Emperor Geese in Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge – Recorded Talk
We’ve posted the recording of the Kachemak Bay Birders meeting from November 25, 2025. After a short business meeting, biologist Bryan Daniels from the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge gives a talk called “Emperor Geese, Alaska’s Goose.” Nearly all of the world’s population of this striking goose nests on the Yukon Delta Refuge.
Bryan talks about the ecology, survival, movement, and management of emperor geese in Alaska. He has been a waterfowl biologist at the refuge since 2016, and much of his work has focused on emperor goose survival, nesting, and brood ecology.
We’re grateful to the Kachemak Bay Birders for hosting this meeting and for allowing us to share it. We love seeing people highlight the many interesting things happening on Alaska’s refuges.
Presented by Spencer Rearden, Manager, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge Kevin Whitworth, Executive Director, Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
This program was recorded on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025 at 5 pm Alaska Time
First it was the Chinook salmon that drastically declined in the Kuskokwim River. Then the chums and coho salmon followed with steep declines. This multi-year, multi-species salmon disaster was not just an ecological crisis for the Kuskokwim River drainages of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge but a significant humanitarian crisis for all the villages that depend on salmon for food security and cultural integrity. Come hear from Kevin Whitworth of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and Yukon Delta Refuge Manager Spencer Rearden about this crisis and how a unique partnership of local tribes and the refuge formed up to manage salmon on the river. They will address the current state of salmon and how we got here. How Tribes up and down the Kuskokwim came together to form the Inter-Tribal Fish Commission to attack this problem that threatened their way of life. And how the refuge came to co-manage a fishery with the Tribes, setting openings and closings for fish harvest, that under normal circumstances would be done by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
In villages along the Kuskokwim, salmon and subsistence are a way of life. Fish drying racks awaiting the return of the salmon. PC USFWS
Background
The Kuskokwim River is the second longest river in Alaska and home to all five species of Pacific salmon. Salmon are key to the wildlife and ecology of the 20 million-acre Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, the largest refuge in the nation. Predators such as bears and eagles depend on the fish as do other fish species such as the record-sized rainbow trout, Dolly Varden and northern pike who feast on salmon eggs. But these impacts on the refuge were not the main reason the refuge was drawn into salmon management. The 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) which established the 16 national wildlife refuges in Alaska as they exist today, also specified a local rural subsistence priority for use of Alaska wildlife in times of shortage. This is a time of shortage. The refuge had to take over management of the fishery from the state to ensure subsistence priority which meant reducing harvest and determining fishing opportunities while balancing subsistence and conservation needs.
Yukon Delta Refuge’s fish biologist Nate Akers (left) with Evan Waska of Kwethluk collecting salmon smolt from the live trap for identification and measurements. PC Andrew Magel/KRITFC
The Kuskokwim watershed is home to 40 communities of Yup’ik, Cup’ik, Deg Xit’an, and Dené people that have depended on salmon as the mainstay of their diet for thousands of years. Gathering subsistence foods is a central part of village life and cultural identity. When the salmon runs collapsed in 2010 and remained depressed, tribal leaders came together in 2015 to form the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission to ensure local, Alaska Native people have a say in the fishery. The Fish Commission represents the Tribes in fisheries management, research, and monitoring, as guided by Alaska Native values and knowledge, and the best available scientific information. Five Managers are elected annually to represent the Tribes at the co-management table with Yukon Delta Refuge under a Memorandum of Understanding. These In-Season Managers and Yukon Delta Refuge’s fisheries team work together using in-season assessment data and local and Traditional Knowledge to conserve and restore Kuskokwim salmon, while providing for as much subsistence harvest as possible.
The salmon crisis on the Kuskokwim is unique in its severity, longevity and impact on people. Salmon management on the Kusko is unique in that it is a partnership of a wildlife refuge and Tribes. This is not the way fisheries decsions are usually made. Come learn more.
Biographies
Growing up in McGrath, Kevin Whitworth learned from his elders to love the land, the river, and the natural world from an early age. He spent many hours exploring, hunting, fishing, and trapping out in the woods and on the rivers. Through high school and college, Kevin spent his summers working as a biological technician at several wildlife refuges across the state. After graduating from University of Alaska Fairbanks, he worked a number of full-time positions for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, including Deputy Refuge Manager for the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge in McGrath. Kevin has also worked for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, and as the Lands and Natural Resources Manager for MTNT Limited, the McGrath village corporation. While working for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Kevin met his wife, Dara who also worked for the refuge. They have a young son and two daughters and enjoy spending time at their remote cabin, dogsledding with their team of dogs, and being outside as much as possible. He joined Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission team in May 2018 and has served as Executive Director since 2022.
Spencer Rearden grew up in rural Alaska, where wide open spaces, vast public lands, and a deep connection to the environment shaped his passion for conservation and science. Spencer was raised in a subsistence lifestyle centered on fishing, berry picking, and hunting — traditions that continue to influence both his personal and professional life. Spencer earned his Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife and a Master’s degree in Wildlife Science from Oregon State University. He started his career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as a Wildlife Biologist with the Office of Subsistence Management, where he became well-versed in the Federal subsistence regulatory process and Title VIII of ANILCA. Through this work, he helped develop and justify regulatory changes to conserve fish and wildlife resources while supporting rural and Native subsistence users. Over the past 20 years, Spencer has worked in both private and government positions, primarily in Alaska. At the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, he has held several roles, including Big Game Biologist, Assistant Refuge Manager, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, and Refuge Manager since 2023. Spencer’s education, professional expertise, and firsthand understanding of Alaska’s subsistence traditions have helped him build strong partnerships with local and Native communities to advance conservation goals. He remains dedicated to ensuring that subsistence practices, and the cultural values they represent, endure for future generations.
The Kisaralik River, an important tributary to the Kuskokwim, was the scene of the Friends Discovery trip to the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge in 2024. Anecdotally, we noted sharply decreased numbers of Dolly Vardin and rainbow trout compared to a decade ago. Trout and Dolly Vardin are predators on salmon eggs so likely their populations are affected by the salmon collapse. PC Poppy Benson/Friends
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 theYukon Delta National Wildlife Refugefrom 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.
Growing up in McGrath, Kevin Whitworth learned from his elders to love the land, the river, and the natural world from an early age. He spent many hours exploring, hunting, fishing, and trapping out in the woods and on the rivers. Through high school and college, Kevin spent his summers working as a biological technician at several wildlife refuges across the state. After graduating from University of Alaska Fairbanks, he worked a number of full-time positions for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, including Deputy Refuge Manager for the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge in McGrath. Kevin has also worked for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, and as the Lands and Natural Resources Manager for MTNT Limited, the McGrath village corporation. While working for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Kevin met his wife, Dara who also worked for the refuge. They have a young son and two daughters and enjoy spending time at their remote cabin, dogsledding with their team of dogs, and being outside as much as possible. He joined Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission team in May 2018 and has served as Executive Director since 2022.
