Greetings from Alaska!

I am here for over a week to see how our team is doing up here.

After arriving in Juneau on Friday, I joined staff from Senator Murkowski’s office along with staff from Senator Begich’S and Congressman Young’s offices, representatives from Alaska, the conservation NGO community, Alaska Native tribes, the commercial fishing industry and others to talk about sea otter issues in southeast Alaska.

Sea otters were hunted nearly to extinction in the late 1700s and 1800s through commercial harvest for their luxurious furs.  Once commercial harvest ceased, sea otter numbers rebounded and they re-colonized much of their former range.

Sea otters were hunted nearly to extinction in the late 1700s and 1800s. Credit: USFWS

The rebounding populations, though, have raised concerns about impacts on commercial and subsistence shellfish (and other) fisheries. In addition, there is concern in the Alaska Native community about USFWS enforcement of the section in  the Marine Mammal Protection Act that states that any handicraft made from a sea otter pelt must be “significantly altered” if it is to be sold to a non-Native.

[More]

If you ever have occasion to speak to the public, here’s a quick tip: Try to avoid coming to the stage after one of the greatest presidents of the 20th century.

It sounds unlikely, but it happened to me Friday, when I spoke after Teddy Roosevelt at the Centennial Celebration of the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming.

Well, OK. It wasn’t exactly THE Teddy Roosevelt, but the impersonator sure looked and sounded like the old Rough Rider himself. And I’m sure “TR” would have been pleased and amazed at the growth and success of the National Wildlife Refuge System he founded more than a century ago.

The National Elk Refuge, established in 1912 to protect winter habitat vital to the Jackson elk herd, was among the first refuges created after Roosevelt left office. It signified that the Refuge System was not simply the passion of a single president, but an enduring linchpin for North American conservation.

[More]

Lily Tomlin once said: “I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.”

Thankfully, Ted Turner has always realized that he is somebody, and long ago decided he wanted to do something to help conserve endangered species. And then he got to work, making a real difference in the lives of the black-footed ferret, the red-cockaded woodpecker, wolves and many other species.

That’s why, this week, I traveled to the Ladder Ranch, in New Mexico, to present Ted Turner and the Turner Endangered Species Fund with our Endangered Species Recovery Champion award.

[More]