Bird Banding in an Alaskan Heat Wave

By Vera Stein

It’s 85 degrees in Bethel, Alaska, and we’re sitting in the back of a hot van in June, banding tree swallows, getting pooped on by the birds, and getting bitten by mosquitoes. Thinking I would escape the sweltering Florida summer, I instead arrived in the middle of an Alaskan heat wave. Banding these beautiful, iridescent, freestyle-flying birds was a dream come true for this former Alaskan. I had the time of my life, and I couldn’t have been happier.

Traveling long distances, aerial insectivores (which includes tree swallows) have seen significant population declines. They are being monitored statewide and nationwide to determine if climate impacts, habitat loss, pollutants or pesticide usage has changed hatch timing, or insect abundance, which is the tree swallows’ main source of food. The Bethel project is the westernmost range of the tree swallow study in North America.

The birds migrate north in the summer, and have a short window of time to mate and hatch their chicks. The bird banding takes place during the mating season in June, and both the adults and chicks are banded.

In the initial stages, the adult birds are banded. This is done fairly quickly to ensure the adults return to feeding their young as soon as possible. Each bird is banded. The beak length, wingspan, weight and sex determination (male or female) is done within the span of a few minutes. Over the coming days as the chicks reach maturity, we start banding the chicks. At times the broods are large, sometimes up to 5 or 6 chicks. At the end of the two-week period, nearly all the birds in the 40 or so boxes had been banded. Information will be analyzed and sent to the Alaska Songbird Institute and its network of cooperators.

It is always exciting to capture a bird that has previously been banded. We came across several banded birds this year, and they were really happy occasions for us.

Citizen Science – The Education Component of the Tree Swallow Project

In order to encourage residents of Bethel, particularly youth, to get involved and learn more about their natural environment, USFWS partnered with the 4H Club to assemble the bird boxes that were distributed throughout town. Residents throughout town agreed to put boxes near their homes, where they could enjoy watching the swallows’ activities right in their own backyards. Children in particular were enthralled with the birds, and enjoyed watching us band them. The Boys and Girls club joined us one afternoon while we were banding the chicks, and the kids were fascinated. It was fun to have them around, and see and feel their enthusiasm. An important element of the project, their involvement helps generate interest in nature for the next generation.

Salmon Fishing on the Kuskokwim

One Saturday afternoon there was a fish opener on the Kuskokwim River, and it felt like the entire city of Bethel was out on a boat that day! The parking lot for the fishing boats was jam-packed with trailers and trucks. We were out on the water in mid-afternoon, and it was a productive and fun few hours. A net was put up, and we waited for a signal. The water started to bob around a couple of the buoys. In all, four Chinook (Kings), and a couple of Sockeye (Red) salmon were caught. A good day’s catch !! And a lot of fun.

The year before, I had the opportunity to visit a few Native fish camps along the river, and talk to Bethel residents about catching, cutting up salmon, and smoking the fish in the traditional way. We also discussed the shorter amount of time that residents were allowed to get on the water to fish, and the types of fish that were being rationed. What an incredible lifestyle. Family time out on the water, and delicious fresh fish cooking on the camp stoves. It was heartening to see salmon drying in the yards of the fish camps, with the knowledge that there would be fish to eat throughout the winter.

We were invited to have fresh salmon stew at one family’s camp, which was an honor, and truly memorable. Not to mention that the stew, cooked up with onions and vegetables, was delicious.

Museum and Gallery

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a small museum attached to the offices, and it is packed with wonderful information about fish migrations throughout the state, as well as specimens of various wildlife that inhabit the area. It’s well worth a visit.

Things I Enjoyed Doing Around Town

Many boardwalks meander throughout Bethel, and being on foot is a great way to see the town. There are lots of beautiful lakes and sloughs, all across town. Walking along the Kuskokwim River was very meditative.

