Volunteer Activities – Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges

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 29^th. 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

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

From Florida to Alaska: Barbara’s Volunteer Adventure!

Friends member Barbara Ryan from Pompano Beach, Florida, spent 6 weeks this summer volunteering at the Alaska Peninsula/Becharof Refuge Interagency Visitor Center in King Salmon. This is her second big volunteer gig with us — last year she spent 3 weeks at Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge!

Under the guidance of her supervisor, Sarah Lang, Barbara has been learning, helping, and experiencing it all — from helping visitors, to assisting in a summer camp, to seeing subsistence fishing firsthand from the netting to the smokehouse. And yes, she even landed a salmon at Katmai National Park on her day off — her most memorable catch yet!

Alaska Peninsula/Becharof refuge is very grateful for her help as they have only one employee in visitor services and no seasonal staff. “Barbara has been such a blast to have around and an asset to our team,” Sarah says. “Thank you for connecting her to us.” Barbara’s hard work, enthusiasm, and adventurous spirit are exactly what make our volunteer program so special.

The refuge was able to pay her way from Anchorage to King Salmon in southwest Alaska and furnished housing in their bunkhouse. More and more refuges are asking for this kind of long-term help in order to keep the visitor centers open. Think about it for next summer. Volunteer positions are usually advertised the first of March.

Barbara Ryan helping a camper at the refuge’s summer program.

Thoroughly Enjoyed the Process: Monitoring Walrus from Hawaii

By Jenna Berting, Friends member from Washington State

The walrus monitoring project gave me a chance to use my skills to help wildlife even though I was working remotely in Hawaii at the time! I heard about the opportunity on the Friends website and applied and volunteered with the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge to assist in a research project monitoring Pacific walrus populations. I volunteered 23 hours over the course of a month, working remotely, to help count walruses captured by remote game cameras stationed at five different haul-out locations within the refuge. This monitoring plays a critical role in understanding walrus behavior, population dynamics, and environmental impacts on these marine mammals.

I collaborated closely with Jannelle, a wildlife biologist at the refuge, who guided the process and served as a supportive and knowledgeable mentor throughout the project. Working with Jannelle was the highlight of the project – the encouragement and willingness to assist made this not only a learning experience but a truly enjoyable one.

We used QGIS, a geographic information system tool, to overlay various data layers that supported visual analysis and improved accuracy in our counts. In many instances, we reviewed side-by-side images from dual-camera setups to match and align photographs before finalizing the counts.

Walrus at Bird Rock haulout, Togiak Refuge. I applied the dots as I identified each walrus and the QGIS program tabulated them. Pc USFWS

Walrus counting was occasionally visually challenging due to factors such as lighting conditions (e.g., sunset or overcast skies), weather interference, and the sheer density of walruses in the images—sometimes stacked on top of one another or spread out across vast distances. Despite these difficulties, I thoroughly enjoyed the process and learned so much.

This experience expanded my knowledge of walrus behavior, particularly their haul-out patterns, social groupings, and how tightly they cluster in large groups along the shoreline. I gained valuable skills in remote data analysis, wildlife monitoring techniques, and spatial mapping using QGIS tools. I look forward to supporting similar conservation initiatives in the future!

Volunteer, Volunteer, Volunteer

By Poppy Benson, Vice President

Want to do hands on field work? Share your enthusiasm for refuges with visitors? Be a campground host at a very lovely spot? Eight refuges have submitted their wish lists for volunteers and they are now posted on our Current Volunteer Opportunities webpage. Add some wildlife to your summer. Check them out, check your calendar and apply!

There are some intriguing multi week field projects including hare monitoring on Yukon Flats Refuge and biological monitoring and maintenance at Kanuti’s remote cabin. Both these will require some training so talk to them right away to arrange this. Izembek is looking for black brant survey team members but this year they want two. Friends will pay airfare Anchorage to Cold Bay. And that always fun project of banding ducks at Tetlin Refuge for a week is back for a 5th year. Alaska Peninsula Refuge wants help with their visitor center and summer events for the whole summer but two people could split the summer. Airfare, food allowance and refuge housing are provided. Izembek also wants visitor services help but we don’t have money to cover airfare although lodging would be provided. Kenai Refuge needs a campground host at Hidden Lake.

