Volunteer Activities – Page 2 – Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges

In the Field: Friends Volunteering

by Poppy Benson, Friends Board Vice President

On a river and lakes and mountainsides, Friends were helping Refuges this past July-August. Read the reports of three members about their work on Kodiak, Yukon Delta and Tetlin Refuges.

Saw Some Amazing Fish
by Michelle Beadle, Palmer member

I spent a week in July helping the Fish and Wildlife Service Fisheries crew at the Kwethluk Fish Weir in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Due to high water lingering into summer, the weir had only been “fish tight” for a couple days prior to my arrival. Having fish identification experience myself, I spent lots of time helping with the fish counts to free up the crew for buttoning up other projects. Fish passing through the weir are counted and monitored by video 24 hours a day. Chinook, sockeye, and chum made up the bulk of the fish observed with occasional pink salmon and whitefish showing up as well.

Saw Some Amazing Fish by Michelle Beadle, Palmer member

My time at the weir was great fun. I learned a lot about what it takes to run a weir on a large river system. The crew lead from the Kenai Fisheries Office, Derek, and the workers from the nearby village of Kwethluk were a pleasure to work with and shared a wealth of knowledge. The peacefulness offered by the remote tundra and adventure of traveling along the rivers rounded out the experience. I am looking forward to many more adventures in Western Alaska!

The fish trap is also closed for a short time each day, which allowed us to live capture fish to record age, sex, and length before releasing the fish upstream. pc: Rory Spellman

Rory Spellman, Soldotna Friend, and Ryan Peyton, Anchorage Friend, also volunteered at the weir.

Would I do it Again?
In a Heartbeat: Berry Monitoring on Kodiak Island
by Moira O’Malley, Fairbanks Friend

You may have heard of Exploratory Botanist Steve Perlman “going to extremes by descending remote cliff faces to save Hawaii’s most endangered native plants from extinction”. Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge has their own Extreme Wildlife Biologist- Bill Pyle. Bill is on a mission to help save the Kodiak bears by monitoring berries- salmon, blue, elder, and devil’s club. I assisted him for 3 1/2 weeks this summer.

Berry monitoring with Bill is not for the faint of heart. First of all, you have to get to the remote sites by a Beaver Cub float plane; weather permitting, of course. It’s often a waiting game. Once at the site, be prepared to stay in a public use cabin with no running water (Uganik), a teepee (Red Lake, my favorite), the ‘posh’ Camp Island (Karluk), and the bunkhouse (Kodiak). Then the fun begins. Kodiak bushwhacking features steep climbs, scrambling through stinging nettles, burning poochki (wild celery), tussocks, ‘root grabbers’, all while under relentless attack by mozzies (mosquitoes), no-see-ums, white socks, and biting flies. And dealing with cold soggy fingers and keeping the data dry! On one site, I was perched on a 140-degree slope barely hanging on by the ‘skin’ of my boots with my heels dug into the wet, muddy, slippery soil to keep from sliding down the incline!

My job was writing down data as it was given to me, often shouted from a distance. Alders became my friend. They not only provided shade, but the branches offered a comfortable place to sit while collecting data.

Oh, the views, wildlife, and flora of Kodiak Island! What an unforgettable experience! Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!

The Set Up Crew: Banding Ducks was a Bonus
by John and Lyn Kennedy, Soldotna Friends

We spent the first three days of our week building and setting up the duck banding traps in Deadman and Yarger lakes at Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. The traps consisted of 40 foot long rolls of chicken wire prepped with a door to be used by banders to enter the trap and retrieve the ducks. We boated the materials to the desired area in the lakes and held the traps in place with ground rods. Then an opening was fashioned to allow the ducks to swim into the trap and bird netting was attached creating a roof so the ducks weren’t able to fly out. Traps were baited with barley and corn and fingers were crossed hoping the ducks would come.

