Join us and learn more about refuges and wildlife at our meetings held from 5-6 pm AKT, the 3rd Tuesday of the month. from fall to spring. Every meeting can be attended live if you are in the same town as the speaker, at watch parties in Anchorage, Kenai and Homer or on zoom wherever you are. All meetings are also recorded and posted on this page. You do not need to be a member to attend.
Upcoming Schedule:
October 15: Chasing Answers: Researching the Effects of Climate Change on the Porcupine Caribou Herd with USGS biologist Heather Johnson, in person in Anchorage and Arctic refuge biologist Paul Leonard in person in Fairbanks. Partnered with Campbell Creek Science Center.
November 19: Flying for Waterfowl with Pilot/Biologist Heather Wilson. Live in Anchorage.
No meeting in December.
January 21: Looking Back and Looking Forward: Our Years on the Kenai and Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuges with retiring long time managers Andy Loranger (Kenai) and Steve Delehanty (Alaska Maritime).
February – April schedule TBD
Every meeting will feature an engaging speaker from one of Alaska’s 16 Refuges or a partner who is closely involved with our Refuges.
Tuesday, September 15, 2020, 5 pm AKDT, virtual only
Take Refuge:
Fire recovery, morels and record visitation define Kenai Refuge’s summer
Please join us on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, 5-6pm (AKDT), for our Friends monthly meeting with featured guest speakers Kenai Refuge Visitor Services Rangers Matt Conner and Leah Eskelin.
After the 2019 summer of the Swan Lake Fire, Kenai Refuge’s visitor services staff were busy planning for repairing fire damage and accommodating morel hunters in expectation of a big post fire morel flush when Alaska’s 2020 travel mandates changed the game and put their work into overdrive. Week after week, for 10 weeks straight, 1000s of visitors found their way out of quarantine to the safety of nature on refuge trails and in its campgrounds. Hear about how the Kenai staff responded to new recreational pressures this summer and rose from the ashes of 2019 to tackle the unexpected challenges of this year.
What You Need to Know to Help Save the Kenai Refuge with guest speakers retired Kenai Refuge Supervisory Biologist John Morton, retired Kenai Refuge Ranger/Pilot Rick Johnston and Friends President David Raskin. This panel will explain Kenai’s new proposed rules which would allow brown bear baiting on the Refuge and remove all the Refuge’s ability to regulate trapping as well as some other lesser provisions. You will have a chance to ask questions.
This serious threat to the Refuge, which contradicts prior refuge decisions, prompted this unusual midsummer meeting. Comments on the proposed changes will only be accepted until August 10. There will be no public process other than the comment period. For details about the issues, the Federal Register Notice, the draft Environmental Assessment, talking points, and instructions about submitting comments, please see our Proposed Kenai Regulations post.
This meeting was recorded; view the recording below.
Please join us on Tuesday, April 21, 5-6pm (AKDT), for our Friends April membership meeting with featured guest speaker Togiak Refuge Supervisory Wildlife Biologist Pat Walsh.
Walsh will tell several stories of how and why the ecosystems of Togiak Refuge are changing and how these changes require a constantly changing approach to management. Fish die-offs, wolf behavior and habitat use changes, and seabird die-offs are some of the unusual events Walsh will delve into.
Dominated by the Ahklun Mountains in the north and the cold waters of Bristol Bay to the south, Togiak National Wildlife Refuge confronts the traveler with a kaleidoscope of landscapes including a rugged coastline featuring the walrus haulout and seabird nesting sites of Cape Pierce, world class rainbow trout and salmon streams, high snowy mountains, more than 500 big (over 25 acres) lakes and sweeping tundra. Change has been occurring to this landscape since the Pleistocene but change used to be noted in centuries. Now changes are evident from year to year. Learn more about the Togiak Refuge here.
Pat Walsh has been Supervisory Fish and Wildlife Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Togiak National Wildlife Refuge since 2001. He has BS and MS degrees in wildlife ecology and 30 years of experience in leading ecological studies.
Please join us on Tuesday, March 17, 5-6pm (AKDT), for our Friends March membership meeting with featured guest speaker and fire ecologist Lisa Saperstein.
This was a virtual meeting; watch a recording of Lisa’s presentation below.
How will wildfire affect refuges in a changing climate?Wildfire was always a major driver of habitat change in much of Alaska but last summer was one for the record books in terms of the number of people impacted by smoke, road closings, activity cancellations and fear for life and property. Scientists and managers are scrambling to understand what Alaska will look like in the future with predicted increases in fire occurrence and to figure out how to manage fire with a changing climate. Lisa will give an overview on fire in Alaska from fire history and habitat changes to current research topics and refuge projects to reduce risks.
Lisa’s current work focuses on post-fire effects on wildlife and vegetation, burn severity and fuel treatment planning and monitoring.She is a collaborator on research on climate change and fire in boreal forest and tundra and on modeling fire behavior during wildfires.After working on the Selawik, Koyukuk/Nowitna, Yukon Delta and Kanuti refuges, she was hired in her current position as fire ecologist for all Alaska refuges in 2010.Lisa began her Alaska career as a Master’s student at UAF in 1989 investigating the effects of tundra fire on caribou winter range.
