Tag: Alaska

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Membership Meeting: Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (9/23)

The Most Amazing Refuge You’ve Never Seen: The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

Tuesday, September 19, 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.  AKDT

 Presented by Jeff Williams, Deputy Refuge Manager

  • In Homer:  Jeff will be presenting live at Alaska Maritime’s Islands & Ocean Visitor Center; soup and chili feed to follow.
  • In Soldotna:  Watch party at Kenai Refuge Visitor Center with soup and chili feed to follow.
  • In Kodiak:  Watch party at Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center with refreshments.
  • On Zoom:  Join Zoom Webinar. Webinar starts at 5pm AKDT on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2023
In Homer and Soldotna – bring sides or desserts to the soup/chili after gathering or just come.  Refuge staff will share upcoming winter events and volunteer opportunities.

by Jeff Williams

Remote.  Difficult to access.  Harsh weather. Thousands of Islands. Millions of Birds.  Erupting volcanoes.  You’ve heard about it, but few people have actually had the privilege of visiting this spectacular refuge.  Spanning in extent from southeast Alaska, west to the end of the Aleutian Chain, and north above the Arctic Circle,  a distance equivalent to that from the East Coast to the West Coast of the lower 48, the 4 million acre refuge is comprised of several thousand islands.  It’s also home to 80% of all the breeding seabirds in North America – we guess that is over 40 million birds, but our tally counters don’t go that high. Oh, and don’t forget the hundreds of thousands of seals, sea lions, and otters too.  Remote field camps on uninhabited islands and the largest ship in the Fish and Wildlife Service, the 120 foot R/V Tiglax, carry out the work of the refuge. The Refuge’s Islands and Ocean Visitor Center is in Homer at refuge headquarters.  Jeff will provide an overview of the unique scenic beauty of the refuge and give you a look into the current refuge projects from the biological program to tribal engagement, ship operations and more.

‘

Most of North America’s seabirds nest on this one refuge and crested auklets are some of the coolest.  PC USFWS

Jeff came to the Alaska Maritime Refuge in 1990 when the refuge was only 10 years old.  He has worked for this refuge probably longer than anyone else working his way up from Biological Technician, to Biologist, to Refuge Operations Specialist, to Assistant Manager and now Deputy Refuge Manager. Jeff says he remains passionate about the refuge after all these years because the work is always new, people and projects are interesting, and the refuge is a spectacular crown jewel in the refuge system. He even met his wife working for the refuge.  In his current position, Jeff oversees the day-to-day operations of the refuge and staff, serves as supervisor and scheduler for the R/V Tiĝlax̂, and wishes he could do more surveys in a skiff. Jeff was based in the Adak office for 12 years and moved to the Homer office in 2001. Jeff enjoys spending time with his family, reading widely, working in his shop on projects and woodworking.


Jeff Williams on Segula Island in the Aleutian Islands. pc: USFWS



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    September Advocacy Report: Significant developments

    by Friends Advocacy Committee

    Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
    By far the most significant advocacy update this month was the cancellation of the oil and gas leases sold to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) back in January 2021. These leases were sold in an illegal lease sale during which no major oil companies bid. Two other smaller companies bid but later backed out of their leases, leaving AIDEA as the sole lease owner.  Fortunately, the Biden Administration took action on September 6th to protect the coastal plain and canceled the leases. The State of Alaska has challenged this cancellation, but Friends, along with many conservation organizations and Tribal governments, have applauded this step. 

    Friends issued the following statement regarding the cancellation of the lease sale: We are thrilled that the Biden Administration has canceled these illegal leases. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to a rich biodiversity of wildlife that depend on the large stretches of intact habitat found in the coastal plain and beyond. We thank the President and Secretary Haaland for their support for protecting this jewel of the Refuge System.
     

    Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
    Since the March 14, 2023, decision by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to withdraw the proposed Trump administration land exchange that authorized a road through the biological heart of the Izembek Wilderness and the subsequent dismissal of the court case, we have continued to watch the next steps at Izembek. 

