Collections from FWS Arctic Refuge Symposium

“You collect all you can- so I collected birds, insects, and spiders.” –George Schaller, FWS Symposium on the Historic and Scientific importance of the Arctic Refuge, January 17-20, 2011) 

On my way to an 8am lecture, I passed by Rachel Carson’s typewriter, Olaus Murie’s unfinished painting, and Mollie Beattie’s boots.  As I walked into the auditorium, my eyes expanded in diameter to absorb nametags like “Zahneiser,” “Schaller,” and “Carter.”  In addition to reaffirming my hunch that I have to coolest job in the world, going to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 50^th Anniversary Historic Symposium inspired me to do the kind of work that would merit an invitation to the refuge’s 100^th anniversary celebration.

The symposium was organized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to serve as a capstone for their 50^th anniversary celebrations and “share history while many of the principal actors are among us.”  It took place on January 17-20, 2011 when a group of about 100 scientists, historians, politicians, activists, adventurers and students united by the Arctic Refuge, the “place that we all hold dear.”  convened at the FWS National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.  Alaska FWS Deputy Regional director LaVerne Smith, set the tone, echoing Olaus Murie’s objective for his 1956 Sheenjek expedition: “to have a rich experience.”  Pam and I were present to represent the Northern Center.  Pam by giving a talk that addressed the elephant in the room: the historical difficulties of providing scientific information about the cumulative harm from of oil and gas sprawl and pollution that would occur if the refuge were opened to oil and gas development and me in my usual role of “sponge,” to absorb all sorts of new knowledge and contacts and to follow Olaus’s advice. 

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the crown jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge System.  As former FWS Director Lynn Greenwalt put it, “there is nothing quite so formidable as a group of people committed to protecting a treasure.”  Over the years, the Refuge’s stunning mountains, braided rivers, intact ecosystems, and gregarious inhabitants have captured the hearts and inspired the careers of generations of visionaries from across the globe. 

The founders of the Arctic Refuge were not only protecting wild places, they were pioneering conservation.  The work of scientists like Olaus Murie, Brina Kessel, George Schaller, Keith Echelmeyer, Fran Mauer, and many more changed the field.  Working from the field, they immersed themselves in the places they studied.  These scientists did their learning on their feet and processed with their hearts as well as their minds.  They spent more time watching and less time manipulating nature.  They embraced the questions, accepting that most don’t come with neat or definitive answers.  Schaller told students, “the more you study, the more questions you have.”   Ornithologist Stephen Brown added “and if you get too much data, everything becomes mysterious again.”  Following Mardy Murie’s example they talked across boundaries and treated even their staunchest opponents with respect.  And perhaps most importantly, they worked to make conservation last through legislative means and by making it relevant and directly beneficial to locals. 

To be fair, the Arctic Refuge that served as their classroom and laboratory deserves some credit.  Symposium organizer, Steve Chase, made this connection when he described a moment he spent in the Firth River Valley.   Chase suggested that we apply this feeling of humility that the refuge taught him with the “strength and restraint that embodies conservation.”  This is the essence of holistic science and activism.  It is yet another reason why protecting our remaining wild places is so vital.  In Nancy Newhall’s words: “wilderness holds answers to questions man has not yet learned to ask.” 

The battles fought over the Arctic Refuge have challenged and shaped our concepts of wilderness, refuge, and conservation itself.  A testimony to this work, this “little corner of earth” in northeast Alaska remains largely wild and free today.  A testimony to the power of the place, for many of the founders, the Arctic Refuge is still the substance of their dreams.

Pam and I talk with George Schaller (!!!)

What to do with this legacy?  We can build museums, centers, and write histories.  Tom Butler suggested that refuge managers wear “W.W.A.D?” (What Would Aldo [Leopold] Do?) bracelets.  But the best way to honor the legacy of Olaus and Mardy Murie, George Collins and Lowell Sumner, Ginny Wood and Celia Hunter, is to build upon their inspiring example.  To protect the Arctic Refuge from a new generation of threats like global climate change.  “I think the founders would ask us to come up with our own big ideas,” reflected Conservation Fund representative, Brad Meiklejohn. 

In this realm I was heartened.  Fairbanks is and has always been heart of Arctic Refuge protection.  We are geographically closer to the Arctic Refuge than we are to Anchorage.  It is our backyard.  There were enough Fairbanks-based speakers present at the symposium to keep stories going until late in the night.  NAEC member Dr. Matt Nolan began his presentation on his family’s research at the McCall glacier with the words: “our whole lives are wrapped around this project.”  At dinner one night I met three young students who had spent their summers as FWS interns exploring the refuge and swimming in the Beaufort Sea no less than seven times.  This is the kind of holistic engagement that I imagine would make the founders smile. 

One of the most lasting impacts of this conference for a newbie like myself was the opportunity to interact with many of my heroes.  The conference was structured to encourage its participants to share and mingle.  Over the course of the week, I got to talk to Bob Krear about mountain lions, joke with George Schaller about finding Bigfoot, and listen to countless tales of bears and adventure from Fish and Wildlife employees who have been hard at work for more years than I have been living.  It was an empowering experience, to realize that so many of these incredible people were in Pam’s words, “just showing up” and in the process of pursuing their passions, changed the world.  In summary, I offer Sarah James’s humble conclusion about her decades of activism: “we have learned a lot; we’ve gained some friends to prove it.”

Sarah and I pose with caribou on our way to the bar :)