4:30 pm, tend the fires, the s’more making or the craft station during the event and clean up afterwards from 7:30 to 8 pm?  Walk the trail Sunday to clean up any trash?  And lastly, Friends will have an outreach table that will need staffing.  Contact visitor center manager Lora Haller, at lora_haller@fws.gov by December 24 to help with the activities and me,  poppyb.ak@gmail.com to help with the outreach table.

Photo Above:  The Beluga Slough Trail walk by the glow of dozens of ice lanterns is a very popular free event for all ages but it needs Friends volunteers to make it all happen.  If you can’t volunteer, just come dressed for the weather and with ice cleats.  There will be a warming fire, s’mores, and hot chocolate.



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Before and After: Reflections on the Arctic Refuge on the Occasion of its 65th Birthday

By Marilyn Sigman, Friends President

My first trip to the Arctic Refuge was in 1981. I was a fledgling wildlife biologist, having completed a Master’s degree in wildlife management at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and snagged my first permanent job as a habitat biologist. I traveled up and down the Haul Road corridor looking for opportunities to protect habitat in advance of a gas pipeline whose construction seemed imminent then. When John Adams, the Director of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, wasn’t able to lead a planned trip to the Kongakut River in the Arctic Refuge, I jumped at the chance to volunteer.

Two women who had signed up for the trip had been looking forward to being led by one of Alaska’s more dashing and musical environmentalists and were not impressed by my last-minute substitution, especially when I screamed during the bear safety lecture I was giving because I spotted a spider crawling on my shotgun. The gear we ended up with was missing a few things like tent poles and all of the parts for most of the stoves. Fortunately for me, a fanatic fisherman in our group caught and cooked up fresh grayling each morning while I was struggling to get out of my sleeping bag to serve an expected breakfast. Fortunately for us all, the July weather was gloriously sunny. We wandered across the braided floodplain and along ridges amid blooming wildflowers and the calls of birds. As advertised and hoped for, clusters of the Porcupine Caribou – spiky bulls and cows with their newborn calves – came streaming by our tents on the gravel bar, their joints clicking. A pack of wolves passed by one day.

I returned to the Kongakut 40 years later, again in July. This time, I was the one being guided, required only to bring five layers of clothes and my hiking gear. The migration of the Porcupine Herd was again the spectacular wildlife event being promised. We flew over the trails that caribou had ground deep into the tundra, and saw groups clustered like ants on the few remaining snow patches.

By then, I had seen many Alaskan places “before” and “after” they were changed by development or a warming climate. I had flown from Kaktovik to Prudhoe Bay in January and seen how Prudhoe Bay had mushroomed in all directions. The Arctic night was lit up by large trucks plying a spiderweb of ice roads that began just past the western border of the Refuge. I had been fighting for all of those decades to prevent the Arctic Coastal Plain of the Refuge from becoming part of the “afterness”, engulfed in the spiderweb. There was talk, once again, about building a gas pipeline.

We camped again on a gravel bar at the edge of the foothills, and I spent a few more nights falling asleep to the clicks of caribou moving relentlessly. I watched the drama of their crossing the braided rivers at a near-frantic pace. Calves got swept away; cows searched and called for them; even the largest bulls struggled up steep banks. But still they came and moved on, leaving me behind in a more lonesome landscape. I saw grizzlies and wolves, a lone muskox, tufts of qiviut in the willows, a warble fly close up, and a few Arctic birds.

There was a moment when I paused on a hillside above the vast open valley as the others in my group continued their exploration upward onto a ridge in the sunshine and flowery summer exuberance. More than a thousand caribou had just crossed the river and a couple of left-behind yearlings were wandering below me. The ground was intricately patterned. The lichens were dissolving the rocks. Caribou antlers and small mammal bones were slowly crumbling into dust. I felt the lightness of my four decades against the weight of a deep “before.”

Photo Above
Caribou crossing the Aichilik River on my 2022 trip to the Arctic Refuge.  PC Marilyn Sigman



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December Advocacy Report

By Nancy Lord, Advocacy Committee Chair

First, something to celebrate! the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge turned 65 on Dec. 6! The refuge (then a Wildlife Range) was created under the Eisenhower Administration in 1960 and later enlarged and renamed as a Refuge under the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Act (ANILCA.) We owe generations of Indigenous stewards and conservationists our whole-hearted thanks for their long and continuing Arctic Refuge advocacy! Thank you if you’ve been part of this!