It was early in the season so we went with the expectation that we would just be setting things up and not actually banding any ducks, so for us it was a bonus. Lin Kennedy prepping duck for banding.

On the fourth day, we actually caught some ducks. Deputy Refuge Manager Ross Flagen was in his element teaching how to determine if it was a juvenile or a mature duck, male or female. After that a band was put around a leg, and they were sent along their merry way. As John and I were newbies to this and have no birding experience, it was very educational.

It was a fun, informative week. We enjoyed being able to experience the Tetlin Refuge. The staff we encountered were all very friendly, excited and appreciative to have “Friends” at their refuge. John and I would both be more than happy to go back again.

Great Weather if You like it Hot with Thunder and Lightning.
by Dan Musgrove, Soldotna Friend

Our second week team of Dan Musgrove and Jerry Hupp had to be very adaptable to the extreme weather conditions. The three teams after them were canceled due to the high water making it impossible to trap ducks. Hear what Dan had to say.

Dan Musgrove with the outhouse he was building as part of the Scottie Creek historic cabin’s transition to a public use cabin.

Due to the hot weather and high water levels duck banding was not good and we only got three ducks the first day. We ended up adding a couple more traps on Deadman Lake for later on in the season. After that we switched gears and started working at Scottie Creek Cabin. The Tetlin Refuge was turning this historic cabin into a public use cabin. We helped build an outhouse and enhanced the trail going into the cabin. We lined the trail with sawdust, which took two large dump trailers full from Tok.

We had great weather if you like it hot with thunder and lightning. Thermometer in the shade of the Northway gas station showed almost 90 degrees! I had a great time volunteering and would recommend it to everyone. Thanks again for these opportunities.

Reports from the Field: Friends Volunteers in Action

by Poppy Benson, Friends Board Vice President

We have over 20 volunteers out this summer and fall and here are the early reports.

Galbraith Lake Bunkhouse – The area “is to die for”, said Friends volunteer Bev Cronen about her work site at Galbraith Lake in the Arctic Refuge. “There aren’t very many places you can look in every direction and see wilderness and beauty.” Bev and her husband Louis Dupree of Homer drove their camper up the Dalton Highway to help the refuge assemble the insides of a new bunkhouse. Bev went on to say that they really enjoyed the refuge people and volunteers they worked with and were glad to be a part of this. She praised their supervisor Paul Banyas for his flexibility and adaptability as they had several surprises when they arrived at Galbraith Lake after a long day of packing the trailer with furniture parts, tools, and supplies and pulling it up the Haul Road. They arrived at 11 pm, only to find that the bunkhouse still had carpenters working in it and the old bunkhouse was full of archeologists. Thank goodness Louis and Bev had their camper but Paul made it all work.

First meal on the newly assembled table in the new Galbraith Lake bunkhouse. From L to R – Refuge Intern Clay, hired carpenters Zack and; Nathan, Refuge maintenance worker Paul Banyas, Friend Louie Dupree, and refuge volunteer Ken. It was an amiable group that finished the work in time to go hiking. pc:: Bev Cronen.

Kenai River Festival, Soldotna. Every year we help the Kenai Refuge at their booth and do outreach of our own at the Kenai River Festival in early June. Volunteer participation was great this year under Marie McConnell’s leadership. Seven friends volunteered: Marie, Lynne Schmidt, Dan Musgrove, Becky Hutchinson, Anna Haylock, Carolyn Weathers who helped with the refuge activities and Michelle Semerad who came from Anchorage to help. Marie reported attendance at the festival seemed to be down and more of a tourist audience than in prior years.

Marie McConnell and Lynne Schmidt of Soldotna at the Friends outreach table at the Kenai River Festival in June. pc: USFWS

From Bethel to Soldotna to Homer to Fairbanks; Friends were reaching out in April and May.

by Poppy Benson, Friends Board Vice President

From a Ducks Unlimited Banquet in Bethel to The Month of the Military Child in Fairbanks, Friends were reaching out to new and old audiences spreading the word about Friends and Alaska’s incredible 16 National Wildlife Refuges.

