Top portion of one of twenty interpretive panels created by Arctic Refuge’s Wildlife Interpretive Specialist for Georgia’s Kolkheti National Park and nearby Kobuleti Nature Reserve.

Poti, the semi-tropical city on the Black Sea coast of Georgia where Russian troops have set up checkpoints, bunkers and barbed wire, seems a world away for most Americans. But in distant Alaska, the news from Poti is being watched carefully by Cathy Curby, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s Wildlife Interpretive Specialist. She researched, wrote and designed 20 kiosk and wayside panels about the natural and cultural heritage of the area. Most have been installed in Kolkheti National Park, which surrounds Poti. Now she’s wondering about their fate, the fate of her friends at the park, and the park’s vegetation and wild creatures.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) has an International Technical Assistance Program (ITAP) through which agency employees can work on projects around the world. Cathy led a three year ITAP project to establish nature trails and outdoor interpretive panels for Kohlketi National Park. The project was contracted by Georgia’s Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Centre and was funded by the World Bank.

Georgia is a small country of rolling hills and soaring mountains. Waters flowing from the western half of the country converge in a narrow lowland area of forests, lakes, bogs and Black Sea coastline which make up Kolkheti Park. This unique region has been of exceptional biological significance since ancient times. Jason and the Argonauts, searching for the golden fleece, landed in the area where the city of Poti now sits. These Greek explorers exported ring-neck pheasants from here to the world. The word “pheasant” (genus name Phasianus) comes from the Phasis River, which was the ancient Greek name for the Rioni River (now being mentioned in news reports of Russian checkpoints on the outskirts of Poti). The species name colchicus indicates the birds come from the Kolkheti area.

The lowlands of Kolkheti National Park shelter a number of rare plants and animals, including the few remaining Kolkheti oak. Recent news reports, however, tell of Russian soldiers engaged in illegal logging—destroying large numbers of trees—and of illegal fishing. One wonders what natural treasures Georgia and the world will have lost by the time this conflict is resolved.