And now the bad/sad news. We suffered a big loss last week, when Congress voted to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the 2024 Record of Decision which provided some regulations on oil and gas activities on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. (Two lease sales were mandated in a 2017 law, one of which was held in 2021 and drew little industry interest.) This was a tough one for our advocacy, because it was so partisan. The Senate vote for the CRA resolution was 49-45. (Senator Collins of Maine was the only Republican to vote with Democrats.) Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) gave an impassioned floor speech on Dec. 3. You can watch it here. The President is guaranteed to sign it.

By repealing the framework for managing the Refuge’s Oil and Gas Leasing Program, Congress has cleared the way for more leasing with fewer safeguards on the Coastal Plain. And, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is barred from issuing a similar rule in the future—even if circumstances change.

Although polls show Americans are very much in favor of protecting the Coastal Plain—the biological heart of the Refuge, home to caribou calving, polar bear denning, nesting migratory birds, and the lives of the Gwich’in people—legislators will seldom vote against the desires of those they consider to have “rights” to an issue. In this case, Alaska’s Representative Nick Begich and Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan were the resolution sponsors. (Half of lease sale revenue will go to the State of Alaska until 2035, after which 90% will go to the State.)

In case you haven’t heard of CRAs before, that’s because this is a new tactic. Congressional Republicans have adopted an unprecedented interpretation of the act to vote to overturn resource management plans. The Clinton-era law allows revoking administrative rules issued by executive agencies, but it has never been used to overturn a resource management plan—until now. Expect to see more of this throughout the nation.

What you can do now:

  • If your House and Senate members voted against the CRA, thank them for their support of Refuge lands and emphasize again how essential it is to apply environmental safeguards to all development within the Coastal Plain. This is the law. The Alaska National Interests Lands Act (ANILCA) requires that there be a “comprehensive and continuing inventory and assessment of the fish and wildlife resources of the coastal plain” and an analysis of the impacts of oil and gas development “to avoid significant adverse effects on fish and wildlife.”
  • Speak out against each scheduled lease sale. (Four new lease sales over the next ten years are mandated.) Strong opposition from every corner of America should discourage oil companies from bidding and banks from financing.

Meanwhile, the advocacy committee continues to work on issues related to all of Alaska’s 16 National Wildlife Refuges. Primary among these is advocating with Alaska’s Congressional delegation (mainly Senator Murkowski) for refuge staffing and budgets. Staffing for Alaska’s refuges declined by at least 17% in 2025, on top of already steep staffing declines, and additional retirements and resignations are imminent. There are only 6 managers now for the 16 Refuges, while others have acting managers doing double-duty as the assistant managers. Very few biologists and pilots are available for needed surveys and research, and very few maintenance and law enforcement staff remain. Refuges need adequate staff and budgets to plan for  the demands of the rapidly approaching summer field and visitor season if they are to perform their mandated, essential work.

What you can do now: Let your Senators and Representatives know that Refuges need staffing and budgets to do their required work, which not only protects public lands but serves Alaskans and visitors. Encourage them to pass budgets to avoid another shutdown!  

Photo Above:
Olaus and Mardy Murie were early advocates for protecting this astonishing land for its wildlife and other biological values and are credited with influencing the Eisenhower administration to protect an intact Arctic ecosystem. PC: Murie Center

 



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My Heart is Full of the Memories: Volunteering at the Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center

In September, 2025,  three Friends, Meg Parsons, Mimzy Wellberg and Poppy Benson traveled to Kodiak Island to help the refuge with six cruise ships that would arrive over 8 days.  Next year they expect 29 cruise ships.  This heavy schedule is the result of cruise ships repositioning themselves from the South Pacific winter trips to the Inside Passage summer routes and Kodiak makes a very convenient stop.  The Refuge does not have the staff to handle this and this is the third time Friends have helped during the crucial spring and fall cruise ship seasons. Hear what Meg has to say.

By Meg Parsons

A two week fall volunteer project to assist Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center greet cruise ship passengers on their way to Japan was amazing. From the start with Natalie (supervisory refuge ranger) giving a warm welcome pickup at the airport to the exit goodbye laden with thoughtful Kodiak Refuge themed thank you gifts, my heart was and is full of the memories. 

