Some of the RITs and other FWS staff at the 2006 RIT Workshop in Bethel, AK

Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge hosted the annual statewide Refuge Information Technicians (RIT) workshop in Bethel in early February.  The 24 Native liaisons, each of whom serves as a critical interpreter of their Refuge’s policies and programs to local communities, represented 12 of Alaska’s 16 refuges including Arctic, Yukon Delta, Yukon Flats, Togiak, Tetlin, Koyukuk, Nowitna, Innoko, Kodiak, Selawik, Alaska Peninsula, and Becharof.   

The three-day workshop was developed with the suggestions and ideas of RITs.  Subject matter experts from throughout Alaska gave varied presentations on wildlife and natural resource management including subsistence, hunting & fishing regulations, interpretive techniques, writing skills, fire management, waterfowl harvest surveys, and avian influenza.  The avian influenza session taught by Dr. Deborah Rocque, the Alaska Region’s Avian Influenza Coordinator, held great interest and drew numerous in-depth questions.  By the end of the session, RITs felt they had excellent information to carry back to the nearly 100 rural villages with which they work.  A highlight of the workshop came when each RIT was asked to share successes of the past year.  Their inspirational stories reflected the quiet accomplishments of these skilled employees who embody one of the Refuge System’s most successful adaptations to the unique challenges of working in rural Alaska.  

Submitted by Yukon Delta RIT Supervisor Louie Andrew