One day or afternoon projects include three big outreach events – the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, Seabird Fest and the Kenai Sports and Recreation Show; help with fencing the banks of the Kenai to prevent erosion during the salmon runs; and cleanups on the Alaska Maritime (April 19) and Kenai (date TBD). Friends cosponsors the Shorebird Festival, May 7 – 11 in Homer and volunteers are needed for staffing the Friends Outreach Table and the Birder’s Coffee and for helping the refuge with Festival events. You can sign up for either or both Friends and refuge work. The Festival is our biggest project and traditionally our best source of new members and, it’s really fun! Come on down to Homer and help out. May 3 and 4 is the Kenai Sports and Recreation Show in Soldotna and May 30 – 31 is Seabird Fest in Seward. Friends are needed to help the refuges with activities and education at these events.

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, Alaska Peninsula in King Salmon and the Alaska Maritime in Homer can always use help. Contact those refuges if you live in the area.

Volunteering at the Friends Outreach Booth at the 2023 Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. We need at least 25 volunteers to cover all 5 days of Festival events and outreach.

I was surprised we got as many projects as we did given the DOGE induced chaos at the refuges – uncertain job futures, stripped staff, credit card use suspended making acquiring field supplies impossible and no budget yet for this fiscal year. Should government uncertainties resolve, I think we would get some more projects so stay tuned to our volunteer current opportunities page.

“The Trip of a Lifetime!” Surveying Brant on the Izembek Refuge

By Cindy Mom, Seldovia Friends member

I had the privilege to volunteer on the brant survey at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge this fall. Afterwards, it took me two days to get home from Cold Bay to Seldovia, and even when my cargo was unpacked and put away, I felt like my mental and emotional experiences from Izembek were still very present – not unpacked yet at all. What a beautiful and wild place! I still see the thick luscious eelgrass in my mind’s eye, and all those brant slurping it up with pure delight. The raucous sounds of thousands of happy geese can’t help but make you happy, too.

The Refuge staff and visiting biologists welcomed me to the Brant crew, and made it easy to explore and enjoy the Refuge. Our six-person crew (usually split into two groups of three) visited the brant goose habitat, the incredibly extensive eelgrass bed of Izembek Lagoon. To get to our observation points we hiked across the tundra or boated in inflatable skiffs to shallow waters or shorelines. Once there, we set up spotting scopes and counted flocks of brant, using clickers to tally adults vs. juveniles. While one or two people scoped and counted, one person recorded data and watched for bears.

The Izembek Lagoon is one of the very few places on earth that I have visited that feels still intact, and complete, and of-itself. Pc Cindy Mom

As the entire population of Pacific black brant, about 150,000 birds, stages for about eight weeks in the Izembek Lagoon Complex, Izembek’s Brant Age Ratio Survey provides an estimate of the age composition of the entire arctic and subarctic breeding populations. This survey provides the only measure of annual productivity for the brant and an index of recruitment as most first-year mortality occurs between hatch and fall migration.

The absolute best part was getting to work with an amazing crew of wildlife biologists, who know how to efficiently get the job done and still have fun while doing it. Everyone had such obvious and infectious enjoyment in the work and the beautiful wild Refuge, it made it easy to deal with the discomforts of field work in wet, windy, and cold conditions. I truly feel this was the trip of a lifetime, and appreciate the opportunity to explore the Izembek Refuge, learn about eelgrass and brant, see walruses and several life birds, and contribute something to this important study. My travel expenses were covered by the Friends, which made this trip possible; otherwise, it would have remained an unreachable dream. Thank you, Friends!

Wet, windy and cold. It was October out there! We only lost two survey days to extreme weather. I organized the refuge library on those days. PC Randall Friendly.

Collecting Puke and Weathering Storms: My Challenging but Rewarding Time in the Barren Islands

By Karyn Murphy, Homer Friends member and Alaska Maritime Refuge Liaison

During this past summer, I was given the opportunity to join with a biologist from the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and a grad student from Oregon to go to the Barren Islands for several weeks to work and live at the East Amatuli Island field camp. The seabird rich, uninhabited Barren Islands are about 60 miles south of Homer where Cook Inlet flows into the Gulf of Alaska. Our focus would be three-fold: check productivity plots of Fork-tailed Storm Petrel burrows and measure any chicks found; set up mist nets to capture petrels as they returned at night to feed their chicks and to collect the puke they regurgitated upon capture for later analysis; and setting up timelapse camera gear to monitor puffin colonies.