There is a new, state-of-the-art swimming pool and sports complex, and it’s a fun way to spend an evening (or two). This particular Floridian wasn’t used to cold pool water any more, but the hot shower afterwards more than made up for it.

Bethel is not known for its Four-Star dining experiences, but regardless, there are lots of restaurants to choose from. (In an ironic twist, one cannot find fresh fish on the menu).

The Bethel Farmers Market, an organic farm, is open Wednesdays and Saturdays. Their homegrown strawberries, sweet and delicious, are to-die-for. Their potatoes are incredible- sweet, hearty, and firm. Their lettuces are wonderful too.

I was told by a coworker to go to the hospital for lunch. While initially a bit skeptical, I went anyway one afternoon and had a delicious caribou stew.

Saturday mornings, there is a birdwatching tour, leaving from the Fish and Wildlife Service office. On visits to the sloughs, we caught glimpses of a few songbirds and waterfowl.

QUYANA (Thanks)

Many thanks to Jason Sodergren and Betty Siegel of the Friends of Alaska Wildlife Refuges, and Patrick Snow from the Yukon Kuskowkwim National Wildlife Refuge in Bethel. I hope our studies will be part of a larger body of research to help better understand the decline of bird populations and other species worldwide.

2019 August Advocacy Report

Advocacy Update

By David Raskin, Friends Board President

The battles continue to save the Izembek and Arctic Refuges from destructive developments and limit the impact of the expected predator control regulations for the Kenai Refuge and proposed changes to same-day airborne hunting of wolves and wolverines on all refuge lands.

Izembek NWR

The Department of Justice dismissed its appeal of the decision by the Anchorage Federal District Court that granted the motion for summary judgment in our lawsuit that challenged the legality of the land exchange and road through the heart of the Izembek Wilderness. A week later, the DOI announced a new land exchange agreement that was also secretly crafted in Washington without any participation or notice to the USFWS and the public. The new agreement includes Secretary Bernhardt’s desperate attempt to explain their decision process in an effort to overcome the prior court ruling. Based on the numerous, serious inadequacies of the new agreement, on August 7, 2019 Trustees for Alaska filed suit in federal district court that names Friends as the lead plaintiff along with the same eight conservation partners. This suit includes the numerous legal claims against the agreement, and we are confident that we will again prevail. Trustees also submitted to DOI “Notice of Violation of the Endangered Species Act Section 7 for Failing to Consult Regarding the Izembek Land Exchange” and intent to sue the DOI on behalf of the same plaintiffs.

Arctic NWR

There is little news as DOI continues to press forward with plans to sell leases for oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. Lease sales are planned this year. The BLM Final EIS is still expected to be released in August, with a decision soon after the close of the 30-day comment period. Since the DEIS was so hastily done and grossly inadequate, without a new DEIS process it is likely that a Final EIS will be insufficient to withstand legal challenges.

We have no news concerning the proposed seismic exploration that is expected to begin next season and extend over two years. It requires a plan that would satisfy Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) regarding denning polar bears and marine mammals. The recently-proposed low-altitude aerial survey appears to have been abandoned. Both companies that were mentioned have stated that they have no plans to conduct aerial surveys of the Coastal Plain. This means that prior to the planned lease sale, there may be no new information about the amount of oil under the area. This is another indication of industry’s waning interest in drilling the Arctic Refuge. The conservation community is closely monitoring these developments and will take whatever actions are necessary to prevent the undesirable impacts of seismic exploration and oil leases.

Trustees also filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Gwich’in Steering Committee, TWS, Defenders, and AWL challenging BLM, FWS, and DOI’s failure to comply with FOIA and produce documents in response to nine requests concerning the Arctic Refuge.

Other encouraging news is that the Royal Bank of Scotland announced that they will not provide financial backing for Arctic energy development, joining the National Australia Bank and Barclays PLC that have also declined to support Arctic drilling.