Birders flocked to the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer in early May giving us our biggest opportunity to recruit new members and talk up all the refuges beyond the Alaska Maritime with which we cosponsor the festival. Sixteen Friends from Soldotna, Anchorage, Homer and Colorado worked our outreach booth for 4 days signing up 40 new and renewing members. Most also volunteered with other Festival events as well. Beyond the booth, we had opportunities to reach out to this audience of Alaskans and lower 48 birders at the keynote event and again at the Birder’s Coffee which we host.

Friend Susan Watkin’s painting of a moose crossing through the refuge’s Sterling Highway wildlife underpass served as a photo booth and a highlight of the Kenai Refuge exhibit at the Sports and Recreation show in Soldotna. Five Friends under Marie McConnell’s leadership worked at a Friends table co-located with the Kenai Refuge allowing Friends to help with fun refuge activities, share their knowledge of the Kenai Refuge and recruit members. This was a different audience with important ties to the Kenai Refuge and 12 new members were recruited.

Becky Wick and Tim Shipman work the Friends booth at the Soldotna Sports and Recreation Show. The 12 new members recruited at the Show bring Friends membership in the Kenai/Soldotna area to 50. pc: Marie McConnell

Also on the Kenai, the refuge’s Greenup, Cleanup service project turned into an outreach event when Friend Becky Wick showed up with 10 members of her hiking group. Plenty of opportunities to chat about Friends while cleaning up three refuge campgrounds and access roads on Saturday and the refuge’s muti use trail on Friday. Tim Shipman, long time Team Friends organizer, remarked that the campgrounds were cleaner this year.

Although not technically an outreach event, our members turned the Kenai Refuge Greenup, Cleanup into one by inviting friends, family and a hiking club. L to R Dan Moultrie, Becky Wick, Dan Musgrove and Robin Musgrove. pc: Marie McConnell

Ten people flying from Alabama to Bethel for dinner was just one unexpected twist to our first ever Bethel outreach event. When Yukon Delta’s Refuge Manager, Boyd Blihovde, told his new Friends liaison, Ryan Peyton, that he wanted to see Friends do an event in Bethel like a Ducks Unlimited (DU) banquet, he was talking to the right guy. Ryan, a long time DU member, quickly saw the benefit in developing a relationship between the waterfowl rich refuge and the waterfowl group who has done so much for habitat conservation. Ryan hosted a Friends’ outreach table at the DU banquet adjacent to the refuge’s information table. The DU banquet is the biggest conservation event in Bethel with over 125 people attending including the 10 from Alabama. Ryan hopes he set the stage for a greater role in next year’s event and other cooperative activities with DU.

Ryan Peyton, a long time Ducks Unlimited (DU) member and Yukon Delta Refuge liaison, staffed our first ever outreach effort in Bethel at the Bethel DU Banquet. About 125 people attended including people from out of state. pc: Laurie Boeck/USFWS

Military children and families are an important part of the Fairbanks community. Due to refuge staff transfers, the northern refuges were at risk of being a no-show at the community event marking Month of the Military Child. Arctic Refuge’s Friends liaison Jeff Walter came to the rescue and singlehandedly ran the northern refuges’ booth which was visited by at least 90 people, half of them children. The focus here was not on Friends recruitment but interesting the kids and families from Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base in wildlife and wildlife refuges.

Jeff Walters, Friends Arctic Refuge liaison, was the sole staffer for the northern refuges booth at a Fairbanks community event celebrating the Month of the Military Child. About 90 people, half of them children, stopped at his table.

This spring was an exciting time of growth for Friends outreach due to the new audiences, diversity of locations and sheer numbers of Friends who volunteered. Thanks to all who helped.

Volunteer! Volunteer! Volunteer!