Everything was right- the friendly staff integrating us into their good working team, the refuge housing, conversations with temporary staff, and sharing of rockfish for a group feast.  There was great interest in and conversations with the visitors about Kodiak Refuge as well as Alaska and the other 15 refuges. There was play time and touring of the island- my first trip to Kodiak after 50 years in Alaska. And what a trip it was.  The weather was perfect- mostly sunny and of course fall golden.  A car was for our use, and we drove all the major roads in pursuit of taking it all in.  

We got familiar with the charming city of Kodiak.  People are happy there- smiling faces, busy lifestyles, thriving businesses, mingling ethnic diversity, and proud citizens.  Kodiak runs on 100% renewable energy- wind and water.  We attended two Friday lectures at the Alutiiq Museum- extremely interesting.  And I can’t not mention a favorite coffee shop with large windows along the channel watching bald eagles and a variety of boats coming in and out. My last day I got to hike a bit of the Near Island trails- good views on a sunny day of the water and islands and in the mossy very-green forest.  

Would I recommend volunteering for Friends of the Alaska National Refuges- absolutely!




Meg Parsons (in Friends vest) in a sea of visitors on a 1000 visitor day in the Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center.  Natalie Fath, visitor services lead, said our presence extended their reach and allowed for meaningful conversation with visitors.  PC Poppy Benson/Friends

And Mimzy Wellberg added:  Wonderful welcoming, hospitable staff at Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.  I learned a lot about Kodiak Refuge including its history along with bears, birds and whales.  It was a joy to experience the delight and appreciation expressed by cruise ship visitors and local people upon leaving the Visitors Center.  An added plus was the opportunity to volunteer with experienced Friends volunteers and refuge advocates: Poppy and Meg.

And I, Poppy, might add we saw 9 bears!  Volunteering is a wonderful way to get to know refuge staff and the refuge and support them in a difficult time.  While we were there, we also hosted the Friends September meeting with refuge speaker Amy Peterson, and gave interviews for  a front-page article in the Kodiak Mirror and for KMXT public radio about the staffing crisis at Kodiak Refuge.  They have half the staff of a year ago and that is something most in the town were not aware of. 

 

Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center is a world class space for a world class refuge.   Friends volunteers L to R Poppy Benson, Homer and Meg Parsons and Mimzy Wellberg from Anchorage.  PC Shelly Lawson/USFWS

 



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Pressure on our Alaska National Wildlife Refuges is Ramping Up – What can WE do?

By Mike Schantz, Chair of Finance Committee

Last year, Friends made its first large-scale appeal for fundraising, so we could step up our support for refuges during what we anticipated would be challenging times.  We certainly didn’t expect anything this challenging with 37 Alaska refuge employees (out of 220) quitting under pressure, a hiring freeze in its 10th month making it impossible to replace anyone leaving resulting in 106 vacant positions, the longest shutdown in history pausing refuge management for  5 weeks this fall, and the threat of a Reduction in Force eliminating more positions.  Staffing levels were already at a bare minimum before any of this happened.  Some Alaska Refuges have only 2 or 3 full-time staff managing mult-million acre refuges. 

Last year’s budget was down about 5 % and draft budgets for this year are all over the map but will probably be another 5% decline on top of the 20% decline since 2010.  Senator Murkowski has been able to restore to the Senate’s version most funds cut in the administration’s budget but the final product is yet to be seen. 

Public lands require a certain level of staffing to be sustainable.  The refuge’s professional workforce monitors bird, wildlife and fish populations and provides educational and recreational opportunities to the public.  Active management of these lands is critical to maintaining these refuges as homes for wildlife allowing for amazing wildlife viewing,, subsistence for rural residents, and sport hunting and fishing.  Active management is especially critical in this era of increased pressure on refuge resources.

This is where Friends has to step up.  Last year, due to the generous support of our members, we were able to fund a historic number of projects for $37,000.  Friends supported Brandt and eelgrass monitoring at Izembek, a visitor center volunteer at Alaska Peninsula, a biological intern on the Arctic refuge, a charter boat to retrieve geolocators on storm petrels for the Alaska Maritime, publishing costs for a book on local history for Selawik, a science/culture camp at Innoko, field trip school bus reimbursements at both Kenai and Alaska Maritime, the Migratory Bird Calendar contest and  local events such as the Christmas bird count at Alaska Peninsula.  However, small staffs and uncertain budgets made it difficult for the refuges to preplan projects. 