    A Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact  Statement (SEIS) was issued in May 2023, and Friends submitted comments to the Administration. As of the first week of September, the Department of the Interior (DOI) is still reviewing those comments and preparing their team to move forward on the SEIS, which is tentatively due in the summer of 2024. 

    Friends remain concerned that Secretary Haaland could propose an alternative land exchange now that the previous case has been dismissed.  One of the major deficiencies cited by the Secretary in her March withdrawal was an absence of impact on subsidence resources associated with the proposed land exchange. The implication being that a land exchange may still be on the table, rather than a focus on non-road alternatives. 

    Friends and the entire Izembek coalition firmly believe that any manner of land exchange outside of a Congressional or Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) framework is illegal as it threatens both critical habitat on the refuge as well as the nearly 150 million acres of federally protected conservation lands in Alaska protected by ANILCA.  Accordingly, we are asking that non-road alternatives to address the needs of King Cove be strongly considered just as they were in the original Environmental Site Assessment. We continue to speak with USFWS in Alaska and at Headquarters in DC regarding the SEIS. 



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    Meet the New Refuge Managers!

    By:Poppy Benson, Friends Board Vice President

    One holds dual citizenship and moved to Fairbanks from Amsterdam; one came to Alaska after googling “Duck Jobs”; the third’s passion is herpetology but his refuge only has one amphibian – the wood frog – and no reptiles.  Arctic, Selawik and the Koyukuk/Nowitna/Innoko complex all have new refuge managers, and their stories are fascinating.

    Merben Cebrian has taken what has to be the most unusual and worldly path to Refuge Manager of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  Not only does he hold dual US/Dutch citizenship and have a Dutch wife, but he grew up in the Philippines where he spent much of his childhood in nature.  The US Army took him to Africa, the Middle East and Fairbanks where he ended his military career and enrolled in the University of Alaska Fairbanks earning a wildlife biology degree.  Merben spent 20 years in Alaska as a wildlife biologist on the Tetlin Refuge and with the Bureau of Land Management in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Glenallen.  

    Merben Cebrian, Arctic Refuge Manager with a tufted puffin chick on the Alaska Maritime Refuge where he took a seasonal job last summer as a “trial run” for a return to Alaska.
    He left Alaska to become the Bureau of Indian Affairs Midwest regional biologist and program manager working with 36 federally recognized tribes.  This was challenging with intensive human-nature interactions in a highly political landscape.  The past few years he has lived with his family in the Netherlands working as a free-lance biologist.  But Alaska was on his mind.  So last summer Merben took a seasonal job on the Alaska Maritime Refuge as an opportunity to experience a new ecosystem, check out job possibilities and see how his family would do with him away. Arthur Kettle, his supervisor on that job, called him a “big thinker” and very diplomatic.  That is what Friends noted as well when we met with him in Fairbanks last month. Merben says he hopes his broad background will serve him well in dealing with the challenges and opportunities of the Arctic Refuge.
    ____________________________________________________________________________________________
    Yes, googling “Duck Jobs” and a passion for waterfowl hunting got Wil Wiese to Alaska even though neither Alaska or the Fish and Wildlife Service was on his radar.  His background of growing up hunting and fishing in Wisconsin, a biology degree and, most of all, lifelong experience running skiffs and fixing motors won him a volunteer waterfowl survey job in the Arctic.  He was smitten by the Arctic coastal plain, working in remote field camps and the village of Kaktovik and never left.   Wil was hired permanently by the  Arctic Refuge before becomingSelawik Refuge’s Deputy Refuge Manager and now Manager.  Wil switched from biology into management because, “I do like wildlife a lot but I actually like people a lot better.  Working with people and helping them come up with solutions to conflict is what really gets me excited.”
    Wil Wiese, Selawik Refuge Manager, said “I love living as a guest of the Kikiktagrukmuit and being surrounded by Iñupiat Ilitqusiat (values). I’m welcomed by the respect, humility, generosity, and humor that abound, and admire the hard work and adaptability required of folks.”