Friend Sharon Baur teaching at the Shorebird Festival; pc: USFWS

Teaching in Arctic Village; duck banding in Tetlin, maintenance at Galbraith Lake and on the Kwethluk River, event planning, spring clean-ups, hosting an art show, showing kids the great outdoors and reaching out to the public – the refuges are asking for our help in a big way! Refuges from Alaska Maritime to the Yukon Delta have come back from the pandemic drought in volunteer projects to requesting our help with more than 15 projects. Most of these are now posted on our Volunteer Page along with the Volunteer Application .

Friends duck banding on Tetlin Refuge in 2022; pc: USFWS

Please consider donating some time to help a refuge this year. You could make a big difference. Projects range from a 10 day commitment at Izembek to a two hour shift at an outreach table in Homer, Soldotna, Kodiak, or Fairbanks. How about spring in Homer at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, May 3 to 7. Friends cosponsors the Festival and we need volunteers as bird guides, Friends outreach table, event help and much more. If you are in Anchorage or Fairbanks, help is needed for outdoor schools for upper elementary children. Opening a child’s eyes to nature is really our only hope for the future of wild places and wildlife. The outdoor schools are coming up quickly as well. Closing dates for applications vary but some are as soon as March 30.

There truly is something for everyone in our project list. In addition, both the Kenai and the Alaska Maritime Refuge will have projects not yet listed that will need help throughout the year. Watch for those. For more information go to the Volunteer Page or contact us at volunteer@alaskarefugefriends.org.

Kodiak Report: What a great trip!!

By: Leslie Slater, Friends Kodiak Refuge Liaison

Let me back up and tell you all about the trip that Friends’ Vice President Poppy Benson and I as Kodiak Refuge Liaison had the pleasure of taking in October around National Wildlife Refuge Week.

The Refuge had asked us to come help with events, but we also had things we wanted to accomplish with several local groups. The Friends group has a small footprint in Kodiak and we wanted to increase that by telling folks what our mission is, how we can help them, and encourage them to join Friends.First up was a volunteer appreciation event cohosted with the Kodiak Refuge that acknowledged the efforts of people who contributed their time to Kodiak Refuge projects. The refuge normally held these events annually, but had been unable to do so over the past two years due to the pandemic. More than 30 people attended on a blustery, rainy evening, and we helped lure them in by providing locally catered finger foods. Most of the refuge’s volunteers have been assisting with projects for several years, and one began his association with refuge projects in the 1970s!

The following day, with only an occasional bit of precip falling and the tiniest bit of blue sky taunting us, we set up a Friends table under a tent shared with the refuge at the “Walk for the Wild” event. The refuge visitors services staff set up a walking route that had trivia questions posted throughout and a photo scavenger hunt. Walkers set off with their clip boards and answer sheets to win rewards based on the number of correct answers. With 103 participants, this was the largest Walk for the Wild in Alaska. Many, many families with small children participated and all seemed to have a very good time. And personally, there was a bonus…. I even ticked a bucket-list item off: donning (and dancing in!) the brown bear costume that the refuge keeps on hand for such events.

Kodiak Refuge Manager Michael Brady; bear; Kodiak Volunteer Coordinator Erin Strand, with the photo stop at the Walk for the Wild banner. pc. Poppy Benson

The next day we were part of a small group who conducted a beach clean-up at White Sands Beach. It’s a few miles out of town and gets a lot of use… many firepits contained a lot of nails leftover from burning pallets. It felt good to leave the site much cleaner than it had been.

The “loot” from beach cleaning efforts with Ranger Gretchen Mominee. pc Erin Strand

Our last big public event was hosting the October Friends meeting, Tracking Puffins Across the Kodiak Archipelago. It was an electronic challenge in linking three remote locations (Portland, Homer, Soldotna) and a zoom audience to the live meeting occurring in the Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center, but it seemed to have gone off without a hitch. Twenty-six attended in Kodiak with a total audience from all locations and zoom land of 115.