Given this new reality we would like to develop a Rapid Response Fund for opportunities that come up quickly due to the uncertainties of funding and staffing.  Also, Friends would like to hire a part-time volunteer coordinator to handle the greater demand for volunteers. 

We expect more refuges to ask for assistance with travel to the refuge or to the field.  It is not cheap doing business in Alaska when the only way to the jobsite is by floatplane.  Mother Goose Lake on Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge.  PC USFWS

Interested in year-end giving?  Know that you will directly benefit the wildlife refuges.  We are the only organization to directly support Alaska’s national wildlife refuges. Here are some ways to help.

Donating appreciated assets is a tax-smart way to give and support charitable organizations.  By making a gift of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds you can avoid capital gains tax and, in most cases, receive a charitable deduction benefit on your taxes.  We are set up to receive stocks and mutual funds.

Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD):  If you’re 70-1/2 or older you can make a tax free QCD donation directly from your IRA. 

 Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs):  If you are 73 or older you are generally subject to RMDs from your tax- deferred IRAs. RMD’s are taxed as ordinary income but you could avoid some or all taxes by donating RMD funds to a qualified non-profit which we are.  This is a win/win in that you avoid tax impacts as the donated portion does not count as income and Friends can utilize these gifts to accomplish our mission.  Speak to your retirement fund manager as they must send your donation directly to Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, P.O. Box 2617, Homer, AK 99603.

Estate Planning:  You can make a big impact by adding Friends in your estate plans. Don’t have an estate plan?  Check out FreeWill, an online will-writing resource. It takes just 20 minutes to use and helps create your legal will and legacy gift at no immediate cost. With their secure online tool, you can designate a portion of your legacy to Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges to support Alaska’s 16 wildlife refuges.  Friends is working on establishing an endowment to insure our work into the future.  If you’re interested in becoming a foundational part of this effort contact us.

Regular donations:  You can help at any age!  Cash donations can be made here.  For stock donations, contact our finance committee.  Although we much prefer funds that we can utilize wherever there is the greatest need on the 16 Alaska refuges, you have the option of donating to the designated funds we maintain for four refuges:  Arctic, Alaska Maritime, Kenai or Kodiak.

It is always recommended that you consult your tax professional and/or financial advisor about a gifting strategy. 

Volunteer your Financial Expertise:  Know money?  Know grant writing?  We need you both to help us find money and to help us spend it well by creating and managing projects such as a scholarship fund. 

Pressure on the refuges is only increasing while staffs are collapsing so Friends is committed to doing more – more projects, more staff support, more volunteering and more advocacy.  Our 16 Alaska refuges comprise 85% of the refuge lands in the country and support iconic wildlife. This is a huge task and will require us to step up our efforts.  Please help.



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November Advocacy Report

By Nancy Lord, Advocacy Committee Chair

In this challenging time, it’s difficult for all of us to know where to best put our energies. It’s easy to be so overwhelmed that we can be tempted to go silent.

Many of us last month were disheartened when the Secretary of the Interior Douglas Burgum announced, on what he called “Alaska Day,” orders to proceed with oil and gas and mining projects and road-building through and on conservation lands. These lands include the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, and Gates of the Arctic National Park.

Bergum announced signing an order to reopen the entire 1.56 million acre coastal plain (1002 area) of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development, reversing a Biden administration decision. He also announced signing an Agreement for the Exchange of Lands which completes the transfer of land out of the Izembek Refuge with transfer of title to the King Cove Corporation (KCC) for the purpose of building a road across the refuge including a portion designated Wilderness.  The approved Ambler Road that will pass through Gates of the Arctic will also affect refuge lands in northern Alaska by increasing access, interrupting migration routes and crossing through watersheds that drain into the Kanuti, Koyukuk and Selawik refuges.

Importantly, all these lands were protected as conservation units by the Alaska National Interest Lands Act (ANILCA) of 1980. To so greatly erode their purposes—and the intent and interests of the American people—is not only a loss in Alaska but a precedent for doing more of the same on public lands throughout the country.

The Alaska delegation stood with the Interior Secretary and nodded vigorously during his announcements, eager for their visions of economic development in the state. They must hear from us to know that “drill baby drill” is not the position of all Alaskans and Americans. The fight is not over, as there will be environmental safeguards to try to secure as these projects advance. There will also be litigation, as the government tries to fast-track these projects by eliminating regulations.