    Wil writes that Selawik Refuge in northwest Alaska is a place often overlooked by those seeking scenic vistas but he finds stunning beauty in the snow-covered, seemingly endless tundra, spruce blanketed Waring Mountains, and meandering bends of river and stream.  The best part of the refuge to him is in what it provides for the people who live in it and from it.  You can’t eat scenery, but you can eat from Selawik Refuge because its waters teem with sheefish, whitefish, pike, and salmon; the wetlands are thick with waterfowl, expanses of tundra are blanketed in berries, and caribou migrations flow across the landscape. You can hear more about Wil’s personal journey in a podcast My Life Wildlife.

    _______________________________________________________________________________When I asked David Zabriskie, “What is a snake guy doing in Alaska?” he responded “Making money to fund my snake hunting trips!”   David has the most experience of the three with the National Wildlife Refuge System having begun his career as a student trainee at the Wheeler Refuge in Alabama, followed by refuges in Mississippi, on remote Pacific Islands, Tennessee, Alaska, and Arizona before returning to Alaska to work as the Deputy Manager and now Manager of the Koyukuk/Nowitna/Innoko Refuge Complex on the Yukon River.


    David Zabriskie, Koyukuk/Nowitna/Innoko Refuge Manager on Johnston Atoll in the North Pacific where he was working at the time.

    I also asked David what he liked most about his refuges and he replied, “These three refuges are in the heart of salmon country. These intact ecosystems support an amazing plant and wildlife diversity. The opportunity to work with the indigenous communities along the Yukon River on resource management is fulfilling.”  Managing three refuges, two of which are bigger than any refuge found in the Lower 48, is a daunting task.  Add to that David was the lead on the Alaska Region’s first plan for a Wild and Scenic River, the Comprehensive River Management Plan (CRMP) for the Nowitna River. I asked him what he saw as his biggest challenge and he said, “Besides limited staff and budgets, the biggest management challenges are climate change and food security for the subsistence users in this region.”

    Congratulations to our new managers!  Friends look forward to working with you.


    Board News! transitions…

    By: Friends Board
    At our June 6 Friends’ Board meeting, Marilyn Sigman was appointed as President. replacing long time President, David Raskin. Marilyn joined the Board in 2022. She is a retired wildlife biologist and science and environmental educator who has previously chaired the Boards of Alaska Geographic (under its previous name, the Alaska Natural History Association), the Alaska Conservation Foundation, and the Alaska Natural Resources and Outdoor Education Association.

    Caroline Brouwer was appointed to a new position of a second Vice-President which we amended our bylaws to include. Caroline has served on the Board since 2020 and has been involved in advocacy for the National Wildlife Refuge System since 2008, lobbying on behalf of funding increases for the Refuge System and policy changes. She spent 14 years working in Washington, DC on behalf of public lands advocacy and national wildlife refuges with Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Refuge Association.

       
     Marilyn Sigman, Board President  Caroline Brouwer, 2nd VIce-President

    In other actions, Tara Schmidt was reappointed as Board Secretary, a position she has served in for six years. Since being appointed to the board in 2017, Tara has served as a liaison, first with the Kenai Refuge and is now working with the Innoko, Nowitna, Koyukuk Refuge Complex. She is active with the Outreach and Education Committee and the Shorebird Festival Committee.

    Tara, Poppy Benson, and Jason Sodergren were reappointed as Board members, with Poppy continuing in her role as a Vice-President and Jason as Treasurer. Elections for these positions will be held in February next year.

    We thank David Raskin for his long and dedicated service as a founding Board member, Board President, and tireless advocate for Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges.   


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    June Advocacy Report: Friends coninues to make an impact.

    by Mike Schantz, Friends Advocacy Committee

    Arctic  Refuge
    The federal lawsuit by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and the State that challenged the moratorium on oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain continues. Friends, along with many conservation organizations and Tribal governments, have intervened on behalf of the Biden administration in this matter. AIDEA and the State filed their reply brief, and AIDEA requested oral argument, which is now scheduled for June 20, 2023. 