Kodiak Refuge Avian Biologist Robin Corcoran presenting to the Friends monthly meeting live to the Kodiak audience as well as the zoom and watch party audiences. Pc Poppy Benson

Poppy and I also met with the Kodiak Audubon Chapter’s board of directors, the refuge’s new Community Affairs Liaison, Amy Peterson, at her office at Koniag and the president of the Kodiak Brown Bear Trust to encourage further communications, and hopefully, partner with them on future conservation projects.

Lastly, we had a sit-down meeting with refuge staff, to outline what Friends could do for them and discuss what they most need from us. We gained five new members on this trip but planted lots of seeds for future partnerships. And, did I mention, the party at the Refuge Manager’s house?

Tim Shipman, event leader and Outreach Committee member, always makes sure his crew gets fed. Building the fire for the hot dog roast. pc: Wally Hufford

Always a Good Day to Help a Refuge

By: Poppy Benson, Friends VP, Homer

Under the able leadership of Soldotna Friend Tim Shipman, seven Friends plus friends of Friends did their part in the Kenai Refuge’s Green-up, Clean-up on May 13 and 14. We spruced up two campgrounds and the multi purpose trail and Ski Hill road. A hot dog roast under sunny skies rewarded the trash pickers.

Nikiski Friends members Elizabeth and Wally Hufford tackling campground trash. pc Tim Shipman

Telling the Refuges’ Story; Telling the Friends’ Story

By: Poppy Benson, Friends VP, Homer

Friends came from all over to run the Friends Outreach Booth at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. Seventeen Friends from San Francisco, Colorado, Washington, Soldotna, Homer, Anchor Point, and Anchorage, got the word out on who we are, that we cosponsor the Shorebird Festival, and how we help refuges. We must have been convincing because we signed up 37 new or renewing members while having fun and meeting great people.

Board Member Mike Schantz in a rare quiet moment while working the Friends table at the 2022 Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. pc: Becky Hutchinson

Coldfoot Friends Volunteer Weekend: A 259 Mile Trip Report

By:Pam Seiser, Fairbanks Friend

Three Fairbanks Friends took up the invitation to visit the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center at Coldfoot to help with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Celebration last month. This two day event was organized by Patrick Magrath, Student Conservation Association Intern with the Arctic Refuge. Patrick’s goal was not only to show off the interpretative resources at the center but also outdoor resources surrounding the center. So, Don Kiely, my husband Randy Lewis, and I alternated shifts volunteering at the visitor center with exploring the surroundings.

Arctic Interagency Visitor Center at Coldfoot. pc. Randy Lewis

The visitor center highlights the neighboring public lands of three agencies: the Fish & Wildlife Service’s (FWS) three National Wildlife Refuges, the famous Arctic Refuge north of the visitor center and the lesser known Kanuti and Yukon Flat Refuges that straddle the Arctic Circle; the Bureau of Land Management’s Dalton Highway corridor; and the National Park Service’s Gates of the Arctic National Park. It is an inviting center, with a small auditorium, a wonderful array of interpretive displays and a cozy corner with a wood stove, chairs and a pile of reading material. Geologists involved in the construction of the road and pipeline will love that large rocks in front of the building are labeled! Also, the tour guide tells us that the center is known for having the cleanest bathroom in 200 miles.

Patrick Magrath of the Arctic Refuge with some of the exhibits about Wild and Scenic Rivers.
pc Randy Lewis

The drive to Coldfoot in late August is spectacular. We left Fairbanks in full flower power, but as soon as we hit the Dalton Highway, we drove right into fall. The air was crisp and hills were ablaze with color. We made the obligatory stops at Arctic Circle Sign Post, Yukon River Bridge, and Finger Mountain. With all the photo stops, It certainly took us more than the predicted 6 hours to get to Coldfoot. While Randy captured the fall colors with his camera, I searched for mushrooms. There is a wealth of mushrooms above the Arctic Circle!

