December 23, 2016 This volcanic island is 53 miles from Unalaska - and is part of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island is incredibly rich and full of life. Seabirds like Puffins dig burrows to nest in its soft volcanic soils. Murres and kittiwakes find nesting spots on its ever-evolving spires. Fur seal numbers have steadily grown as the beaches of Bogoslof have become an important rookery for pups. We've seen tremendous changes to the island's shape as new pieces have emerged from the sea with eruptions and others have eroded away. Many of the Refuge's islands are volcanic. These islands give us the opportunity to watch the evolution of the land and the response of the plants and animals that call these places home in the dynamic ring of fire. More images on Flickr
December 20, 2016 At the annual States Organization for Boating Access (SOBA) conference, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game received the 2016 Boating Access Program Excellence Award from the States Organization for Boating Access. A committed and enduring state/federal partnership is paramount to the success of our Sport Fish Restoration grant programs. Receiving this national award demonstrates commitment to our common goal of conserving and managing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers our sincere congratulations to the team including: Statewide Access Program Coordinator Paul Cyr, Assistant Statewide Access Program Coordinator Valerie Thompson, and Regional Access Program Project Managers David Stoller, Richard Price, Jeffery Breakfield, Chris Razink, and Michael Wood for this well-deserved national recognition! Through their efforts working with 14 partners, 24 boating facility projects totaling $17 million were recently completed across Alaska, providing new or improved boating access at Statter Harbor, Homer Harbor, Big Lake, Tanana Lakes, Piledriver Slough, Rocky Lake and the Kenai River.
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge 75th Anniversary On December 16, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8979 establishing the Kenai National Moose Range. A place where visitors feel welcomed and safe by means of a wide variety of wildlife-dependent recreation opportunities, facilities, and educational programs that encourage use of the Refuge’s natural resources. Excellence in land, water, and Wilderness stewardship; and—with careful planning, forethought, and human determination—an enduring legacy of abundant plant, fish, and wildlife populations will be ensured for people to enjoy today and into the future for this phenomenal land we call “The Kenai.”
December 8, 2016 Nearly 300 seabird carcasses have been counted on the beaches of St. Paul Island since October 8 of this year by biologists with the Ecosystem Conservation Office of the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Tribal Government. Most of the species found have been tufted puffins, however, horned puffins, murres, and crested auklets have also been found. Since the die-off began, the rate of carcass encounter was more than 350 times greater than the normal rate of encounters. For comparison, only six puffin carcasses had been counted since 2006 when long-term beach monitoring began at St. Paul and St. George Islands.
December 7, 2016 The International Porcupine Caribou Board (Board) recently held its annual meeting, which began in Fairbanks, Alaska on November 30 and ended in Venetie, Alaska, on December 1. The Board conducted its regular business in Fairbanks and then headed to Venetie for a special public session with local community members and distinguished officials from the Native Village of Venetie. The Board shared with the community the latest scientific findings related to the status of the Porcupine Caribou Herd and received comments and questions from village residents and officials regarding the importance of conserving the herd. The attendees in Venetie expressed their appreciation for the Board’s visit and its cooperation on this shared international resource. Read more...
December 6, 2016 A crew of biologist place a time-lapse camera near several Common Eider nests to capture footage of hens as they incubate their eggs. The footage is used by biologists and university students to learn about eider behavior and how nest predators affect eider productivity. On this island, one of the nests is unusual.
November 29, 2016 Designed to educate rural Alaskans about Alaska’s migratory bird populations and how residents can participate in helping with bird management, every month of the calendar contains messages about migratory bird conservation along with the children’s art. The calendar is distributed free to over 100 villages in rural Alaska and hangs in offices and kitchens for entire families to learn about migratory bird populations. Calendars are available at your local school and from your nearest National Wildlife Refuge. Dillingham fifth grader Ellie Hink and Kobuk kindergartener Reggie Wood were this year’s grand prize winners and are among the youngest ever.
November 28, 2016 Katrina Liebich was recognized for her outstanding coordination and collaboration efforts to connect Alaskans and all Americans to fish and aquatic species conservation programs. She continually finds innovative ways to communicate the science of fisheries management with enthusiasm and relevance to her diverse audiences, with great success. Read more... To see more of her creative work, including videos, check out the Fisheries and Habitat Facebook page.
November 9, 2016 The Alaska Refuge Information Technicians (RITs) Program on Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges allows the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to locally hire and employ Alaska Native peoples who know and understand their own communities. The RITs work part-time in approximately 100 communities across Alaska to provide a physical and cultural bridge to the local residents on or near Refuges. They are teachers to the USFWS staff and managers, Native language translators at agency and community meetings, resident advisors of hunting and fishing rules, species biology technicians, and outreach professionals.
November 8, 2016 A 60 day public comment period has been opened as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s ongoing effort to engage with Alaska Native tribes, organizations, corporations, and the public on efforts to co-manage the subsistence harvest of polar bears in the United States. This initiative is part of a broader effort to ensure that polar bears, threatened by a loss of sea ice habitat in a warming Arctic, persist in the wild and that Alaska Native traditional subsistence practices continue into the future. “Alaska Native communities have co-existed with the polar bears for millennia, and the Service recognizes Alaska Natives as a key partner in polar bear conservation,” said Greg Siekaniec, Regional Director for the Alaska Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Last updated: December 2016
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Statewide Access Program Coordinator, Paul Cyr
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