Holiday Gift Guide
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Volume 13 • Issue 7 www.aksportingjournal.com PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott EDITOR Chris Cocoles WRITERS Bjorn Dihle, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Aaron Hitchins, Christian Thorsberg, Brian Watkins SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Grant Cunningham, Guy Ricciardulli, Zachary Wheeler DESIGNER Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker WEB DEVELOPMENT/INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Aumann INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES media@media-inc.com ON THE COVER Hunters and anglers are speaking out against the proposed Ambler Road in the Brooks Range and potentially resurrected Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, which threaten caribou habitat and salmon runs, respectively. See this month’s stories on the fights against both projects. (AARON HITCHINS)
MEDIA INDEX PUBLISHING GROUP 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120 Renton, WA 98057 (206) 382-9220 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com • www.media-inc.com CORRESPONDENCE Twitter @AKSportJourn Facebook.com/alaskasportingjournal Email ccocoles@media-inc.com
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 13 • ISSUE 7
FEATURES 26
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
CRIPPLE CREEK’S COMEBACK Almost 100 years ago, the bed and flow of Cripple Creek, a tributary of the Chena River by Fairbanks, was altered for a now defunct mining project. It left native anadromous fish like salmon with little chance to spawn in the stream. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has spearheaded a project to return Cripple to its creek. Christian Thorsberg has an update on how the restoration work is progressing.
15 19 23 35
The Editor’s Note Alaska Beat: Katmai wolves found to be hunting marine life Outdoor calendar Tribal orgs speak out as Alaska governor asks Supreme Court to reverse EPA Pebble Mine ban
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NO BULL: MOOSE HUNTING IS CHALLENGING A veteran of chasing bull moose throughout Alaska, correspondent Brian Watkins also has this to say about the state’s biggest of big game: “Moose hunting can be painstakingly boring.” Just how does he stay patient on the trail of a big bull? Joining an old college buddy on a hunt near Anchorage, Watkins shares the sometimes tedious steps needed to fill a tag.
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ATTENTION, HOLIDAY SHOPPERS! If you’ve still got hunters or anglers on your gift list, Scott Haugen has you covered in his and wife Tiffany’s latest From Field to Fire column. First up, Scott details some of his favorite field-tested gear – from coolers to waterfowl decoys, and from fixedblade knives to dry bags – that’s sure to be a hit under a sportsman’s Christmas tree. And for that perfect December party menu, Tiffany shares an easy-to-make appetizer featuring frozen or leftover fish and mini peppers. Gift wrapping not included!
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THE ROAD ENDS HERE
The controversial Ambler Road project – a proposed 211-mile-long gravel thoroughfare that would cut across caribou winter range and fish and other wildlife habitat along the Brooks Range to a mining district – has received plenty of pushback from state leaders and tribal organizations. And as Bjorn Dihle details, Alaska and Lower 48 hunters and anglers are also stepping up to oppose the plan, which is now out for public comment. Dihle, a lifelong Alaska sportsman, shares his experiences in this spectacular region and dives into the impact the road would have on outdoor opportunities and the ecosystem.