During this trip, I tried to wrap my head around the local topography. We traveled through boreal forest and tundra but the Dalton Highway corridor lacked low wetlands, which both the Kanuti and Yukon Flats Refuges are valued for. That was because the road and pipeline traversed a finger of mountains extending southward from the Brooks Range. This band of mountains separates the watersheds of the Kanuti and Yukon Flats Refuges. As we drove up the Dalton Highway, I could feel the presence of the wild refuges, Kanuti to the west and the Yukon Flats to the east, although we were 10 to 15 miles away from them. The Yukon Flats Refuge could be seen up the hill from milepost 86, but there was no convenient pullout spot to view Kanuti. We concluded that if you don’t have the opportunity to fly, hike or paddle into these road-less areas, a road trip to the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center is a nice consolation prize!

At the end of the first day we arrived at FWS cabins provided for visiting staff just north of the Marion Creek Campgrounds and Coldfoot. We helped set up displays the morning of the event and then served as greeters while Don hiked along the Chandalar Shelf. On Sunday, Don was the greeter, and we drove to Atigun Pass. The evening talks for Wild and Scenic Rivers drew a crowd of 30 people, which was a success. About 75-80 visitors a day dropped by the center. Visitation is high at the start of the summer and drops sharply after July 4th, the start of the mosquito season. When we had no visitors we pumped the staff for information on hikes. We learned Kanuti has hot springs! Milepost 103 is the jumping off point for the 14-mile hike/packboat trip to the hot springs.

Inside the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center at Coldfoot. pc. Randy Lewis

Overall, we volunteers received more than we gave. Patrick and Jen Reed, FWS coordinator for Wild and Scenic Rivers, provided us the experience we needed to become ambassadors for the area. We definitely recommend earmarking the August trip to the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center. We are certainly coming back to the Arctic!

Hands on a Duck, Contributing to Science and Fun: Friends LOVED Duck Banding

By: Poppy Benson, Friends Vice President

Five friends helped the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge band ducks this past August. Each team took one- or two-week shifts working with Ross Flagen, Tetlin Deputy Refuge Manager and duck banding guru. Here’s what I heard back: From Carol Damberg of Anchorage “what an excellent experience I had . . . Ross did an amazing job at leading and teaching me on all things associated with the art of duck banding”; from Moira O’Malley of Fairbanks “Had the time of my life bird banding. Ross is a hoot!”; from George and Susan Hedrick of Sterling returning for their second year “Volunteering on Tetlin refuge provides a firsthand ” behind the scenes” glimpse of how a federal refuge works. – Ross Flagen, deputy manager, provided a super fun and educational experience!”; and Dan Musgrove of Soldotna said “I highly recommend it to anyone . . . . . The people were all great to work with. The education on the ducks was tremendous.”

George Hedrick hauling fencing for the traps. pc Susan Hedrick

The volunteers also spoke favorably about the “other duties as assigned.” The Hedricks mentioned enjoying painting the picnic tables in the campground and Dan Musgrove of Soldotna loved being Campground Host for a day and all-around Friends Ambassador to other campers. This later role in reaching out to other travelers and explaining the mission of the Refuge was valued by Refuge staff. Ross Flagen said “Friends . . . created many positive encounters with the traveling public. This was an intended part of the project, and it worked out even better than we had hoped.” Meeting other staff members and volunteers, getting to know Tetlin Refuge and camping for the week at the Refuge’s Deadman Lake Campground were other highlights.

The first week crew enjoying a rare day of sunshine, l to r, Moira O’Malley, a student volunteer, Dan Musgrove and Tetlin Deputy Refuge Manager Ross Flagen, pc USFWS

Tetlin Refuge started waterfowl banding in 2018 to assist the Pacific Flyway in meeting banding objectives. Ducks are banded so that wintering areas and migration routes can be determined when banded birds are resighted and identified by their discrete band number. It is banding that allowed the North American flyways to be discovered and mapped forming the basis for much of modern waterfowl management.