    Izembek Refuge
    On March 14, 2023, Secretary of the Interior Haaland withdrew the proposed Trump administration land exchange that authorized a road through the biological heart of the Izembek Wilderness.  This resulted in a motion to dismiss the appeal effort that resulted in the En Banc rehearing of the land exchange.

    Subsequently on April 26, 2023, King Cove filed a motion in the Ninth Circuit Appeals contending the withdrawal of the land exchange was illegal and opposing the dismissal. This motion to dismiss was granted on June 15, 2023, with the Ninth Circuit saying that since the Secretary’s withdrawal of the land exchange, there is no action for the court to rule on. This ends just the latest chapter in our goal to protect the Izembek Refuge.

    Going forward, our concern is that Secretary Haaland may propose an alternative land exchange now that the previous case has been dismissed. This concern is validated by the fact that a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to correct deficiencies in the 2019 land exchange process has been issued. One of the major deficiencies cited by the Secretary in the withdrawal was absence of impact on subsidence resources associated to the proposed land exchange. 

    Friends and the entire Izembek coalition firmly believe that any manner of land exchange outside of a Congressional or Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) framework is illegal as it threatens both critical habitat on the refuge as well as the nearly 150 million acres of federally protected conservation lands in Alaska protected by ANILCA.  Accordingly, we are asking that non-road alternatives to address the needs of King Cove be strongly considere

    Tetlin Refuge 
    The Governmental Services Agency (GSA) conducted a scoping process this spring for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) evaluating alternatives for a new Alcan Port of Entry facility on the Canadian Border adjacent to Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge.  One of the prelimanary alternatives would remove 10 acres from the refuge eliminating a popular trailhead. Another alternative would move the border station four miles up the Alcan Highway from the actual US border putting the popular refuge recreation, subsistence and historical areas of Scottie and Desper creeks on the “wrong” side of the port of entry. This would no doubt impact staff, visitors and subsistence hunters’ use of refuge resources.  Friends provided comments on significant issues related to refuge impacts that must be addressed in the draft Environmental Impact Statement.  Progress of this project will be monitored carefully for impacts on the refuge.

    Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge
    Over the past few years, Doyon Limited Corporation has performed shallow stratigraphic tests on Doyon and native owned land inholdings of the Yukon Flats Refuge.  The bulk of this testing activity occurred around the village of Birch Creek.  No results have been made public to date.  In the event Doyon advances oil and gas extraction activity in this area, we are concerned about impacts to the world-class wildlife and fisheries and subsistence resources in the refuge.  We will continue to monitor this situation.


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    Founder David Raskin, Retires

    By: Friends Board

    After nearly two decades of service as a founder, President for 16 years, and Advocacy Chair, David Raskin has retired from the Board of Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges.  We thank David for his many years of dedicated service, and his passionate advocacy for Alaska’s wildlife refuges. This organization would not be what it is today without his tireless efforts to support and to protect refuges from the coastal plains of the Arctic Refuge to the rich wetlands of the Izembek Refuge and everything in between.  

    David was there when Friends was created at a meeting at the Kenai Refuge in 2005.  He volunteered to be the first president and has been the only president for all but two years of our history.  During his tenure, Friends grew from an organization of a few dozen people to the 315 members we have today.  Our volunteer, advocacy and education programs have increased exponentially under his leadership.  

        
    David (on left) at the founding of Friends in 2005 at the Environmental Education Center at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.  pc.USFWS    

    In his advocacy work, David has attended many meetings with the Alaska Congressional delegation, testified before Congress and at public meetings in Alaska, submitted many beautifully written and persuasive comment letters on refuge planning documents and issues under review  and formed alliances with other conservation partners. He was the author of advocacy column in this newsletter which sought to keep all of us up to date on refuge issues. Principal issues he was engaged in included proposed oil and gas development in the Arctic Refuge, the proposed road through Izembek Refuge and a proposed gutting of Kenai Refuge regulations.  He made a point of visiting many of Alaska’s 16 refuges and cultivated relationships with Fish and Wildlife staff in the Anchorage regional office and on individual refuges. David’s first-hand knowledge of refuge lands and the people responsible for managing them, increased our effectiveness in advocacy and support of the Refuges. 