The Restore Protections Bill (HR 1146) that would remove the tax bill provision that authorized the sale of leases in the Coastal Plain was introduced by Representative Jared Huffman and a record 182 cosponsors. It was reported out of committee, and a full House vote is expected in September. Although it likely will pass the House, the Senate is unlikely to pass it.

Predator Control and Hunting Regulations

The proposed Kenai Refuge predator control regulations still have not been released, but are expected very soon. The most serious threat to wildlife is the expected regulation that will allow hunting of brown bears over bait. At a minimum, we will urge the Kenai Refuge to develop a permit process to limit the areas of the Refuge and the number of bears to be taken consistent with mandated management practices and potential threats to the brown bear population.

Friends signed onto comments being prepared by Trustees concerning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2019–2020 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations, Proposed Rule (Regulation Identifier Number 1018-BD79). This rule was drafted by the DOI in Washington and would adopt regulations proposed by the State of Alaska. This could result in many violations of USFWS policies and regulations that prohibit the taking of wildlife on the same day that hunters fly in. The current regulations are designed to prevent illegal and unethical use of aircraft that could decimate wildlife populations.

The conservation community is closely monitoring these developments and is prepared to provide the responses necessary to protect the integrity and biological diversity of the Kenai Refuge wildlife and prevent same-day aerial hunting of wolves and wolverines on all national refuge lands in Alaska.

Izembek Lawsuit Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 7, 2019

Contact:
David C. Raskin, Ph.D., president of Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, davidc.raskin@me.com, (425)-209-9009
Fran Mauer, Alaska chapter representative, Wilderness Watch, fmauer@mosquitonet.com, 907-455-6829
Tim Woody, communications manager, The Wilderness Society, tim_woody@tws.org, (907) 223-2443
Randi Spivak, public lands director, Center for Biological Diversity rspivak@biologicaldiversity.org, (310) 779-4894
Dawnell Smith, communications director, Trustees for Alaska, dsmith@trustees.org, (907) 433-2013

Lawsuit challenges Trump administration’s new land swap deal to bulldoze a road in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—Conservation groups sued the Trump administration today by challenging a land swap deal between the Interior Department and King Cove Corporation aimed at putting a road through the heart of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Izembek is one of America’s most ecologically significant refuges with wetlands that support wildlife of all kinds and millions of migrating birds, fish, and caribou.

The court threw out a previous land swap in March 2019 after successful litigation by Trustees for Alaska on behalf of the same groups. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt responded by executing a new deal on July 12 without public knowledge or input. Unlike the previous deal, the new one does not limit use of the road to health, safety, and non-commercial purposes. It is otherwise similar to the previous agreement rejected by the court.

“The Department of Interior has attempted an end run around the recent federal court decision that halted its plans to desecrate the Izembek Refuge Wilderness and its wildlife,” said David C. Raskin, president of Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges. “This new backroom deal adds to a long series of actions by Interior to give away public lands to serve special interests at the expense of the American people. We are disappointed by this continuation of the illegal and unethical efforts of the current administration to circumvent decades of legislation and regulations enacted to protect public lands and natural areas from destructive developments and preserve them for the benefit of all Americans. We will use every means at our disposal to continue the fight to save the Izembek Refuge.”

Today’s lawsuit, filed by Trustees for Alaska in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, claims that Interior cannot use the land exchange provision of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to gut a national wildlife refuge and circumvent public process, environmental review, and congressional approval. It further claims that the latest land swap deal violates the National Environmental Policy Act and fails to provide adequate justification for the agency’s reversal of its 2013 decision to reject a land exchange.

“This deal violates the same laws as the first one and we’re prepared to continue the legal fight to protect this irreplaceable wilderness,” said Bridget Psarianos, staff attorney for Trustees for Alaska. “This is another Trump administration public land giveaway that breaks multiple laws and dishonors the public processes that go into protecting the health of the lands, waters and wildlife of the National Refuge and Wilderness System.”