Missed this meeting? Watch a recording of Lisa’s presentation:
Please join us on Tuesday, February 18, 5-6pm (AKDT), for our Friends February membership meeting with featured guest speaker and photographer, Lisa Hupp.
Lisa will be speaking to us at the Anchorage meeting: our other gatherings will join via Zoom Meetings or you can join from home (see below).
Anchorage: Fish & Wildlife Service Regional Office, 1011 E. Tudor
Fairbanks: Watershed School 4975 Decathlon
Homer: Islands and Ocean Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Highway
Soldotna: Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Ski Hill Road
Lisa Hupp will share her experiences behind the lens photographing Alaska’s refuges. “I love how photography can demand close attention and devotion to place,” Hupp says. “It’s a way to see and share the world, whether you take photos on a phone or with a backpack full of equipment. Alaska’s national wildlife refuges are places of endless possibility for photographers, from dramatic and vast landscapes to charismatic wildlife. These refuges are big, wild and remote; photography can help us to tell their stories.”
Hupp is the Communications Coordinator for National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska. You can see some of her images and read how she gets those amazing shotshere.
Download Lisa’s presentation: Arctic to Attu (PowerPoint .pptx file)
Missed the meeting? Watch a recording of the meeting below:
Please join us on Tuesday,January 21, 2020, 5-6 pm (AKDT), for our Friends January membership meeting with featured guest speaker, Kristine Sowl.
Wildlife Biologist Kristine Sowl worked on a Bristle-thighed Curlew nesting ecology study in the Andreafsky Wilderness of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge in the summers of 2010 to 2012. The curlew proved to be an elusive, difficult, and fascinating species to study.Her presentation will talk about her experiences during that project. Kristine Sowl has spent over 25 years working as a field biologist on public lands in Alaska, including Yukon Delta, Izembek, and Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuges, and summer seasonal jobs at the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge, Aniakchak and Cape Krusenstern National Monuments, and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. She moved from Bethel to Homer a year ago and now spends her time helping Alaska’s wildlife refuges plan their biological programs.
Kristine will be at the Homer meeting; our other gatherings will join via Zoom Meetings.
Fairbanks:Watershed School 4975 Decathlon
Anchorage: Fish & Wildlife Service Regional Office, 1011 E. Tudor
Homer: Islands and Ocean Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Highway
Soldotna: Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Ski Hill Roaddownload Kristine’s presentation and follow along:
Friends came to visit, and it was invigorating!Thirteen Friends Groups from throughout the Pacific plus Fish and Wildlife staff descended on Homer in September for a 4 day “Tanax Agliisada” conference aimed at teaching us all new skills and sharing best practices.Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges hosted the conference at the Alaska Maritime and Kenai National Wildlife Refuges.A grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation brought the 60 attendants to Homer from Alaska, Hawaii, coastal Washington and Oregon, Midway Island and the Marianas Trench.
Building stronger boards, board recruitment and retention, improving community relationships, and empowering our organizations to ensure the success of the Refuge system as a whole were some of the topics covered in. Breakout groups allowed for brainstorming, sharing experiences and goal setting. We learned many of the issues we faced were not unique to us.
We all were fascinated although pretty depressed learning about the Washington D.C. scene from Caroline Brouwer of the National Fish & Wildlife Association and Desiree Sorenson-Groves of the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign.At least I came away convinced we, Alaska Friends, do need to make a trip to DC once a year to keep our concerns in front of our representatives, and we do need to form a stronger alliance with the National Fish & Wildlife Association.
The National Wildlife Refuge chiefs from both the Alaska and Pacific regions, shared insight on national priorities, departmental directives, long term planning goals and ways we can work together on a panel titled “Impacts of National and Regional Priorities”. Understanding Refuge system priorities will help us work together to successfully develop programs and projects, which should in turn build community awareness and support of the refuge system.
In a small group meeting of the 10 Alaska Friends in attendance we hammered out these goals for the board for this year: 1) create amembership committee and recruit a chair committed to recruiting/following up with members who have indicated an interest in participating at a higher level in our organization; 2) improve our communication efforts to highlight our work, promote our projects within the communities that are benefiting from our financial support of programs tied to the Alaska Refuge system; and, 3) send two from the Board to DC during the budget months of February or March.
Our fellow Friends were very interesting and fun people making for a stimulating four days.Our hosting role went flawlessly thanks to our extraordinary conference organizer, Friends volunteer Anna Sansom. Our visitors loved getting to visit two refuges – Alaska Maritime and Kenai, see their first moose, eat smoked salmon and moose we provided and even participate in Homer’s iconic “Burning Basket”.We hope we have gained new allies in the fights to save Alaska’s Refuges.
Two takeaways from this conference are 1) we are part of a larger organization; and, 2) together we can be a strong coalition for advancing the mission of Wildlife Refuges. This was in line with the goals set for the conference – increase effectiveness and strengthen relationships across refuges. We need to work with other Friends Groups to achieve economies of scale, continue to share know-how and cross sell.
