Visiting the Refuges – Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges

Fall, Fun Staff, and Interesting Visitors: My Time at Coldfoot

By Gail Mayo, Fairbanks Friends Member

My first view of the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center was through a windshield splattered with mud. I had just completed, in pouring rain, the drive from Fairbanks to Coldfoot over the Dalton Highway. In spite of that grimy beginning my two week volunteer time was a beautiful experience. The southern edge of the Brooks Range was in full fall colors and the weather remained warm and often sunny. The South Fork of the Koyukuk ran clear, no ice.

The visitor center is an imaginative building with enticing exhibits that give visitors a good introduction to the vast wilderness reaching in all directions around them: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the northeast, Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge to the southwest, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge to the southeast, Gates of the Arctic National Park to the northwest, and the Dalton Highway Corridor (BLM). It was very fun to interact with visitors who were trying to understand wilderness and how to experience it.

The staff representing the three agencies (Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management) were friendly, helpful and appreciative. Judy Brant and I were there to help with the final two weeks of being open to the public. There were several days when the visitor count was well over 100, and there were never any days without interesting visitors. One of our jobs was keeping count and never counting anyone twice. Sometimes this required group effort! Many visitors were tourists who wanted to experience the Dalton Highway. Others were hunters, miners visiting their claims and aurora watchers.

There is a Fish and Wildlife Service field camp a short distance north of Coldfoot with a variety of lodging possibilities from dry cabins to comfortable houses. Judy and I stayed in a house that had recently been upgraded. It was very comfortable and had indoor plumbing; a luxury in the far north. We both appreciated the convenient housing that gave us time to do some exploring.

Fall colors on the Dalton Highway. PC Randy Lewis

Floating to the Hunt on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska

This meeting was held on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 5-6 pm AKDT
The recording of this event can be found below:

Presented by Barry Whitehill
Yukon Flats Deputy Refuge Manager (Retired)

Ivishak River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

From the mountains to the lowlands, rivers can take you to wilderness hunting. Floating has been Barry Whitehill’s primary vehicle for accessing national wildlife refuges in Alaska in order to hunt moose, sheep, and caribou. He also just loves rivers. Barry’s love of rivers was honed through a career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which enabled him to traverse remote Alaskan rivers for work. His retirement in 2009 as the Deputy Refuge Manager at the 8.6 million acre Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in central Alaska gave him the time and opportunity to undertake extended personal float trips. He has floated over 1000 miles of Alaska’s rivers in one summer! Barry knows Alaska rivers.

Feast or famine is often the dynamics of Alaska’s ecosystems. As a hunter in that setting, the difference between success and failure can be the ability to tap into the natural rhythm of the land. Barry considers floating to the hunt a great way to match the pace and terms of the Alaska landscape. Barry will share with us lessons learned in over thirty years of floating to these Alaska hunts. He will talk about some of his favorite rivers primarily on the Arctic, Kanuti and Yukon Flats refuges all accessed out of Fairbanks. He will also share tips for planning a float, logistics and gear.

Barry Whitehill’s biography in his own words:

I grew up in eastern Washington and considered myself fortunate to have public lands close at hand. Starting with my first elk at age 14, it became obvious to me that dropping into deep, dark holes and undertaking challenging floats on public lands consistently brought success as a hunter. Also, rivers and wild places rejuvenate my soul. Later, I found this true when living in Idaho, northern Nevada, and, since 1992, in Fairbanks, Alaska. I am a Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges member and on the Board of the Alaska Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. Both organizations do much to support our national wildlife refuges and our opportunities to float and hunt and enjoy these public lands.

Kanuti River on the Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge.

Background on Hunting on Refuges

Some of you may be surprised to learn that hunting is one of the “Big Six” priority wildlife dependent recreational uses of national wildlife refuges along with wildlife viewing, wildlife photography, interpretation, education and fishing. These were established as priority recreational uses in the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. Some lower 48 refuges are closed to hunting to protect species where the populations are not large enough to support hunting or where hunting would conflict with other priority uses. All national wildlife refuges in Alaska are open to hunting except for very small areas adjacent to visitor facilities and the Skilak Loop Road on the Kenai Refuge where wildlife viewing, wildlife photography and small game specialty hunts (youth, bow, and falconry) are the priority uses. Protection of species is accomplished through game regulations usually set by the state. Many Alaskan households utilize wild meat as a big part of their diet.