Congress passed ANILCA to preserve natural landscapes, wildlife, unaltered habitat, and designated wilderness areas. With a land swap, Interior would give an ecologically irreplaceable corridor of land between lagoons—a vital area of the isthmus forming the heart of the Izembek Refuge—to King Cove Corporation for a road.

“Spending millions to build a road through federal wilderness would be a bad deal for taxpayers and a bad deal for the environment,” said Kristen Miller, conservation director at Alaska Wilderness League. “Yet the Bernhardt Interior Department continues to try and sidestep bedrock environmental laws like the Wilderness Act and the federal court system to satisfy political desires and commercial interests. The previous administration looked long and hard at the road proposal and rejected it for sound reasons, and the District Court and the Ninth Circuit agreed. This new plan, and really the entire process, reeks of self-serving backroom dealing and public lands theft at its most egregious.”

Alli Harvey, the Alaska campaign representative from the Sierra club, said, “The Trump administration’s plan to trade away wilderness in Izembek to be industrialized has been repeatedly studied and consistently rejected for good reason. Now, despite confirmation from the District Court that it’s illegal, Secretary Bernhardt is shamelessly trying to work behind closed doors to push the same deal forward again. We will continue to fight back against this costly and irresponsible deal.”

Trustees also notified Secretary Bernhardt today about its clients’ intent to sue for Endangered Species Act violations related to the land swap.

“Bernhardt’s shady backroom deal is just as illegal as the land swap a judge already rejected,” said Randi Spivak, public lands director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Izembek is a vital wildlife refuge that feeds millions of birds from three continents. You can’t swap land here for anywhere else because there’s nothing else like it. We’ll keep fighting to ensure Izembek remains protected.”

Fran Mauer, representative of the Alaska chapter of Wilderness Watch, said, “The Trump administration is once again trading away public lands for a road through the Izembek Refuge Wilderness that would not only destroy the ecological integrity of Izembek, but would also establish a ruinous precedent for the entire National Wilderness Preservation System. This must not stand!”

Sarah Greenberger, vice president of conservation policy at the Audubon Society, said, “Common ground exists between critical wildlife protections for some of the world’s largest flocks of migrating birds and community needs of rural Alaskans. But it doesn’t require the sacrifice of an internationally important wetland refuge with tremendous costs to American taxpayers.”

David Krause, assistant state director for The Wilderness Society, said, “The Trump administration is up to its usual shady shenanigans to give away America’s public lands within a federally protected wilderness area. Like the previous backroom deal that was struck down by a federal court less than five months ago, we will fight this every step of the way.”

Parties to the lawsuit include Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, Alaska Wilderness League, the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Refuge Association, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, and Wilderness Watch.

Trip Report: Tetlin Discovery Trip, July 2019

2019 Tetlin NWR – Refuge Discovery Trip Report

Refuge Discovery Trip Report – by Pauline Strong, Friends Member

At the beginning of July, a group of Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges met at the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge to assist with two projects requested by the refuge staff and to explore a small part of the refuge. Although the trip was originally intended to have 12 participants, only 7 were able to come because of concerns about traveling through smoke from wildfires on the way to the refuge. Fortunately, we only experienced a small amount of wildfire smoke at the end of the trip.

The first day’s work was assisting with blocking the Alaska Highway for the Tok 4^th of July parade, setting up and manning an information booth about Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, and doing face painting for the 4^th of July celebration. There was intense rivalry between the Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife for the best float in the parade, and the refuge float won out.

The two face painting volunteers, Moira O’Malley and Georgiana Smith, have extensive experience working with youth and boundless enthusiasm. There was a long line of kids waiting to have their faces painted the entire 4 hours of the festival and the fair grounds were full of fantastically painted children. We were all surprised at how tremendously popular the face painting turned out to be. Steve Ebbert was able to share his knowledge of the Alaska Wildlife Refuge system with people who came by the information booth, and we all explained what it means to belong to the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges while enjoying the wonderful music of Juno Smile who played the whole afternoon. This two-person band had been unknown to us, but they were fantastic musicians, able to play and sing clearly on pitch and with a toe-tapping beat.