    David (on left) receiving the Outstanding Friends Group of the Year Award in 2010 in Washington D.C. from  the National Wildlife Refuge Association.   David’s wife Marga is next to him and founding “mothers” Sharon Baur, Ginny Harris, Betty Siegel and Patricia Wood.  Then Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is behind Ginny. pc:USFWS

    In recent years, he was honored as the recipient of two prestigious awards in recognition of his work—the 2022 Refuge Advocate of the Year from the National Wildlife Refuge Association and the 2021 Celia Hunter Award for Outstanding Volunteer Contributions from the Alaska Conservation Foundation. Read more about how David got into conservation work, what drew him to Alaska and why he embraced  the National Wildlife Refuge System HERE.
    David came to conservation work through his love of fishing.  Here David  is leading a “fishing meeting” in 2020  on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge where he and Board Vice President Poppy Benson sought to convince Mike Schantz (left) to join our board.  It worked!  pc: Friends

    We as a Board will miss the wise counsel and deep knowledge that David has contributed to our work for the last 18 years. His passion for wildlife refuges and the success of the System in Alaska has been an inspiration to us all.
     

    Thank you David!



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    April Advocacy Report: Friends collaborates to make an impacr.

    by David Raskin, Friends Board President

    Arctic  Refuge
    The federal lawsuit continues by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and the State that challenged the moratorium on oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain. Friends had intervened along with many conservation organizations and Tribal governments on behalf of the Biden administration. AIDEA and the State filed their reply brief, and AIDEA requested oral argument, which the court will likely schedule now that their reply brief has been submitted. We await the announcement for the second lease sale required by the legislation.

    The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) filed the Federal Register notice regarding the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the December 2021 SF 299 application by Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation (KIC) for a winter right-of-way (ROW) across the tundra in a wilderness study area. The draft EA is scheduled for September 2023 followed by a public comment period.  The permit will require compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act regarding potential impacts on polar bears. We expect this to move to a full Environmental Impact Statement process that may result in a requirement for an incidental take permit, which could become a major problem for the ROW application.   It should be noted that the request for a winter right-of-way across the refuge may have implications for Alaska National Interests Conservation Act (ANILCA) and the Izembek road controversy. 

    A draft report on the Kaktovik claim of historical vehicle use for subsistence activities in the Arctic Refuge tundra, including wilderness study areas, is still under review. Under the solicitor’s opinion in the previous administration, the refuge is open to motorized vehicles, but there has been little activity to date. 

    Izembek Refuge
    On March 14, 2023, Secretary of the Interior Haaland withdrew the illegal Trump administration land exchange that authorized a road through the biological heart of the Izembek Wilderness. This paused the legal proceedings, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the Court to moot the case, which would end the lawsuit and nullify the land exchange. However, we expect that King Cove will oppose DOJ and ask the court to continue the case while King Cove works to get Secretary Haaland to propose another illegal land exchange. We are concerned that she will either do that or work with Senator Murkowski on legislation to do a land exchange by a similar process that former Secretary of the Interior Jewell denied. Meanwhile, Secretary Haaland has instructed the FWS to prepare a supplemental EIS to correct deficiencies in the Trump land exchange process, which is expected to begin within a month.

    The Izembek coalition is working at all levels of the administration to convince Secretary Haaland to consider alternatives to a road, such as an all-weather ferry between King Cove and Cold Bay that would serve the entire region. Toward that goal, key members of the coalition had a productive meeting with Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau and other key Department of the Interior officials on April 8. A non-road alternative would put an end to the threats to Izembek Refuge, ANILCA, and up to 150 million acres of federal conservation lands currently protected by ANILCA.
     