Please join us on Tuesday,October 15, 2019, 5-6pm (AKDT), for our Friends October membership meeting with featured guest speaker, Elyssa Watford.
Want to hear an eider’s heartbeat? Be taken along through ice and fog to the off-shore world of the barrier islands of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? Wonder what it would be like to live and work in a remote field camp on the edge of the Beaufort Sea?Then join us, the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, to hear Elyssa Watford share stories and stunning photos and videos of her three years of eider research on the barrier islands. Elyssa, a PhD candidate at UAF, has been working with Common Eiders, North America’s largest duck, for three years. The focus of her work has been the potential impacts of climate change on these special birds and their habitats. Come learn about these birds and this important work and find out about volunteering and advocacy opportunities.
Elyssa will be at the Fairbanks meeting; our other gatherings will join via Zoom Meetings.
Fairbanks: Noel Wein Library, 1215 Cowles, reception at 4:30; meet at 5
Anchorage: Fish & Wildlife Service Regional Office, 1011 E. Tudor, gathering and snacks at 4:30, meet at 5 p.m.
Homer: Islands and Ocean Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Highway, meet at 5
Soldotna: Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Ski Hill Road, meet at 5
If you can’t make it in person, join us by phone or by computer:
By phone: Dial-in number: 720-707-2699 Meeting ID: 619 207 040 (Press ‘#’ if you are asked for a participant ID)
By computer: Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/619207040 (We are only using audio in this meeting; please join this meeting without video.)
Please join us on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, 5-6pm, for the Friends membership meeting.
In person meetings: Anchorage Loussac Library Anchorage Moose Room-reception begins at 4:30pm Homer Islands and Ocean Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Highway Soldotna Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Ski Hill Road Fairbanks Watershed School 4975 Decathlon
For those outside these cities: you can download the presentation from this page the day of the meeting and call in a few minutes before 5pm (866) 556-2149, code 8169747#
Guest Speaker Presentation: Nicole Whittington-Evans, Defenders of Wildlife, Alaska Program Director and former Friends’ Board Member
Wildlife and Wildlands in These Trying Times
What are the prospects for our Alaska environment and wildlife given recent reports, administration actions, regulation changes and proposed projects? How will key species and wildlife areas be affected? How do we keep from being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of these changes and proposed projects competing for our attention and response? Nicole, one of Alaska’s most dedicated wildlife advocates, will give her perspective on where we are now and what we can do as individuals and groups to face these alarming proposals and predictions for our state and our planet.
Defenders’ Alaska Program Director, Nicole Whittington-Evans, started out her environmental career studying and working on wildlife issues. During the 1990’s, she received an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana, where she focused on Alaska’s predator control efforts, served for a time as the Executive Director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, and was elected or invited to participate in a number of wildlife stakeholder groups, including an appointment to Alaska’s Board of Game by Governor Tony Knowles in 1997. For the past twenty-one years she worked on public lands and wilderness issues at The Wilderness Society and served as the Alaska Director for the organization from 2009 to 2018. She also served for three years starting in 2007 on the board of the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges as the Outreach Coordinator. Throughout her environmental career she has blended science and policy to advance the strongest protections possible for wildlife and public lands conservation. Nicole’s interest in environmental work began when she was an Instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School, and she has traveled throughout much of Alaska’s backcountry by foot, ski, raft and kayak. As a mountaineer she was part of two successful summit teams on Denali (20,320’), including participating in the first all-women’s traverse of the mountain in 1988, and on Argentina’s Aconcagua (23,000’). She lives with her husband and two daughters in the foothills of the Chugach Mountains, where she continues to recreate and enjoy wildlife with her family in Alaska’s unmatched wild country.
Please join us on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 5-6pm, for the Friends membership meeting.
In person: Homer (Alaska Maritime), Fairbanks (Watershed School, 4975 Decathlon), or Soldotna (Kenai NWR)
Call in a few minutes before 5pm: (866) 556-2149, code :8169747#
Guest Speaker Presentation:
John Morton, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge –
Effects of a Rapidly Warming Climate on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
The Kenai Peninsula is one of the best-studied parts of the state for climate change effects and John Morton, a supervisory biologist for the Kenai Refuge, has been a key part of that. Managing the effects of rapid climate change on the 2 million-acre Kenai National Wildlife Refuge will be a challenge to its primary purpose of conserving natural diversity. In 50 years, the treeline rose 50m in the Kenai Mountains, wetlands decreased 6-11% per decade, the Harding Icefield lost 5% in surface area and 21m in elevation, and available water declined 62%. Late summer canopy fires in spruce are being replaced by spring fires in bluejoint grasslands. Water temperatures in nonglacial streams already exceed physiological thresholds for salmon during July. Bird species are moving north and more than 130 exotic bird species have become established. Climate-envelope models portray a very different future landscape with alpine tundra replaced by forests and lower elevation forests replaced by hardwoods or possibly catastrophic deforestation. How can the Refuge or any of the refuges manage for biodiversity under this scenario?
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