The next morning, we loaded up the canoes and gear and set off the canoe portion of the trip. We went to Scotty Creek to launch, but found the creek far too low to get our canoes and gear on the water with a reasonable amount of effort, so we went back to Desper Creek and paddled downstream to a campsite 3 miles down that was used by the Friends last year. The weather was wonderful. We saw several sets of ducks with ducklings on the creek, a red-tailed hawk and its nest, and the air was full of dragonflies.

The next day we put up a bird nest box not far downstream from the campsite and then paddled down to the first (unnamed) lake. After Dave Schroyer installed the bird nest box, he let Meg Parsons and Pauline Strong stand next to it while he took a photo. After a lunch stop there, we started the water trail marker part of the project. The creek is so slow moving that it could be hard to tell upstream from downstream coming out of the lake. We had time to put signs on one side of the creek from the unnamed lake to Desper Lake this year. Clearing the brush for visibility may have been the hardest part of installing the water trail markers.

Alaska On Fire! (July 2019)

by Poppy Benson, Outreach Coordinator

Alaska is burning and so are Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges. Over one million acres in 400 separate fires are burning across the state. Forty-five of these fires are on refuges with 200,000 acres aflame. Almost every one of Alaska’s 16 refuges has had a fire with the majority of the fire activity on Kenai, Yukon Flats, and Arctic Refuges. The largest refuge fire is the 100,000 acre Swan Lake Fire on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. This fire was started by lightning in early June in a limited fire management area. Firefighting efforts are concentrated on protecting the towns of Sterling and Cooper Landing, the highway, and HEAs power line while allowing the fire to burn in the wild part of the refuge. Backfires lit along the Sterling Highway and on the western edge of the fire have been very successful in boxing in the fire and preventing it from spreading in the direction of Sterling.

A real benefit of this fire is that it is burning up heavy fuels which will make the towns and the refuge much safer for decades from the risk of a more catastrophic fire. Kenai Refuge biologists learned in earlier studies that black spruce burns about every 80 years, and it has been 80 years since this area last burned. In the higher elevations, the fire is burning up spruce bark beetle-killed white spruce. It is a fire-dependent landscape and will adapt. Positive impacts on wildlife will come as the fire will alter the habitat to an earlier successional stage where “moose food” such as aspen and birch will sprout in the burned areas. The fire has exhibited some extreme fire behavior burning in the tundra and riparian areas. The negative impacts of that on wildlife are yet to be determined. The biggest human impact from the fire has been the smoke which has been particularly hard on communities east of the refuge. Numerous refuge trails, campgrounds, and public use cabins have been closed due to smoke and fire crews working in the area but none have been damaged so far. The famed Swan Lake Canoe Route, just west of the fire, has also not been impacted.

Fire conditions have been extreme because a series of high-pressure domes parked on top of the Kenai Peninsula for weeks preventing rain, creating record temperatures, drying fuels and preventing smoke from rising into the high atmosphere. According to USFWS Regional Fire Management Coordinator Doug Alexander, “I’ve been up here 10 years and I can’t believe how hot it is. It is nearly 90 degrees every day on that fire.” Record high temperatures have been recorded throughout the state with Anchorage hitting 90 degrees for the first time ever. Fortunately, in just the last few days, the normal marine airflow has begun to return, giving firefighters a break by moderating fire behavior. You can follow the progress of the Swan Lake fire h ere .

CANCELLED-Get Involved: Kenai River Clean-up, September 6 – 8, 2019

ATTENTION: The Kenai River clean up event is cancelled due to the Swan Lake Fire.

Do good, have fun and see more of the Kenai Refuge. September 6-8. Sportsmen’s Landing, Cooper Landing.