Fork-tailed Storm Petrel chicks are cute fluffballs! We recorded wing length, weight and amount of down all of which helps approximate age of the chick.

The data we gathered contributed to decades long records which indicate not just how well the refuge’s trust species are doing but also what the birds’ health has to say about the health of the ocean they feed from. Weather was very stormy and windy with a few lovely sunny days. The icing on the cake was getting picked up by the refuge research ship the R/V Tiglax for our return to Homer. What a challenging and rewarding opportunity! So grateful to have had this time at the East Amatuli Island field camp. I hope others are inspired to volunteer for opportunities within our Alaska national wildlife refuge system!

I’m not laying down on the job here. We were often up to our armpits reaching to the very back of the storm petrel burrows to find and gently extract the chick for measurements.

Selawik Summer: 4 Above the Arctic Circle

This past summer four Friends volunteered in different capacities with the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge in Kotzebue in far northwestern Alaska. Selawik had not asked for volunteers in many years but Brittany Sweeney, new to her position as Deputy Refuge Manager, saw an opportunity to augment their small staff. Here are our volunteers’ stories.

I Had Never Introduced Myself to an Entire Village Before: But here I was with a VHF radio in my hand.
By Saralily Stein, Anchor Point Friend

“Good morning Selawik! My name is Sarahlily, and my friend Lynda and I are here from the Fish and Wildlife Service. We’ll be leading nature crafts in the NANA building this afternoon from 1:30 – 4:30pm. Ages eight and up are welcome to join us.” I looked over at Adam, and he gave me a thumbs up. Phew!

This July, I spent nine days volunteering with Selawik National Wildlife Refuge. With the help of refuge staff and tribal administrators, I led three nature art workshops in the villages of Selawik and Buckland.

Two workshops focused on botanical ink making. Participants used local plants such as kikmiññat (cranberries) to make watercolor paintings. We had a great time experimenting with different leaves, berries, and flowers. In addition to the art side of the project, we tried to include both cultural and scientific components by incorporating the Iñupiaq plant names and using acids and bases to modify the colors of the inks. In Selawik, the ink workshop had only three participants. In Buckland, we had forty!

The other workshop focused on cyanotype printing. Also called sun printing, this craft uses light sensitive paper to make botanical prints. We took a plant walk to gather materials and then used those plants to make cards and socks.

In Selawik, I was joined by Lynda Knutsen, who was working at Selawik refuge on a detail. Refuge Information Technician (FWS Village liaison) Adam Ramoth picked us up from the airport, showed us around, and made sure we had everything we needed. We stayed in a funky little bunkhouse with creative plumbing, friendly neighbors, and a couple of opinionated outdoor dogs. Selawik is a boardwalk community. So, instead of driving cars around on gravel roads we rode around the wooden boardwalks on “Hondas” (four-wheelers) with a little trailer to carry our totes of art supplies.

In Buckland, refuge deputy manager Brittany Sweeney joined me, and the two of us stayed in the school building. Tribal administrator Sheila Washington helped us get the word out and corral the many enthusiastic kids during the workshop. I was so impressed by these kids! They were kind to each other, sharing the art supplies with one another and helping each other find what they needed. Making ink with them was a blast.

In between workshops, I stayed in Kotzebue at the refuge bunkhouse. Just across the Chukchi Sea from Russia, Kotzebue was a great “homebase” to explore, relax, and prep for workshops. In addition to managing the many logistics that go into village travel, Brittany went out of her way to welcome me, even inviting me and Lynda over to her home to try local sheefish.

A huge thank you to Friends for making this trip possible. A special taikuu (thanks) to Jerry Hupp who coordinated logistics, ordered the art supplies, and organized the budget. I hope to volunteer again in the future!

Friends secured a small grant from the Fish and Wildlife Service Retirees’ Association to fund Sarahlily’s travel and supplies.