(BJORN DIHLE)
Alaska Sporting Journal is published monthly. Call Media Inc. Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Inc. Publishing Group and will not be returned. Annual subscriptions are $39.95 (12 issues) or $59.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Inc. Publishing Group, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057 or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues may be ordered at Media Inc. Publishing Group, subject to availability, at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Copyright © 2023 Media Inc. Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. 12
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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EDITOR’S NOTE
Whether it’s the wine in Portugal’s beautiful Douro River Valley or the salmon in pristine Bristol Bay, both regions’ famous reds – and the landscapes they require to thrive – are worth preserving. In Alaska, the urgency to ensure that was recently amplified when the Pebble Mine threat reared its head again. (LIAN LAW/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; CHRIS COCOLES)
I
’ve been lucky enough in my U.S. and global travels to experience some spectacular landscapes. I’ll never forget a quick stop in Yellowstone National Park, where my friend and I had to pull over on the main park road several times to spy elk wandering across our path. I had the same feeling overlooking the caldera that holds Crater Lake in southern Oregon. Abroad, I was awestruck driving the coastal route along the Balkan nation of Montenegro – some of the most rugged and beautiful seaside terrain I may ever encounter. The red sand desert topography of Wadi Rum in Jordan was mesmerizing; there was never a time when I wasn’t envisioning archeologist and army officer T.E. Lawrence – whose World War I Jordanian adventures hit the big screen in the epic 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia – riding a camel across these vast lands. But perhaps the biggest impact I’ve had occurred in 2021 in Portugal. We traveled east from the city of Porto along the Douro River, which eventually forms the you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it Douro River Valley. The view from above the mountains that lead down to the water is something you can’t get enough of – until it’s time to leave and you pout about not being able to stay permanently. The steep hillsides are full of vineyards that produce some
of the best wine I’ve ever tasted. Sipping reds and the region’s famous port wine with a surreal view should be added to your bucket list ASAP. And what wine does for the Douro Valley, so does salmon for Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Both of these regions aren’t just easy on the eyes; their main exports are the lifeblood industry for locals. Whether you’re a Portuguese vintner or an Alaskan fisher, your worst nightmare is the possibility that another industry’s mistake destroys generations of hard work and tradition. As the Pebble Mine’s soap opera took another twist recently with Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy calling on the Supreme Court to overturn Environmental Protection Agency mandates that would block the project, Bristol Bay’s tribal interests fought back by filing an amicus brief to challenge the state’s lawsuit (page 35). Both the Douro and Bristol Bay are worth protecting, but for multiple decades Alaskans who depend on clean water for those salmon have wondered if it might all go away if Pebble is ever built. “Our people and our fishery deserve to be free from the threat of a Pebble Mine,” says Alannah Hurley, executive director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay. “And as we have proven in the last two decades, we will stand together and stand strong until our home and future generations are protected.” -Chris Cocoles aksportingjournal.com | DECEMBER 2023
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DECEMBER 2023 | aksportingjournal.com
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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
DECEMBER 2023 | aksportingjournal.com
ALASKA BEAT TWEET OF THE MONTH
A Katmai National Park wolf seen carrying a sea otter carcass is just one piece of evidence that led Oregon State University researchers to conclude that some wolves are hunting live marine life as an alternate food source to land-based wildlife. (KELSEY
GRIFFIN/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE)
STUDY SHOWS WOLVES HUNTING LIVE MARINE LIFE ALONG KATMAI COAST
E
arlier this year, an Oregon State University study concluded that wolves on Pleasant Island in Southeast Alaska, having eradicated the island’s deer population, were forced to turn to coastal sea otters as a primary food source. A recent OSU report goes a step further, arguing that wolves are willfully hunting marine life rather than other land-based mammals in coastal areas of Katmai National Park, in Southwest Alaska. “Wolves have previously been observed consuming sea otter carcasses, but how they obtain these and the frequency of scavenging versus hunting marine prey is largely unknown,” a press release on the study stated. “In the paper, (federal, state and university researchers) describe several incidents they observed involving wolves and marine mammals in Katmai National Park that they believe haven’t been previously documented.” Among recent years’ observations, a wolf was seen hunting, killing and eating a harbor seal that had been resting at water’s edge. On three separate occasions in ensuing years, wolves were seen carrying sea otter carcasses. And in 2021, three wolves were spotted successfully hunting a sea otter on an island at low tide. “This is really exciting documentation of behaviors we believe have never been directly observed by scientists,” said OSU doctoral student Ellen Dymit. “It kind of forces us to reconsider the assumptions that underlie a lot of our management decisions and modeling around wolf populations and populations of their prey, which often assume that wolves depend on ungulates, like moose and elk.” National Park Service biologist Kelsey Griffin couldn’t believe it when in 2016 she witnessed a Katmai wolf with a sea otter in its mouth, which spawned further research. “I was asking my coworkers: ‘Has anyone seen this before? Do wolves often eat sea otters?’” she said in the press release. “I was just asking a bunch of questions about the wolves and it just seemed like there was not a whole lot of information about them. That was the initial observation. I just got lucky.” More data is expected to be collected at Lake Clark, Glacier Bay and Kenai Fjords National Parks.
The long, dark winter is on in Barrow, which celebrates the holiday season without sunlight.