Friends will join Alaska Fly Fishers in doing an end of season clean-up of Sportsmen Landing, and downstream beaches all of which are on the Kenai Refuge. This is our second year partnering with the Fly Fishers, the Kenai Watershed Forum, the Refuge and the Forest Service on this event. We had such a great time last year what with raft trips, free food, and live music, we are making it an annual event. See our trip report from last year here.

Arrive Friday evening and set up your trailer or tent in the Sportsman Landing campground reserved just for this event. Saturday morning, after a continental breakfast, teams will either float the river cleaning beaches or clean around the landing, campgrounds and parking areas. The Kenai Refuge will bring several boats to take Friends downriver to clean refuge beaches. That evening the Alaska Fly Fishers will put on a BBQ for all participants with prizes and live music! Sunday morning, breakfast is followed by a Friends sponsored hike on a yet to be determined trail in the Skilak Lake Road area

For more information and to sign up, contact Tim Shipman, trip coordinator, at tim.shipman@gmail.com or call (907) 252-8450.

This promises to be a very fun event that will continue to help build an alliance with the Fly Fishers, Kenai Watershed Forum, the refuge, and other partners.

2019 July Advocacy Report

Advocacy Update

by David Raskin, Friends Board President

The battles continue to save the Izembek and Arctic Refuges and Bristol Bay from destructive developments and limit the impact of the expected predator control regulations for the Kenai Refuge.

Izembek NWR
We have no news concerning the Department of Justice appeal of the decision by the Anchorage Federal District Court that granted the motion for summary judgment in our lawsuit that challenged the legality of the land exchange and road through the heart of the Izembek Wilderness. This decision had halted all activity related to the transfer of Refuge land and the construction of a road. Although the DOI instructed the USFWS to continue working on a contaminants analysis regarding the lands that they would exchange, there is no indication of any work that would violate the decision by the Court. We assume that the government is continue its efforts to figure out how to respond to the court order and explain their decision process to satisfy the court. Our conservation partners and legal team are closely monitoring any such actions and will mount all available legal and legislative challenges to counter any attempt by the Department of Interior (DOI) to revive the unacceptable land exchange and destructive road.

Arctic NWR
The DOI continues to press forward with plans to sell leases for oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. BLM is in the process of preparing a final EIS, which is expected to be released in August and a decision soon after the close of the 30-day comment period. Since the DEIS was so hastily done and grossly inadequate, without a new DEIS process it is likely that a Final EIS will be insufficient to withstand legal challenges. Lease sales are planned this year.

The proposed seismic exploration is expected to begin next season and extend over two years. It requires a plan that would satisfy the Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) regarding denning polar bears and marine mammals. The recently-proposed low-altitude aerial survey appears to have been abandoned. The French company CGG stated that they no plans to conduct aerial surveys of the Coastal Plain. This means that prior to the planned lease sale, there may be no new information about the amount of oil under the area. This is another indication of industry’s waning interest in drilling the Arctic Refuge. The conservation community is closely monitoring these developments and will take whatever actions are necessary to prevent the undesirable impacts of seismic exploration and oil leases.

A positive development is the Restore Protections Bill (HR 1146) that would remove the tax bill provision that authorized the sale of leases in the Coastal Plain. The bill was introduced by Representative Jared Huffman and had a record 182 cosponsors. It was reported out of committee and a full House vote is expected in July. Although it is expected to pass the House, the Senate is unlikely to pass it.

Kenai NWR Predator Control Regulations
The proposed Kenai Refuge predator control regulations have not been released, but are expected very soon. The most serious threat to wildlife is the expected regulation that will allow hunting of brown bears over bait. At a minimum, we will urge the Kenai Refuge to develop a permit process to limit the areas of the Refuge and the number of bears to be taken consistent with mandated management practices and potential threats to the brown bear population. The conservation community is closely monitoring any developments and is prepared to provide the responses necessary to protect the integrity and biological diversity of the Kenai Refuge wildlife.