Subsistence hunting for rural residents is also one of the purposes of all national wildlife refuges in Alaska as established by Congress in the Alaska National Interests Lands Act (ANILCA) of 1980.

Riverside camp on the Ivishak River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Friends partnered for this program with the Alaska Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, a group dedicated to “ensuring North America’s outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands, waters, and wildlife.” They have been advocates for refuges, wilderness and wildlife including taking positions opposing the Ambler Road and defending the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge during the 2016 takeover and occupation by the Bundys.

A Brit on the Kisaralik: Friends Discovery trip to the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge

by Peter Thompson, London Friends Member

Eight Friends from London, Colorado, Homer, Fairbanks and Anchorage all dressed up with nowhere to go . . . . . .until the weather clears.

A man can only really play so much cornhole, you know. So, when Alaska skies are low and you’re stuck in a hangar with bags on the plane – you do what you can. Mike and I couldn’t resist a plea from two young lads in another group, “you guys ready to lose?” Ready – yes. Lose – no. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mike lose at cornhole. But when the pilot burst in and said “We’re trying again, let’s go,” we left the cornhole and the vanquished youngsters behind.

I was on this trip as a new Friends member courtesy of my best pal Mike, who is on the Friends Board and my guide to Alaska for a long time. Alaska doesn’t see enough of me and vice versa and this float on the Kisaralik was a special chance to go somewhere I knew little about. Not to mention I am now the first international member of the Friends – so something of a celebrity – with a very small ‘c’!

London has been my home for 23 years so although I’m very familiar with low, white clouds, I was delighted to see them breaking as our floatplane headed southeast from Bethel. What was my first impression of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge from the air? What a great place to be a duck – or a moose! We were lucky enough to spend the prior afternoon at the Refuge offices with Refuge Manager Spencer Rearden and some of this staff who gave us a real sense of the challenges they face in managing such a vast area on very limited resources. But their commitment and love for this land was unquestionable – they are true public servants and that left a real impression.

A perfect morning on Kisaralik Lake at the start of our float.

We joined Marty Decker and his fantastic group of guides, including his daughter Emily, that afternoon at Kisaralik Lake and even landed a few lake trout before dinner. Many things about Alaska have kept me in awe over the years, but I keep coming back to the simple scale of the place to an average and somewhat displaced lower 48er like me. Damn, it’s big. The Kilbuck mountains framed it for us at the lake and a perfect sunrise gave us their mirror image around the campfire the next morning. What a start!

The river journey itself evolved as the days passed, from the high plateaus and natural berms of the upper stretches to the alder, cottonwoods and conifers as we lost elevation. Clear, cold, fast water that carried us effortlessly while reminding us of its power and the hydraulics of submerged rocks and downed trees, along with the ability of its channel to wander – leading us to often beach our boats to reconnoiter the route ahead. The ability and care of our guides was constantly on display and for one not used to being ‘guided’, they were worth their weight in gold. And so much life to see – a dramatic silhouette of caribou along a high river ridge and a golden eagle with two chicks nesting on riverside cliffs were highlights. But outside of one overly curious black bear near our camp one night, we did not see any brown bears and wondered if this was an effect of the state-run predator control program, as those that had previously floated the river had seen them frequently.

Sadly, our trip did have a before and after moment that reminded me of the stakes visitors face in what can be an unforgiving environment. The party in front of us lost a boat and its occupants over the Kisaralik Falls which took the life of one of those three. We found them the next day further downriver – a lesson to us all of human tragedy and the awesome, destructive power of nature.

As always, Alaska showed me great new beauty with a reminder that those that come here and seek that beauty and its wilderness must be ready for it. A big thank you to the Friends and our intrepid guides for a truly remarkable trip. Needless to say, I’ll be back!