Some of America’s most iconic birds host their own version of a Zoom meeting in the Last Frontier.
aksportingjournal.com | DECEMBER 2023
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“ 39 NOTABLE NUMBER
THEY SAID IT
MILLION
“Those forests are also cool and wet, with carbon stocks that are only minimally affected by wildfire, stocks that are likely to increase as the climate changes. Protecting the Tongass and Chugach is a high priority if we want to have a chance to attain global goals relating to climate and diversity of species.”
”
–Oregon State University College of Forestry researcher Bev Law, who co-led a study that cited the Tongass and Chugach National Forests as critical habitats needed to meet conservation and climate goals.
The forecast for the 2024 Bristol Bay sockeye run is well below how many of the salmon returned each of the past two years, including a record 79 million in 2023. But it would still be above the long-term average.
FROM THE ASJ ARCHIVES – DECEMBER 2020
STANDING TALL AT ALASKA’S TALLEST POINT
W
“There’s a physical nature of Denali (that you) don’t have pack animals and don’t have Sherpa support,” mountaineer Jake Norton said of climbing Alaska’s mighty mountain, which he says is even more difficult than scaling Mount Everest. “You’re dealing with temperatures that go from 90 degrees on a calm day in the sun down on the (lower portions) to 40 below zero in a storm up near the summit. It’s a punishing but beautiful, incredible mountain.” (JAKE NORTON) 20
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
hen Jake Norton was first what he referred to as a “grunt guide” – “I had the pleasure of carrying a heavier pack,” he proudly says – on a Denali expedition, that May trip in the mid-1990s didn’t go well. “We just got pulverized by storms and cold (conditions). And then my second (attempt) was a July trip where the mountain was empty and there were only two teams of us on the mountain,” he says. “We summited on a beautiful, warm day.” For mountaineers like Norton, topping these massive peaks is part of the symbolic lore of the challenge (he would love one day to climb another of his last remaining Seven Summits, Carstensz Pyramid, which is located in a remote and politically unstable corner of Indonesia). And when he and his teams finished what they started the year before and reached the pinnacle of a North American climbing challenge, it was a moment to savor and to soak up the sunshine, the view and the accomplishment. “We were able to have a fly-by done by the bush pilot while we were on the summit. It was a breathless, warm-for-Denali day. I don’t know the exact temperature, but I was up there with light gloves and a baseball cap and my down jacket unzipped. It was just gorgeous,” says Norton, who hopes to go back and explore more of Alaska’s mountains in the future. Where the top of Denali differs from some of Norton’s successful Himalayan climbs is the scope of the view. While atop many of those Asian peaks means more mountains around him, the way Denali towers over everything made for an even more spectacular vista point. “It felt more (like being) on top of the world than the summit of Everest does,” says Norton. -Chris Cocoles
DECEMBER 2023 | aksportingjournal.com
aksportingjournal.com | DECEMBER 2023
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OUTDOOR CALENDAR Dec. 15 Last day to apply for 2024-25 hunting draws Dec. 16 Safari Club International Alaska’s Christmas Party and Awards Dinner, Anchorage Marriott (aksafariclub.org) Dec. 31 Brown bear season ends in Game Management Unit 1 (Southeast Mainland) Dec. 31 Most brown bear and deer seasons end in GMU 4 (Admiralty/Baranof/Chichagof Islands) Dec. 31 Deer season ends in GMU 6 (North Gulf Coast/Prince William Sound) Dec. 31 Brown bear season ends in GMU 6D (Montague Island) Jan. 1 Nonresident black bear hunting (without the use of registered guides) opens in GMU 2 (Prince of Wales Island) Jan. 15 Last day of resident moose hunting season in GMU 9B (Kvichak River drainage) Jan. 20 Last day of resident moose hunting in GMU 9D (western Alaska Peninsula) Jan. 31 Last day of goat season in GMU 6 Feb. 3 Yukon Quest sled dog race starts, Fairbanks (yukonquest.com) March 2 Scheduled ceremonial start of Iditarod sled dog race, downtown Anchorage (iditarod.com)
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RESTORING FLOW AND HABITAT FO CRIPPLE CREEK SA
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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
DECEMBER 2023 | aksportingjournal.com
PROTECTING
WILD ALASKA
OWS FOR SALMON
BY CHRISTIAN THORSBERG
M
itch Osborne, as is often the case when the conversation turns to salmon, spoke excitedly – waving his arms, pointing to maps, lifting photographs high in the air – when a distant silver flash suddenly caught his eye, interrupting his runaway address. The crowd of two dozen people followed his finger to the banks of the Chena River and laughed as Osborne, a now-retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, became suddenly absorbed in the hawk-eyed sighting: “There’s a little fish hitting over on the far side.” The fish – perhaps a salmon, perhaps a cisco, perhaps an Arctic grayling – was a perfect portrait for the message of Osborne’s energetic presentation that Sunday morning in late July. “When we talk about Cripple Creek, we’re talking about juvenile Chinook and chum salmon,” Osborne said to the group, which included members of the local media, Fairbanks-based partners, and Anchorage-based USFWS employees and federal agency Director Martha Williams. All had gathered in Fairbanks to learn about and celebrate the ongoing restoration of Cripple Creek. “We’re talking about little guys needing refuge habitat,” he said.