Please take a few minutes this month to send a simple message to remind Congress of what we value. Something like, “Please protect our public lands including our national wildlife refuges, parks, and forests! These belong to all Americans and the generations to come and should not be degraded for short-term exploitation of their resources.” Personalized messages—like whether you hunt or fish or visit refuges to watch wildlife and birds, etc.–are always most effective.

Alaska’s two senators are Sen. Lisa Murkowski; 907-271-3735 and Sen. Dan Sullivan; 202-224-3004. Our House member is Rep. Nick Begich;  202-225-5765.

You can also reach them or any state’s delegation at the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Photo Caption (above)
Nearly the entire world’s population of Pacific Black Brant were in the lagoons of Izembek in the past few weeks.  One of the administration’s actions this month was transfer of title to land within the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to the King Cove Corporation so that a road could be built dividing the narrow neck of land between two world class eel grass lagoons.  PC Alison Williams/USFWS



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Tribes and the Yukon Delta Refuge Uniting to Address the Salmon Collapse on the Kuskokwim – Recording Available

Presented by
Spencer Rearden, Manager, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge 
Kevin Whitworth, Executive Director, Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

This program was recorded on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025 at 5 pm Alaska Time

First it was the Chinook salmon that drastically declined in the Kuskokwim River.  Then the chums and coho salmon followed with steep declines.  This multi-year, multi-species salmon disaster was not just an ecological crisis for the Kuskokwim River drainages of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge but a significant humanitarian crisis for all the villages that depend on salmon for food security and cultural integrity.  Come hear from Kevin Whitworth of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and Yukon Delta Refuge Manager Spencer Rearden about this crisis and how a unique partnership of local tribes and the refuge formed up to manage salmon on the river.  They will address the current state of salmon and how we got here.  How Tribes up and down the Kuskokwim came together to form the Inter-Tribal Fish Commission to attack this problem that threatened their way of life.  And how the refuge came to co-manage a fishery with the Tribes, setting openings and closings for fish harvest, that under normal circumstances would be done by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

















In villages along the Kuskokwim, salmon and subsistence are a way of life.   Fish drying racks awaiting the return of the salmon.   PC USFWS

Background

The Kuskokwim River is the second longest river in Alaska and home to all five species of  Pacific salmon.  Salmon are key to the wildlife and ecology of the 20 million-acre Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, the largest refuge in the nation.  Predators such as bears and eagles depend on the fish as do other fish species such as the record-sized rainbow trout, Dolly Varden and northern pike who feast on salmon eggs.  But these impacts on the refuge were not the main reason the refuge was drawn into salmon management.  The 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) which established the 16 national wildlife refuges in Alaska as they exist today, also specified a local rural subsistence priority for use of Alaska wildlife in times of shortage.  This is a time of shortage.  The refuge had to take over management of the fishery from the state to ensure subsistence priority which meant reducing harvest and determining fishing opportunities while balancing subsistence and conservation needs.






Yukon Delta Refuge’s fish biologist Nate Akers (left) with Evan Waska of Kwethluk collecting salmon smolt from the live trap for identification and measurements. PC Andrew Magel/KRITFC

The Kuskokwim watershed is home to  40 communities of Yup’ik, Cup’ik, Deg Xit’an, and Dené people that have depended on salmon as the mainstay of their diet for thousands of years.  Gathering subsistence foods is a central part of village life and cultural identity.  When the salmon runs collapsed in 2010 and remained depressed, tribal leaders came together in 2015 to form the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission to ensure local, Alaska Native people have a say in the fishery.  The Fish Commission represents the Tribes in fisheries management, research, and monitoring, as guided by Alaska Native values and knowledge, and the best available scientific information.  Five Managers are elected annually to represent the Tribes at the co-management table with Yukon Delta Refuge under a Memorandum of Understanding. These In-Season Managers and Yukon Delta Refuge’s fisheries team work together using in-season assessment data and local and Traditional Knowledge to conserve and restore Kuskokwim salmon, while providing for as much subsistence harvest as possible.  

The salmon crisis on the Kuskokwim is unique in its severity, longevity and impact on people. Salmon management on the Kusko is unique in that it is a partnership of a wildlife refuge and Tribes.  This is not the way fisheries decsions are usually made.  Come learn more.