This was the second in a series of Discovery Trips to the off-road refuges. Next year’s trip will be to the Alaska Maritime Refuge. Plans are still being developed but the trip should be ready for booking soon. Watch our newsletters.

Get Out on a Refuge, Do Some Good, Volunteer!

by Poppy Benson, Friends Vice President for Outreach Want to get to the Pribilofs or Izembek? Discover Tetlin? Get your hands on a duck? Share your love for Alaska Refuges with friendly people? Our Alaska National Wildlife Refuges are looking for our help as they are dealing with short staffs and small budgets. Here’s a sampler of volunteer opportunities. See all the projects (some are new since the last newsletter) on our volunteer web page here.

Share your knowledge of Alaska at Tetlin’s Interagency Visitor Center
Band ducks on the Tetlin Refuge.
Real science: aging black brant at Izembek.
Or come on down to Homer May 8 – 12 for the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival co-sponsored by Friends and the Alaska Maritime Refuge. Sign up for Friends outreach here and for festival events here.
Spring clean a refuge – Kenai April 26-27, Alaska Maritime Homer April 20
Spread the good word about refuges at Outreach Booths at events in Seward, Soldotna, and Homer.

Some volunteer jobs are just a few hours commitment and others offer a chance to spend a month on a refuge. Take some time this summer to experience a refuge through helping. For more information go to the web page or contact us at volunteer@alaskarefugefriends.org. Volunteer applications are online. It’s a lively job working the Friends Outreach Table at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival and we need 15 – 20 people to cover all the shifts. Sign up here. Friends Rosa Meehan of Anchorage and Board President Marilyn Sigman of Homer working the booth at the 2023 Festival.

Do You Want to Visit a Refuge? Volunteer, Volunteer, Volunteer!!!

Volunteer, Volunteer, Volunteer!!! by Poppy Benson, Vice President for Outreach

Setting up a Starlink solar system, deploying rat traps in the Pribilofs and teaching first aid in McGrath are three of the most unusual volunteer requests from the refuges this year. And that always fun project of banding ducks for a week on the Tetlin Refuge is back for a 4th year as well as brant aging surveys on the Izembek Refuge in October. Tetlin Refuge is also looking for visitor center help in Tok in 30 day shifts over the summer. Shorter term projects include helping with an Anchorage public meeting on rat eradication in the Aleutian Islands, building rat traps in Homer for the Alaska Maritime, a cleanup at the Maritime Visitor Center on April 20 (and expect one on the Kenai Refuge in May dates, TBD), and two big events – the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival and the Kenai Sports and Recreation Show.

Friends cosponsors the Festival, May 8 – 12 in Homer, and volunteers are needed for Friends outreach– staffing our Outreach Table and the Birders’ Coffee–and for Festival events. The Festival is our biggest project and traditionally our best source of new members and, its really fun. Come on down to Homer and help out. May 4 and 5 is the Kenai Sports and Recreation Show in Soldotna. Friends are needed to help the Kenai Refuge with its activities and to do outreach for Friends and the Refuge.

Some of these projects need help right away so don’t delay in checking them out – the Starlink system, rat trap assembly and the first aid instructor for Innoko Refuge would ideally happen in March – April. You can find all projects listed here including who to talk to for more information. Applications are needed for most projects and you must be a member for most projects. You can join or renew here.

In addition, refuges with visitor centers – Kodiak, Kenai, Yukon Delta in Bethel and the Alaska Maritime in Homer – can always use help. Contact the refuge.

Yes, there are fewer volunteer opportunities this year than last as only five refuges requested our help as opposed to seven last year. I can only speculate that this is due to the refuges not having a budget as Congress only passed the budget last Friday. And then there are the significant staff shortages. It takes staff and money to plan projects. Hopefully, with the budget resolved we might yet see some more projects for this year.

Three Amazing Rivers of the Central Yukon Watershed with Refuge Manager David Zabriskie

Friends Membership Meeting
This event was held on Tuesday, March 19, 5-6 pm AKDT

Homer – Watch Party at Alaska Maritime Refuge Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Hwy.
Soldotna – Watch Party at Kenai Refuge Visitor Center on Ski Hill Road
Anchorage– Watch Party at BP Energy Center, Spruce/Willow Room, 1014 Energy Ct.