AN ENTIRE WATERSHED IMPACTED
An interpretive sign details how Cripple Creek was diverted in the 1930s but that most of its streambed still exists. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others have restored flows to the original channel of this Chena River tributary near Fairbanks and plan to work on more habitat projects upstream. (CHRISTIAN THORSBERG/USFWS)
Nearly 90 years ago, Cripple Creek’s natural streamflow was abandoned, its water diverted into an artificial drain that carried waste and sediment away from Fairbanks mining operations. Even after mining activity diminished many years ago, the effects of this change persisted – in such a straight, channelized stream, salmon habitat was severely depleted. These effects have been felt for decades, and not just in Fairbanks. According to Holly Carroll, USFWS Yukon River federal subsistence fisheries manager, the Tanana drainage – to which Cripple Creek is connected – “contains the spawning grounds of more than a quarter of the total Yukon Chinook and
aksportingjournal.com | DECEMBER 2023
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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PROTECTING
WILD ALASKA chum summer runs.” Most of the 44 communities along the Yukon River drainage depend on salmon for at least 50 percent of their diet. “If we see continued degradation on these spawning grounds,” Carroll said, “we will see larger decreases in the Alaskan stocks of the Yukon River fish.” These high stakes have inspired local calls to action over the past decade. In the effort to improve riparian habitat, hundreds of Fairbanksans – from students to partner organizations to private landowners – have been involved. Many know Cripple Creek as an important neighbor, a teacher of fishing and subsistence lifeways, and even as an inspiration for ecological art projects. “This cuts across our whole community,” said Owen Guthrie, president of the Interior Alaska Land Trust and the vice chancellor of student affairs and enrollment management at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. “Everybody wants to be involved and bring different resources to the table. Many parties have come together, all around the shared appreciation and values when it comes to salmon.”
Mitch Osborne, a retired USFWS biologist, gives a presentation to agency partners and employees in front of a Cripple Creek interpretive sign in Fairbanks. (CHRISTIAN THORSBERG/USFWS)
STUDENTS FIND FLOW AND MEASURE MACROS Beginning in 2017, four projects were targeted as having the biggest impacts on Cripple Creek’s restoration: Improving the fish passage of the culvert at Old Chena Ridge Road; creating a new culvert at Chena Ridge Road; replacing culverts running underneath Chena Spur Road; and restoring the flow to the historic channel from Happy Creek and Cripple Creek drain. The projects proceeded successfully, save for one setback. The newly created
Chief Rhonda Pitka’s grandmother’s fish camp, which has been abandoned for four years due to a lack of salmon on the Yukon River. (CHRISTIAN THORSBERG/USFWS) 28
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
DECEMBER 2023 | aksportingjournal.com
in-stream structures, designed to redirect flow through to the original channel, didn’t survive the late spring of 2020. The obstacle led Susan Glade – then an undergraduate student at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and pursuing a degree in natural resources and the environment – and Maggie House, also a UAF student and BLaST scholar, to pursue an idea that Osborne had pitched. “They had [originally] assumed there was no stream flow in the winter, that the channel was frozen solid,” Glade said. “But what if there was still flow, and all winter it had been eroding shrubbery and grasses? And what if that erosion influenced the eventual failure of the dams?” From January through March of 2022, with a research grant and a sled full of tools, Glade and House snowshoed atop the frozen creek in minus-30-degree weather. At three different locations, they consistently took three different measurements: snow depth, ice depth and water depth. As springtime dawned, the duo analyzed their data. To their surprise, water had been flowing beneath the ice in two locations throughout the channel. Discovering this overwinter erosion, Glade said, was the missing piece in understanding the channel’s behavior. “We presented our findings to Mitch, as well as to different citizen science forums,” Glade said. “That allowed the engineers to use the proper geotextiles and bank stability techniques to create the dam that they have now.”