Pebble Mine
Friends joined 13 conservation organizations on the submission of a 433-page comment on the Corps of Engineers Pebble Mine DEIS. These comments were prepared and submitted by Trustees for Alaska and the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program. The breadth and contents of this extensive set of comments and its numerous attachments document the grossly inadequate DEIS prepared by the Corps. We hope that this horrible project with its potential impacts on Bristol Bay salmon fisheries and many national wildlife refuges will ultimately be stopped after a 15-year battle. We thank the staffs of Trustees and Sierra Club for this monumental effort.

2019 June Advocacy Report

Advocacy Update

by David Raskin, Friends Board President

The battles continue to save the Izembek and Arctic Refuges from destructive developments and limit the impact of the expected predator control regulations for the Kenai Refuge.

Izembek NWR

The Department of Justice has appealed the decision by the Anchorage Federal District Court that granted the motion for summary judgment in our lawsuit that challenged the legality of the land exchange and road through the heart of the Izembek Wilderness. This decision had halted all activity related to the transfer of Refuge land and the construction of a road. The defendants have now appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Our most recent information indicates that the DOI may be working on a plan that could impact the status of the entire lawsuit and may have instructed the USFWS to continue some work in anticipation of their possible success in overcoming trying to figure out how to respond to the court order and explain their decision process to satisfy the court. Our conservation partners and legal team are closely monitoring any such actions and will mount all available legal and legislative challenges to counter any attempt by the Department of Interior (DOI) to revive the unacceptable land exchange and destructive road.

(photo by Alaska Wilderness League/ Izebemek NWR)

Arctic NWR

The DOI continues to press forward with plans to sell leases for oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. A major national effort resulted in an extensive set of technical comments that were submitted by Trustees for Alaska citing numerous, serious deficiencies in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement issued by the BLM. BLM is in the process of preparing a final EIS, which is expected to be released in August and a decision soon after the close of the 30-day comment period. Since the DEIS was so hastily done and grossly inadequate, without a new DEIS process it is likely that a Final EIS will be insufficient to withstand legal challenges. Lease sales are planned this year.

A related activity is the proposed seismic exploration and a recently-proposed low-altitude aerial survey. These require a plan that would satisfy the Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) regarding denning polar bears and marine mammals. The conservation community is closely monitoring these developments and will take whatever actions are necessary to prevent the undesirable impacts of seismic exploration.

A positive development is the Restore Protections Bill (HR 1146) that would remove the tax bill provision that authorized the sale of leases in the Coastal Plain. The bill was introduced by Representative Jared Huffman and had a record 180 cosponsors. It was reported out of committee and a full House vote is expected soon. Although expected to pass the House, the Senate is not expected to pass it.

Kenai NWR Predator Control Regulations

The proposed Kenai Refuge predator control regulations have not been released, but are expected very soon. The most serious threat to wildlife is the expected regulation that will allow hunting of brown bears over bait. At a minimum, we will urge the Kenai Refuge to develop a permit process to limit the areas of the Refuge and the number of bears to be taken consistent with mandated management practices and potential threats to the brown bear population. The conservation community is closely monitoring any developments and is prepared to provide the responses necessary to protect the integrity and biological diversity of the Kenai Refuge wildlife.

2019 Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival Recap

Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges and Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge co-sponsored the 27^th Annual Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer, Alaska, May 9-12, 2019. The combination of new Coordinator Mallory Primm and outgoing Coordinator Robbi Mixon was magical! Registration was up by over 100 participants from the previous year and the Keynote speaker, Jennifer Ackerman, sold out for both talks and her workshop. Mark Omascik shared his new book on the Battle of Attu and feature presenters Raymond VanBuskirkand the Tropical Birding Crew led field trips and talks. The stunning artwork by Valisa Higman sold for a record bid, along with over 30 donated 6×6 Alaskan bird art pieces and trips. Much of our merchandise sold out quickly – stop by Islands and Ocean in Homer to see what’s left. Around 100 volunteers donated their time and talents to make this event successful along with the huge contributions of many sponsors and supporters.