Biographies

Growing up in McGrath, Kevin Whitworth learned from his elders to love the land, the river, and the natural world from an early age. He spent many hours exploring, hunting, fishing, and trapping out in the woods and on the rivers. Through high school and college, Kevin spent his summers working as a biological technician at several wildlife refuges across the state. After graduating from University of Alaska Fairbanks, he worked a number of full-time positions for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, including Deputy Refuge Manager for the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge in McGrath. Kevin has also worked for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, and as the Lands and Natural Resources Manager for MTNT Limited, the McGrath village corporation. While working for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Kevin met his wife, Dara who also worked for the refuge. They have a young son and two daughters and enjoy spending time at their remote cabin, dogsledding with their team of dogs, and being outside as much as possible. He joined Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission team in May 2018 and has served as Executive Director since 2022.


Spencer Rearden grew up in rural Alaska, where wide open spaces, vast public lands, and a deep connection to the environment shaped his passion for conservation and science. Spencer was raised in a subsistence lifestyle centered on fishing, berry picking, and hunting — traditions that continue to influence both his personal and professional life.  Spencer earned his Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife and a Master’s degree in Wildlife Science from Oregon State University. He started his career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as a Wildlife Biologist with the Office of Subsistence Management, where he became well-versed in the Federal subsistence regulatory process and Title VIII of ANILCA. Through this work, he helped develop and justify regulatory changes to conserve fish and wildlife resources while supporting rural and Native subsistence users. Over the past 20 years, Spencer has worked in both private and government positions, primarily in Alaska.

At the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, he has held several roles, including Big Game Biologist,  Assistant Refuge Manager, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, and Refuge Manager since 2023.  Spencer’s education, professional expertise, and firsthand understanding of Alaska’s subsistence traditions have helped him build strong partnerships with local and Native communities to advance conservation goals. He remains dedicated to ensuring that subsistence practices, and the cultural values they represent, endure for future generations.
























The Kisaralik River, an important tributary to the Kuskokwim, was the scene of the Friends Discovery trip to the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge in 2024.  Anecdotally, we noted sharply decreased numbers of Dolly Vardin and rainbow trout compared to a decade ago.  Trout and Dolly Vardin are predators on salmon eggs so likely their populations are affected by the salmon collapse.  PC Poppy Benson/Friends








Open post

Izembek Refuge’s Indelible Impressions: Pacific Black Brant Productivity Survey Project

By Moira O’Malley, Fairbanks Friend

This has been a very difficult article to write. I spent almost a month in Izembek this fall helping with surveys as a Friends volunteer. A couple of days after I arrived home it was announced “the Trump administration is moving forward with a controversial land deal to allow for the construction of a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge” (WAPO, 10/23/25).  I can’t write without choking up.

I had always wanted to visit Izembek after first hearing about it 25 years ago while teaching in Chignik Lake on the other side of the Alaska Peninsula. I knew the refuge was special, but didn’t realize how special until witnessing it firsthand. I don’t think my words can even begin to do justice to Izembek so watch the 13-minute documentary Izembek produced by Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Izembek is one of Alaska’s many treasures, a fragile, rich environment, breathtaking, wild, and pristine.















Pacific Black Brant on Izembek Lagoon, one of the largest eel grass beds in the world.  PS Alison Williams/USFWS  

Izembek Refuge, Alaska’s smallest refuge, lies between the highly productive waters of
the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. The heart of the refuge is Izembek Lagoon, a coastal ecosystem that’s home to one of the world’s largest eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds. Hundreds of thousands of waterfowl, including virtually the entire population of Pacific Black Brant, visit the lagoon to feed on eelgrass and rest during migration. From brown bears to salmon, more than 200 species call this refuge home.

What does one do when your volunteer stint is abruptly canceled due to the government shutdown? Wait patiently. I arrived at refuge headquarters in Cold Bay to start work on Monday, September 29th. The government shutdown two days later, on Wednesday. I had the choice of going home or staying, but there was no way I was leaving after waiting so long to finally experience Izembek. The waiting game paid off. We were back to work on Friday, October 3, after the project was declared exempt from the shutdown because the data was necessary to determine the brant hunting season.



