PROTECTING
WILD ALASKA The redesigned single structure, similar to a dam, was constructed in the late summer of 2022 and worked perfectly through the spring and summer of 2023. Meanwhile, House, who is also majoring in natural resources and the environment, is taking the research one step further. When the weather warms, she returns to Cripple Creek with kick nets and collects macroinvertebrates – caddisflies, mayflies and chironomids – from its waters. “Macroinvertebrates are indicators of water quality,” she said. “The more biodiverse the sample, essentially, the healthier the water is.” House’s small-scale biomonitoring has big impacts for Fairbanks and Interior Alaska at large. The samples she collects inform biologists on what fish are eating. And because macroinvertebrates can only live in specific conditions, subtle changes in climate, weather and precipitation can be gleaned through the study of microscopic life. Of course, House said, what happens on a small scale is relevant for other species too, especially humans. The fish we depend on and live with are reliant on macroinvertebrates themselves, who steward healthy waters. “I have had community members
With help from a small fire to heat up her metal instrument, Susan Glade measures snow and ice depth on a frozen Cripple Creek. (SUSAN GLADE)
come down to me when I was taking samples and ask, ‘What’s going on?’” House said. “When I tell them that I’m trying to make sure there’s healthy habitat, they’re so relieved and happy that they know the channel isn’t going to be destroyed, that it’s being worked on for the benefit of the community.”
YOUNG LEARNERS ARE BIG HELPERS, TOO Young, local scientists stewarding riparian habitat is music to the ears of Scott Faulkner and Joni Scharfenberg, both with the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District. Their organization
leads a variety of education courses and camps – both during the summer and school year – to help young learners better understand and gain experience in the fields of fish biology, streambank restoration and habitat resiliency. As a USFWS partner throughout Cripple Creek’s restoration, they say these hands-on experiences double as useful information-sharing opportunities. In their primary partnership with USFWS, Faulkner and Scharfenberg say students completed fish occupancy counts for up to eight species in Cripple Creek. They also learned and collected data about water quality, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen and biodiversity. As these programs progress into the future and expand, so too, they hope, will their students continue to give back and study their local habitats, as Glade and House have. “We have a high rate of returning students,” Faulkner said. “It’s at least at 90 percent. And we’ve had many students graduate through the program who are now actively involved in conservation, or are biologists.”
'JUST ONE SMALL PIECE’ Using various scientific tools, Maggie House collects and identifies macroinvertebrates caught in her kick net. (MAGGIE HOUSE) 30
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Last autumn, clean water flowed through Cripple Creek’s original, natural channel for the first time in more than 80 years. It was an emotional season and the culmination
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WILD ALASKA of hundreds of meetings, dozens of partnerships and years of hard work. But, as Guthrie said, there is still progress to make. As biologists, engineers and partners continue to monitor and study the health of Cripple Creek, there is a great opportunity to couple restoration with education. “A lot of people don't really know
Scott Faulkner of the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District has helped spearhead a program to get local students involved in the restoration work. (CHRISTIAN THORSBERG/USFWS)
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Owen Guthrie, president of the Interior Alaska Land Trust explains the history of Cripple Creek to a group of USFWS employees, project partners and members of the local media. “Many parties have come together, all around the shared appreciation and values when it comes to salmon,” he says. (CHRISTIAN THORSBERG/USFWS)
how much mining has affected our landscape, long-term,” Guthrie said. “This is an opportunity to share placebased teaching, where people can see the history of that impact and how we’re trying to restore habitat for salmon.” According to Guthrie, next steps for the restoration community will include looking upstream and identifying ways to extend the amount of restored habitat further inland. “This story is almost 100 years in the
DECEMBER 2023 | aksportingjournal.com
making,” Guthrie said. “This is just one small piece of it, but it’s a really, really bright moment.” ASJ Editor’s note Christian Thorsberg is a communications specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Learn more about the restoration of Cripple Creek, one of many projects in the Gravel to Gravel Keystone Initiative, at fws.gov/ library/collections/gravel-gravel-keystoneinitiative-project-pages.