Buckland Village children with the ink they made from plants and postcards created with the ink. PC Brittany Sweeney.

Two in Town: Bev and Louis first visit to NW Alaska

As told to Poppy Benson

“I’m grateful I went,” said Bev Cronen of the three weeks she and her partner Louis Dupree spent volunteering at Selawik refuge headquarters in Kotzebue. “It was interesting to just get a taste of what it is like to live off the road system,” she added. “I took pictures of prices in the store because I am sure my friends wouldn’t believe it. $14.87 for a loaf of Dave’s Bread!” Bev and Louis also got in on a community meeting when Senator Sullivan came to town. More than 50 locals attended and those that spoke expressed their concerns mainly about the Ambler Road. The prevailing sentiment was anti-road. Locals felt they did not have enough say in a road which would be disruptive to them and their way of life. Bev and Louis also enjoyed just walking around town observing people and their neighborhoods.

Bev and Louis answered the call to help with office work and a variety of small maintenance tasks. With no administrative staff at the refuge, the four full time and two part time employees have gotten quite behind on simple things like dealing with files, small paint jobs and shredding documents. Bev reported that the government housing was lovely, the staff very hardworking and working with Brittany Sweeney, Deputy Refuge Manager was a highlight. And the feeling was mutual. Brittany dedicated a Selawik Refuge Facebook post to the two writing the refuge owed them a “HUGE thank you . . . .. They assisted with anything and everything we asked, from maintenance tasks to mail runs, filing and more. Our office has never looked better than after their visit; these two avid sailors left us in ship shape!” Bev reported it was gratifying to help the staff and she would go back again.

Bev Cronen and Louis Depree of Homer at Selawik Refuge Headquarters in Kotzebue. PC. USFWS/Brittany Sweeney

Off to a Good Start: New Refuge Liaison Visits the Refuge

Our Friends refuge liaison positions were created so that each of the 16 refuges have one member that looks out for that refuge and its needs. It isn’t often however, that the refuge liaison pays their way out to a remote refuge to really get to know the refuge and the staff. Nancy Deschu of Anchorage did juist that in July traveling to Kotzebue. Nancy has a particular interest in rivers and fisheries being a retired hydrologist and spent time with refuge biologist Bill Carter with the idea of writing an article. She also got filled in on refuge concerns – new broad band towers proposed for the refuge, the Ambler Road, not enough staff and not enough money. Refuge staff wondered if Friends could help with grant writing, chasing soft money, volunteers for at least three-week stints and increasing public awareness of this little-known refuge. Both Brittany Sweeney, Deputy Refuge Manager and Nancy felt the trip was invaluable for getting Nancy up to speed on Selawik concerns.

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

Friends’ Volunteers Flock to Tetlin

Due to staff shortages and the demands of two visitor centers on the highway, Tetlin Nationl Wildlife Refuge really needed our help this summer and our members responded. Eight volunteered to band ducks, one to work a month in their border visitor center and one was so invaluable they hired him. Read what they shared about their experiences.

Nothing like Leaping into Retirement with a Month of Volunteering at Tetlin Refuge!
By Jackie Smith, Soldotna Friends member

To be honest, I had no idea how far out the Tetlin Refuge Visitor Center was – almost to the Canadian border and 70 miles beyond Tok. But my pup Mia and I settled in to refuge housing at Northway Junction 15 miles from the visitor center where I would work. It’s hard to call the time at work “work” because everyone we met was so happy to be there – excited to get information about where they were headed or to share their experiences (especially with road conditions!).

We gave directions, reviewed maps, sold souvenirs and gifts including Native baskets and beadwork, and showed a video of the details of the refuge and its Alaska Native background. The swan exhibit, a collection of animal pelts and a display where visitors can make footprints of the various refuge inhabitants were popular and great fun for the kids! I was most impressed with how the local Native culture is such a big part of the exhibits. The two Athabascan staffers even demonstrated beading.

I loved having the chance to work with these ladies from the village of Northway and learn about Athabascan culture. Sylvia Pitka, Cora Demit and Marilyn Paul with a visitor on the visitor center deck with the beautiful refuge view.