    Kenai Refuge 
    No new threats to the Kenai Refuge!

    Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge
    We have heard nothing further on the results of Hilcorp’s shallow exploration on Doyon Corporation inholdings in the Yukon Flats Refuge.  There is great concern that this may lead to oil and gas development that could negatively impact the world-class wildlife and fisheries and subsistence resources in the refuge.


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    30 Years Later: Are Spectacled Eiders still a Mystery? 4/18, 5 – 6 p.m. (AKDT)

    Presented by Dan Rizzolo, Endangered Species Biologist.

    Tuesday, April 18, 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.  AKDT
    Dan’s presentation was recorded.  Watch below:

    Spectacled eiders were in rapid decline in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge in 1993 when they received the protection of the Endangered Species Act by being listed as a Threatened species. They were a mystery then. Western science knew very little about this sea duck species with the spectacled plumage. We knew they made their nests in the coastal tundra along the Bering Sea and Arctic coasts of Alaska and Siberia, but not where they molted their feathers or spent the winter. How many were there? What did they eat? And, importantly, why were they in such rapid decline? In the 30 years since they were listed, we have learned much about this tough duck that winters among the pack ice in the Bering Sea. In this 50th anniversary year of the Endangered Species Act, join us for Dan’s review of what has been learned since listing, including how spectacled eiders are responding  to changes in sea ice in the Bering Sea. But knowledge does not always bring recovery and with ongoing anthropogenic climate change, the spectacled eider continues to face an uncertain future.

    ‘   Dan, Mist Netting birds on the river.  pc Mark Lindberg

    Dan Rizzolo is a wildlife biologist who works with a great team of biologists and support staff in the Endangered Species Recovery program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, based in Fairbanks. He found his way to Alaska from the east coast for a summer job after finishing his undergraduate studies and has remained in the Great Land since, working as a biologist throughout the state, primarily with birds. Dan enjoys spending time in remote areas of Alaska, both for work and for play. In Fairbanks, you will often find him pedaling his fat tire bike up O’Connor Creek trail, or at local ice rinks cheering on his favorite hockey players, his wife Adrian and son Gavin.





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      March Advocacy Report: Spring brings SOME good news

      by David Raskin, Friends Board President

      Arctic  Refuge
      Trustees for Alaska and the Native Village of Venetie filed reply briefs in support of Department of Justice (DOJ) on February 17, 2023. DOJ had previously filed its opposition to the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment in the federal lawsuit by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and the State that challenged the moratorium on oil and gas development in the Coastal Plain. Friends had intervened along with many conservation organizations and Tribal governments on behalf of the Biden administration. AIDEA and the State must file their reply brief by March 20. AIDEA also requested oral argument, which the court will likely schedule after their reply brief is submitted.
       
      On February 8, 2023, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) filed a Federal Register notice regarding the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the December 2021 SF 299 application by Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation (KIC) for a winter  right-of-way (ROW) across the tundra in a wilderness study area. The draft EA is scheduled for September 2023 followed by a public comment period.  The permit will require compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act regarding potential impacts on polar bears and a full Environmental Impact Statement process may result in a requirement for an incidental take permit, which could become a major problem for the ROW application.   It should be noted that the request for a winter right-of-way across the Refuge may have implications for Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and the Izembek road controversy. 
       
      A draft report on the Kaktovik claim of historical vehicle use for subsistence activities in the Arctic Refuge tundra, including wilderness study areas, is still under review. Under the solicitor’s opinion in the previous administration, the Refuge is open to motorized vehicles, but there has been little activity to date.

      Izembek Refuge
      On December 13, 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in its en banc review of the DOJ and State appeal of our second successful lawsuit that had stopped the illegal land transfer for the proposed Izembek road. The decision to rehear the case en banc nullified the disastrous panel decision and began the road proponents appeal anew. The panel, a majority appointed by Trump, could issue a decision as early as this month. The Izembek coalition is working at all levels of the administration and Congress to convince Secretary Haaland to withdraw the illegal land exchange before Ninth Circuit issues a decision. That is the only way to immediately put an end to the threats to Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and up to 150 million acres of federal conservation lands currently protected by ANILCA.
       