Friends catching trapped ducks. pc USFWS

Capturing birds and banding five days a week for a month is very labor intensive and that is where Friends came in. In 2019 two Friends, the Hedricks, helped with banding. Then came Covid. This year the project geared up using five Friends over four weeks. In all 278 Mallards, 84 Northern Pintail, 11 Green-winged Teal, 2 Blue-winged Teal, 2 Lesser Scaup and 1 American Wigeon were captured and banded. Friends aided in all things associated with the operation of the banding station, from filling buckets with barley for bait and assembling traps, to species identification, banding and disease sampling. Swab samples were collected from most ducks and sent off to US Department of Agriculture lab to be tested for avian diseases particularly bird flu.

pc: USFWS

Be on the lookout for this exceptional volunteer opportunity to come up again next August. As Carol said, “Thanks for an incredible life experience!!! Can’t wait to visit Tetlin again!!

Friends Highwater Trip to Tetlin Refuge

By: Nancy Deschu, Friends member and retired hydrologist from Anchorage. She is the refuge liaison for Alaska-Peninsula/Becharof Refuges.

Our Friends’ trip to Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Memorial Day weekend was all about water. It was sunny and hot and the refuge was in flood stage. Our original plan to canoe and flag a trail along Desper Creek changed – the water was so high camp sites would be flooded and it would be impossible to paddle back upstream. After bringing breakfast to the refuge staff, we eight Friends helped Ranger Tim Lorenzini with the annual roadside cleanup. We then trailered refuge canoes to Deadman Lake for use by refuge visitors, and set up camp at Deadman Lake. Over the next four days, we made site visits to check on trails and flood conditions along the refuge’s north boundary all the way to the border of Canada.

Water from snow melt, glacial melt, and rainfall in the Nutzotin and Mentasta mountains drives the vast wetlands of the Tetlin Refuge. The Chisana River (meaning “Rock River” in Upper Tanana language) and the Nabesna River (meaning “Along the Muddy River” in Ahtna language) head in high peaks in Wrangell St Elias National Park and Preserve, then flow north about 70 miles, and pour into the refuge. Hot, sunny weather in May caused extreme melting in a year with high snowpack so we found high water wherever we went. The boat ramp at Scottie Creek was two feet underwater.

We estimated the high flow at the Scottie Creek bridge by dropping sticks from the bridge and timing the flow of sticks over a set distance with a stopwatch. We estimated the surface flow to be nearly three feet per second, which is quite fast for the low gradient and otherwise sluggish Scottie Creek. The lake level at Hidden Lake had risen so much that it floated and then swamped two jon boats stashed in the lakeshore spruce woods.

Friends in the birding blind in Tetlin Refuge’s Lakeview Campground. pc: Poppy Benson

We canoed the entire shoreline of Deadman Lake looking at birds and potential backcountry campsites. Highlights were several species of warblers flying out of spruce trees over the water to feed on insects, horned grebes, swans and Hudsonian godwits. We sighted 40 bird species on the refuge including a diversity of ducks. Ducks were abundant on Yarger Lake, but noticeably fewer were observed on Deadman Lake. No waterfowl were observed on Hidden Lake.

Nancy Deschu and two girls from the campground examine captured aquatic invertebrates. pc: Tom Chard

At Deadman Lake we sieved the shallows for aquatic invertebrates. A joyful happenstance was meeting two girls who were fascinated with invertebrates and netting their own trove. We exchanged specimens in our makeshift aquaria and spent considerable time identifying and observing the creatures. The girls’ knowledge was impressive!

Although our Tetlin trip was not what we had planned, we were able to contribute our observations on the refuge during unusually high water and enjoy camping and birding on the refuge.

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