I met most of the headquarters staff and many of the summer folks working on the refuge and in Tok, and bonded with Bill and Mary (we’re all nurses!) who came from Florida to be the hosts at the refuge campground at Deadman Lake. Including side trips to pick blueberries on the Denali Highway and visit Beaver Creek, Chicken and Dawson City, I am now able to truly appreciate smoothly-paved roads! The only thing I missed out on was the duck banding, so I might have to go back! Thanks so much for the opportunity to see eastern Alaska and the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. It was all quite an adventure.

Duck Banding at Tetlin Refuge is more than Just Banding Ducks!
By Lin and John Kennedy, Soldotna Friends

Lin Kennedy with Deputy Refuge Manager and Duck Whisperer Ross Flagen. PC Lewis Westwick

It’s the getting there, and the camping, and the people. As the trip to the refuge’s Deadman Lake campground is over 500 miles from Soldotna, we tood two days to enjoy and photograph the beautiful scenery, with time to stretch our legs and exercise our dog. On our arrival Sunday afternoon, we checked in with the campground hosts, Bill and Mary, who we knew from the year before, found our “reserved” campsite and set our trailer up for the week.

Mallard, Pintail, Green Winged Teal and Wigeon ducks were all fitted with bands throughout the week. The process generally runs fairly smooth, but there are always some bumps in the road. It was Duck – 1, Lin – 0 when I applied a band not realizing the pliers were locked open, failed to close the band, and the duck got away with the band falling to the bottom of the boat with a loud clang. As Ross Flagen, Tetlin Deputy Refuge Manager, says “It happens to everyone.”

Our mornings and early afternoons were spent at Deadman and Yarger lakes checking the duck traps and working through the ducks that were trapped. Ducks that were already banded were released and the newbies were held in bright orange crates waiting for their turn to receive their beautiful new ankle bracelet. John Kennedy releasing banded duck. PC. Lewis Westwick.

By midafternoon we were usually finished and free to explore and enjoy Tetlin Refuge.  Deadman Lake campground offers quiet, large, spaced-out sites, canoes complete with paddles and PFDs free to use, free firewood and a short boardwalk complete with a viewing platform on the lakeshore. Blueberries are abundant in season for picking and spicing up the morning pancakes.

The Seaton Roadhouse site, east of Deadman Lake on the AlCan, offers panels with historical information, trails with viewing decks and benches, and a beaver pond with many ducks and even a pair of swans the afternoon we visited.  And of course, a visit to Tetlin Refuge would not be complete without a visit to the visitor center. The staff was very friendly. The deck of the visitor center offered wonderful valley and mountain views.

We experienced beautiful sunshine and blue skies most days, with a chill in the air in the mornings that could only mean one thing: fall is on the horizon. Before we knew it our week at Deadman Lake ended and it was time to head back to Soldotna.

I frequently comment, “we are not birders.” After two years of participating in this worthwhile project, perhaps we are.

The Refuge’s Lakeview campground on Yarger Lake just west of Deadman is smaller but has a great viewing blind. PC Poppy Benson

In addition to the Kennedys, Dan Musgrove, Soldotna; Barbara O’Donnell, Fairbanks; Lewis Westwick, Danny Moss, Susan Moeller, and Deborah Vandruff, all of Anchorage also volunteered for a week of duck banding.

Indispensable Dan
From Volunteer to Employee
By Poppy Benson, Vice President for Outreach
One of Friends most hard working, most cheerful and all around good guy volunteers is Dan Musgrove of Soldotna. These Dan characteristics were not lost on the Tetlin Refuge staff particularly Deputy Manager Ross Flagen. Dan had volunteered three times for the Tetlln Refuge – two weeks of duck banding and other duties as assigned and a winter gig via snowmachine to chop wood and get remote cabins ready for the summer. So Ross knew Dan could work. When the frustrating government hiring system failed to find candidates for all the summer positions Tetlin needed, Ross figured out a way to hire Dan as a 30-day emergency hire. This retired oil field worker put on the brown uniform and became a ranger! Dan did mostly maintenance work for that month but he still wasn’t tired of Tetlin. He returned in August to volunteer for another week of duck banding. Now that is helping out a refuge in need!

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