Three wildlife-rich refuges along the central Yukon River are named after the rivers that define them – Koyukuk, Innoko and Nowitna. Ecologically speaking, these rivers are the heart and lifeblood of the three National Wildlife Refuges. They are also the primary access to the refuges for the people of the central Yukon and beyond. Refuge Manager David Zabriskie who is the manager for all three refuges, will share with us his work to protect the Nowitna River, a National Wild and Scenic River, and more broadly the role all three of these rivers play in the lives of the wildlife and the people of the Central Yukon River Watershed. For a preview of this beautiful river David will be sharing with you, check out this two minute video.

The Nowitna River with the Kokrine Hills in the background. pc: USFWS

David Zabriskie’s Bio: After working as a U.S. Navy Aviation Electronics Technician for four years, David pursued his passion for conservation, completing a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in wildlife/forestry and began his Fish and Wildlife Service career through the Student Career Experience Program at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama. From there, he gained valuable experience working in the diverse landscapes of Mississippi, remote Pacific Islands, Tennessee, Alaska, and Arizona before returning to Alaska to work in Galena as the Deputy Manager and now Refuge Manager.

David Zabriskie on the Selawik Refuge

David’s travels have provided him with the opportunity to work with diverse partners and communities across the country on amazing rivers like the Tennessee River and Colorado River. He has also led the Alaska Region’s first Comprehensive River Management Plan for the Nowitna Wild and Scenic River. In his spare time, David’s interests in photography and herpetology often lead him to remote locations around the planet for new discoveries.

Do You Want to Visit a Refuge?! Let’s go to the Aleutians

Do You Want to See the Aleutians? by Poppy Benson, Vice President for Outreach

February 2024’s presentation on the Aleut prehistory of the Aleutian Islands, might get you thinking, I want to go there. So how? Yes, the Aleutians are remote and stormy with minimal transportation but it is possible to visit at least a part of this fabulous volcanic island chain of seabirds and seals, wild flowers and wind, ancient ways and WWII history. Nearly all of the Aleutians are in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

Although there were hundreds of villages precontact there are only five now: Akutan, Unalaska, Nikolski, Atka and Adak, there are only 5 now. Each has some form of commercial air transportation, but it may not be often and can be unreliable due to weather. Dutch Harbor/Unalaska and Adak are the easiest to access.

Unalaska has it all: birds, whales, fish, culture, history, hiking, kayaking, volcanoes and fine accommodations. The ferry Tustumena makes a monthly 3 day trip from Homer stopping for a full day in Kodiak with a chance to visit the Kodiak Refuge and an afternoon in Cold Bay where Izembek Refuge staff may take you on a tour of refuge lands. Other village stops in Chignik Bay, Sand Point, King Cove and False Pass are brief but memorable.

Unalaska is famous with birders as the easiest place to see the whiskered auklet, a bird found only in the Aleutians and adjacent Russian islands.

Give yourself time to experience Unalaska by staying a few days and flying back. A fine hotel, the Grand Aleutian, other lodging options and numerous restaurants make visiting comfortable. Local guides can take you birding or to WWII sites. Culture and history abound here with a historic Russian Orthodox Church, the Museum of the Aleutians, and the World War II Historic Site and Museum. Most of the island is in the refuge.

Adak, 450 miles farther out the chain, is a very different experience. Once a military base that was home to over 5000, only about 170 live there now. The abandoned, crumbling base would make a good set for a zombie movie. But the island boasts beaches, a lagoon packed with otters and Emperor geese, hiking trails, rare birds blown in from Asia, fishing and caribou and ptarmigan hunting. Constructed almost overnight during WWII, Adak was an important base right up to the 1990s. Alaska Air flies twice a week and mileage tickets can be cheap. Former military housing, now privately owned, can be rented but bring your food as shopping is minimal. The Alaska Maritime Refuge has a satellite office with a few exhibits. Bird companies lead tours to Adak for the fall and spring migration.