Congrats to Mallory on her first year as coordinator, and to Robbi on her last!

We hope you’ll save the date for next year’s event: May 7-10, 2020!

2019 – May Advocacy Report

Advocacy Update

by David Raskin, Friends Board President

We are pleased to report the exciting developments in the battles to save the Izembek and Arctic Refuges from destructive developments. These and other issues are discussed below.

Izembek NWR

On 29 March 2019, Friends and eight national conservation organizations scored a major victory when the Federal District Court in Anchorage granted the motion for summary judgment in our lawsuit that challenged the legality of the land exchange and road through the heart of the Izembek Wilderness. In her opinion that invalidated the land exchange, Judge Gleason ruled that the process for land exchange authorized by the Secretary of Interior was “arbitrary and capricious.” This decision halted all activity related to the transfer of Refuge land and the construction of a road. We are all extremely indebted to the staff of Trustees for Alaska who did an amazing amount of superb legal work that resulted in this wonderful victory after decades of battling to protect Izembek from this proposed destruction. However, this is not the final event, as the road proponents will continue to develop legal and legislative approaches to undue this rejection of the road. We and our conservation partners and legal team will closely monitor any such actions and will mount all available legal and legislative challenges to counter any attempt by the Department of Interior (DOI) to revive the unacceptable land exchange and destructive road. Check out the Trustees for Alaska press release for more information.

Arctic NWR

The DOI continues to press forward with plans to sell leases for oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. A major national effort resulted in an extensive set of technical comments that were submitted by Trustees for Alaska on behalf of the numerous, serious deficiencies in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement issued by the BLM. Friends also submitted more general comments. We await the release by BLM of data concerning the number and nature of comments received in response to the national campaign by conservation organizations, including Friends, to encourage their members and the general public to express their concerns about the hurried and flawed process by which the BLM and DOI are attempting to ram through this prosed desecration of the Coastal Plain.

A parallel campaign has been spearheaded by the Gwich’in people of the United States and Canada to prevent the desecration of this Sacred Land and their subsistence culture and way of life. They and scientists and conservationists recently provided powerful testimony on the Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act, H.R. 1146 introduced by Representatives Huffman and Fitzpatrick to prevent the proposed oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain. In furtherance of these goals, the Alaska Wilderness League lured our longtime refuge champion Desiree Sorenson-Groves from the National Wildlife Refuge Association to head the national coalition to protect and preserve the Arctic Refuge. We welcome her able and energetic leadership will continue to work closely with Desiree and the coalition.

The other dangerous aspect of the proposed oil and gas development is the plan to conduct an extensive and disruptive seismic exploration of the Coastal Plain. In spite of their frantic rush to further this program, those involved were unable to perform the necessary analyses required to obtain authorization for the seismic activity in time for 2018-2019 winter season. The current plan is to do the required analyses and issue findings to support seismic exploration in the coming winter season. The conservation community will closely monitor these developments and take whatever actions are necessary to prevent the undesirable impacts of seismic exploration. Interestingly, a recent New York Times investigation revealed that the closely-held and secret data from the only test well ever drilled on the Coastal Plain found little support for the presence of recoverable oil to justify oil and gas development.

Kenai NWR Predator Control Regulations

The proposed changes to the Kenai Refuge predator control regulations have not been released. Information from the FWS indicates that proposed drafts have gone back and forth between the Refuge, Regional Staff, and DOI regarding the extent to which the undesirable State demands will be incorporated into the published draft of the revised regulations. We anticipate that proposed regulations will soon be published in the Federal Register, and the conservation will closely monitor any development and be prepared to provide the responses necessary to protect the integrity and biological diversity of the Kenai Refuge wildlife.

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Advocacy Update

Advocacy Update

Advocacy Update

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