      Kenai Refuge 
      The Supreme Court on March 6, 2023, denied the State of Alaska’s writ of certiorari that sought a review of the Ninth Circuit’s decision that upheld the District Court decision that supported FWS hunting regulations.  This is a great win for the Kenai Refuge, its wildlife, and all who worked so hard to help this happen.
       
      We also received the wonderful news that FWS withdrew the June 11, 2020, Trump administration proposed rule to amend the refuge-specific regulations for Kenai Refuge.  Based on the extensive public comments that Friends helped to organize, FWS reviewed the new information provided and determined that the best course of action was withdrawing the proposed rule.  
       
      Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge
      We have heard nothing further on the results of Hilcorp’s shallow exploration on Doyon Corporation inholdings in the Yukon Flats Refuge.  There is great concern that this may lead to oil and gas development that could negatively impact the world-class wildlife and fisheries and subsistence resources in the Refuge.



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      Canoeing Yaghanen; Canoe Trails of the Kenai Refuge, 3/21, 5 – 6 p.m. (AKDT)

      Presented by Dave Atcheson author, fly fisherman, canoeist


      Dave will be in person at the Kenai Refuge with a book signing at 4:30 pm, talk at 5 and reception at 6.  A watch party will be at the Alaska Maritime Refuge in Homer with Dave’s books available for purchase.

      Come learn about the vast canoe country of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge with Dave Atcheson, author of the newly released book, Canoeing Yaghanen.   Swan Lake and Swanson River canoe trails, just north of Sterling, Alaska, cover over 100 miles with more than 70 lakes, two river systems and portage trails.  These routes are a national treasure having been recognized as Water Trails within the National Recreation Trail System.  The Swan Lake trails and most of the Swanson River trails are within designated Wilderness, closed to motorized equipment and boats.  All you will hear will be loon calls, beaver tail slaps, swans honking and wind in the spruce.  Dave will share his images and thoughts on what makes this place so special, its wildlife and waterbirds, incredible trout fishing and of course, how you can plan your own adventure into this wonderful network of wilderness trails and waterways. From easy family weekend trips to weeklong adventures, paddlers of all abilities and ages will enjoy this unique wilderness experience.

      ‘    Portages varying in length from a hundred yards to nearly a mile connect the lakes of the canoe system.  Dave Atcheson portaging. pc Cindy Atcheson

      Dave Atcheson is an avid canoeist, sports fisher and hunter and has spent much of the last 30 years exploring the Swan Lake and Swanson River canoe systems.  Dave writes that the canoe trails are one of his favorite places, not only in Alaska, but anywhere.  He also writes that “this still-water wonderland contains some of the finest lake fishing Alaska has to offer.” (from Canoeing Yaghanen) Dave has written for a variety of periodicals from Outdoor Life to Boy’s Life to Alaska Magazine and is a past contributing editor to Fish Alaska.  He is the author of the memoir of his commercial fishing days,  Dead Reckoning, Navigating a Life on the Last Frontier, Courting Tragedy on its High Seas.  He also wrote National Geographic’s Hidden Alaska, Bristol Bay and Beyond and the guidebook Fishing Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. Dave teaches fly fishing and has run the Kenai Fishing Academy at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula College.  Originally from upstate New York, Atcheson has traveled all over Alaska and lives in Sterling close to the canoe country. 


      Dave Atcheson with Kenai River rainbow.  pc: Lee Keuper

      Canoeing Yaghanen (the Good Land): A Guide to Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s Swan Lake and Swanson River Canoe Systems was published by Alaska Geographic and is available from their online store here or at the Alaska Geographic bookstores at the Kenai Refuge and Alaska Maritime Refuge Visitor Centers.  



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