Ursa Major II Captain, Jeff Lewis affixes a USFWS banner to the vessel. - Photo Credit: n/a

Under a weather port anchored on the stern of the vessel, tables are covered in an array of wildlife furs and Refuge research projects. - Photo Credit: n/a

“Coastie”, the talking boat, welcomes people aboard the Ursa Major II vessel. - Photo Credit: n/a

Tonya Lee, RIT uses a brown bear puppet to communicate Kodiak brown bear trivia with the Port Lions kids. - Photo Credit: n/a

Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge doesn’t always do things the way they are done in the lower 48. For example, Kodiak Refuge sailed a mobile visitor center to the village of Port Lions on June 8, 2011, on the Refuge research vessel, the Ursa Major II. Kodiak remote village residents don’t always get an opportunity to visit the center downtown, so Refuge Vessel Captain Jeff Lewis decided it was time to take our visitor center to them. “These villagers live close to Refuge lands, but may not ever visit our center in downtown Kodiak. This way they’ll have a travelling visitor center,” he said.

Refuge research vessel Ursa Major II secured a weather port at the stern of the ship and packed it with materials and information for the village. She sailed four hours north and west to Port Lions and moored in their bustling harbor inside Settlers Cove.

It was a busy time at Port Lions harbor. A commercial salmon fishing opener was set to begin the next day and subsistence fishermen were catching boat loads of red salmon in the cove. The crew posted a USFWS ‘Naturally Wild’ banner to the starboard side and made final preparations for the vessel. Thirty five people, including fishermen, charter owners, and families, boarded the vessel to visit the attraction in their harbor.

As villagers boarded the 48-foot research vessel, they were greeted with “Coastie”, a talking boat on loan from our neighbors and partners the Coast Guard Auxiliary Association. Visitors then toured the vessel from the wheel house to the galley.  They were guided to the weather port where tables and an array of displays were arranged on deck.  The refuge system was highlighted and a variety of posters had something for everyone to learn about Refuge resources. Inside were Kodiak Refuge research projects, Kodiak land mammal furs, seabirds, and a talking brown bear puppet willing to play a game of brown bear trivia or Alutiiq language memory.

The Refuge crew engaged in conversations to offer a learning experience for both Port Lions residents - who access and live just a few miles from Refuge lands - and to Refuge staff who learned more about this community’s way of life. This trip was the first of 6 villages the Ursa Major II and the traveling visitor center plan to visit