Scoping Brant on a good day at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.  PC Williams/USFWS

We were trained to distinguish brant adults from juveniles; and how to use a spotting scope to observe, identify, count, and record the number of adult and juvenile brant.  However, the most important skills to have are a positive attitude and willingness to learn! Some of the challenges included: jumping in and out of an inflatable boat: trapsing in wading boots over wet, uneven, boggy, tundra, tussocks and hummocks; sinking and getting stuck, in silty eel grass beds; army crawling to avoid disturbing wildlife, especially brant; and knowing what to do while waiting out the bad weather, which could be wind, rain, hail, snow or cold, and possibly all at the same time!  Did I say wind? Layering clothing and knowing there is a hot shower at the end of the day certainly helped!
















Nearly the entire world’s population of Pacific Black Brant stop in Izembek Lagoon during migration.  Two adults and a juvenile.  PC Alison Williams/USFWS

What I gleaned most from my experience was, yes, learning about and appreciating this miniscule but powerful ecosystem, but just as important, the camaraderie and passion of individuals coming together to work with a common interest- waterfowl, specifically brant. Our fearless, impressive, full of life leader was the Refuge Wildlife Biologist Alison Williams. Alison is one of the three remaining staff at the refuge. The other two are Manager Maria Fosado and Deputy Manager Jeff Kalin. Alison’s passion, enthusiasm, and upbeat personality kept the crew together and happy, especially with all the confusing news about the shutdown. Other volunteers included Yusuke, a researcher from Yamashina Institute of Ornithology in Japan; Honorio, a recent Oregon State University graduate; Louis, Friends volunteer from Homer; and Michael, from the Fish and Wildlife Migratory Birds Office.

 In addition, five biology technicians from other refuges worked on another brant project. I was surrounded by Bird Nerds and loved every minute of it!  The bio techs who hailed from the “Lower 48” were excited about experiencing Izembek. There were many firsts for them and plenty of wildlife to see including brown bears, wolves, fox, walrus, harbor seals, sea otter, and Stellar’s sea lion.

The passion I saw in these young people gives me so much hope for the future. One bio tech stated, “Alaska takes a hold of you and doesn’t want to let go.” This was certainly my experience at Izembek!

A special thank you to Maria, Jeff and Alison for the generous hospitality and warm welcome to the refuge!














And the scenery wasn’t too bad either! Shishalden Volcano, one of the most active in the Aleutians, on the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge as seen from Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.  PC: Moira O’Malley/Friends  



Open post

Duck Banding! Always Fun but this Year with Drama

By Poppy Benson and Grace Ruebling

Hands on a duck, lovely Tetlin Refuge, being part of a team with refuge staff, doing conservation work – all contribute to the allure of duck banding which Friends have helped with for 5 years.  Despite the unusual event this year, we participated in banding over 400 ducks – mainly mallards and pintails, with green winged teal and widgeon.  Teams of two work for a week each on the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge.  I worked the first week and had the time of my life.  Board member Becky Wick and Dan Moultrie from Soldotna took the second week and had this to say. “It was so much fun learning about the ducks and the process of catching and banding.  Joe (refuge seasonal biologist) is so interested in the ducks and willing to share his knowledge.  I recommend anyone who can offer the time and have a willingness for getting down and dirty to take the opportunity to participate in the future.”

Amy Farnham and Grace Ruebling, both from Anchorage, worked the third  – the drama week.  Here is how Grace described it.

Unforgettable Volunteer Experience

By Grace Ruebling, Anchorage Friend

Volunteering at Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge gave me a glimpse into the realities of field biology—equal parts rewarding and unpredictable. Each morning, Brent, the lead biologist, picked us up by boat and ferried us across the lake to the duck traps. On the first day, Amy and I learned how to catch, hold, and band ducks, receiving our lighthearted “initiation” when a duck was placed on our heads before being released into the sky. The second day, however, brought a different lesson. As we crossed the lake, Brent told us something unusual had happened.

When we arrived, we discovered the traps had been smashed—presumably by a brown bear. The damage was so severe that our banding work came to an abrupt end.

Even though our time was cut short, it was an unforgettable volunteer experience. I not only gained hands-on skills in duck handling and banding, but also got to share in the camaraderie and humor of a field crew. Most of all, I left with a deeper appreciation for the challenges and joys of working in wildlife conservation, and I would gladly volunteer again in a heartbeat.







































After the bear! Tetlin Refuge biologist Brent Jamison wonders what he will do next year now that there is a bear out there that has learned duck traps provide free meals.  All the ducks trapped that day were eaten or escaped.  PC FWS

Top Photo:  Amy Farnham of Anchorage enjoying one of the pleasures of banding – hands on a duck!  PC FWS

 



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