Dutch Harbor, Unalaska’s port, is the number one fishing port in the US and the burly fishing fleet, popularized in the reality show Deadliest Catch, adds a unique element.

The small villages of Akutan, Nikolski and Atka are much harder to visit. Grant Aviation flies but weather can shut them down for days on end. Nikolski has a small lodge but in the other villages you need to speak to the village corporation to find out about housing. This would be quite an experience for the self-sufficient and culturally aware person.

To visit any of the other 70 plus islands in the chain you will have to find a boat. In some years, a cruise ship will pass through the chain visiting uninhabited islands. Search online because no company does it regularly. Attu, the holy grail of birding and WWII history, is nearly impossible to get to since the Coast Guard left in 2010 leaving the island uninhabited with no maintenance on the runway. Attu, the last island in the chain, was occupied by the Japanese and the site of a major WWII battle. A fascinating place but I just don’t think you can get there now. But visit what you can of this wildlife refuge so unique in wildlife, land forms and history.

Winter Recreation on the Kenai Refuge

Presented by the Gaia Girls, Laura Pillifant and Mary King
The recording of the zoom meeting can be found below. Please note that this presentation was held before a live audience at Kenai NWR.

Birding the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with Bird Guide Aaron Lang

Monday, December 4, 5:30pm, AKT.

Live in Homer at Alaska Maritime Wildlife Refuge’s Visitor Center or on Zoom.
You can view the recording of the live event below:

Aaron Lang will share stories and stunning photography at the Kachemak Bay Birders monthly meeting about the unique wilderness birding experiences to be found in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. All are welcome to attend or zoom in. Aaron, widely considered one of Alaska’s top birding guides and a downright nice guy, will draw from his 21 years of exploring, birding and guiding in the Arctic Refuge. Aaron is the co-owner of Wilderness Birding Adventures based in Homer and was the guide for the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges’ trip to the Marsh Fork of the Canning River in the Arctic Refuge last summer.

Aaron collecting feathers from an abandoned nest cavity for Gray-headed Chickadees. No birds were found on the 2023 trip. The feathers were collected for possible DNA analysis. pc: Nancy Deschu

Approximately the size of South Carolina, the 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has no roads or facilities. The lands and waters are a critical nursery for birds who migrate and winter throughout North America and beyond and is an important home for iconic resident wildlife such as caribou, musk oxen and polar bear. The refuge presents a unique, wilderness birding experience and contains the largest designated Wilderness within the National Wildlife Refuge System. Birds commonly found along the Arctic’s rivers include nesting shorebirds such as Wandering Tattler, Upland Sandpiper, and American Golden-Plover and Golden Eagles, Arctic Warbler and Smith’s Longspurs.

This program will be recorded and posted HERE within a few days.

Aaron began birding in southern Minnesota at age 11 when the curious behavior of a Northern Flicker caught his eye, and he’s been hopelessly addicted to birding ever since. Combining bird-related work with a passion for travel has led him to adventures in Brazil, Tibet, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bhutan. After settling in Alaska, Aaron spent several years running environmental education programs for the Prince William Sound Science Center in Cordova, all while scheming on how to turn his birding obsession into a career. In 2002, he began guiding for Wilderness Birding Adventures and, after 11 years, Aaron and his wife Robin bought the business.

Smith’s longspurs were frequently spotted on the Marsh Fork last summer. PC Jerry Britten

Aaron has served on the Alaska Bird Checklist Committee since 2009, the American Birding Association Checklist Committee (2015-2022), and the board of Audubon Alaska since 2019. He currently holds the Alaska Daydream Big Day Record for the most species of birds thought about in one 24-hour period.

This Kachemak Bay Birder Meeting is cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge with the zoom and recording capabilities provided by Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges.

Journey of Landscape and Light with Photographer Taz Tally

Thursday, September 28⋅6:30 – 7:30pm

This presentation was recorded. Watch below:

Photographer Taz Tally will share with us his stunning images, videos and stories from 9 seasons of visiting the Brooks Range in fall and winter. Light refreshments will be provided.

Cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges

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