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With the state of Alaska, led by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, pursuing legal action at the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse Environmental Protection Agency safeguards blocking the Pebble Mine’s construction, Bristol Bay tribal groups are again fighting back to protect the salmon runs that have sustained generations of Native families. (LIAN LAW/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE)
TRIBAL ORGS FILE PEBBLE BRIEFS
MOVE COUNTERS DUNLEAVY’S BID TO HAVE SUPREME COURT REVERSE EPA MINE DECISION BY CHRIS COCOLES
T
he state of Alaska – with Gov. Mike Dunleavy as its front man – wants to take the Pebble Mine saga to the highest court in the land. Bristol Bay’s Native organizations are fighting to protect their culture and traditions. While the longtime proposed copper and gold mine project has officially been scuttled by Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act safeguards, the latest twist involved Gov. Dunleavy announcing that he and Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor would seek intervention
from the United States Supreme Court to reverse the EPA’s decision (Alaska Sporting Journal, August 2023) via legal action. Fast forward to November, and an Alaskan Native coalition led by United Tribes of Bristol Bay and Bristol Bay Native Corporation filed an amicus brief “to counter Gov. Dunleavy’s lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its Clean Water Act veto of the Pebble Mine,” as stated in a press release. A day later, the principles who filed the brief held a press conference to discuss
the details of their arguments. United Tribes of Bristol Bay executive director Alannah Hurley, a veteran of a decades-long quest to ensure Pebble never happens, stated, “Unfortunately, after 20 years, we’re still here fighting a hostile governor trying to transform our home into a toxic mining district.” “Gov. Dunleavy refuses to acknowledge the facts, the law, the science and is disregarding not only Alaskans, (but) the millions of people in this country who used their voices
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United Tribes of Bristol Bay executive director Alannah Hurley (top left), Daniel Cheyette, VP/Lands and Resources, Bristol Bay Native Corporation (bottom left) and attorney David Frederick (bottom right) all believe the state’s lawsuit to get the Supreme Court involved is unsubstantiated. “The extent that the state of Alaska wants to press its claims, it should be doing so in the (federal) District Court or the Court of Claims,” Cheyette says. (YOUTUBE)
in support of protecting Bristol Bay,” Hurley added. “Their lawsuit ignores the EPA’s work and action that has spanned three Presidential administrations, multiple lawsuits and is grounded into years of science.”
A UNIQUE CASE Washington, D.C.-based attorney David Frederick, a partner at law firm Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick PLLC, who represents the tribal coalition in the amicus brief, called the state of Alaska’s specific lawsuit “a really unique procedure.” “Where Article Three of the Constitution is invoked to resolve the dispute between a state and another state or a state and the United States, what Alaska is seeking to do here is jurisdictionally unprecedented in our research,” he said. “We have not found a single case in which a state has sued the United States directly in the Supreme Court for the challenge (of) an agency action like the EPA’s 404(c) determination.” “Similarly, we have not found a case 36
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where a state has sued the United States claiming a breach of contract or a taking of property, which Alaska serves here, instead of going to the court of federal claims, which Congress specifically set up to handle these kinds of disputes. So what Alaska is seeking to do here, it is unprecedented, it has no logic in the way that Congress has determined the jurisdiction of federal courts or cases to be brought against the United States Government. And we urge in very strong terms in our amicus brief that the Supreme Court deny Alaska’s motion used to file a complaint.” Frederick expects the Supreme Court to decide whether to add the case to its docket list in January, and he added that if it, as expected, denies the state of Alaska’s motion to proceed, “it will be up to Alaska to decide its next move. In our case, we believe that the normal process would be for Alaska to file a (federal) District Court action challenging the EPA’s determination, and that the process would play out pursuant to a suit brought back to Alaska.” In response, Pebble Limited
DECEMBER 2023 | aksportingjournal.com
Partnership and parent Canadian-based mining company Northern Dynasty Minerals filed their own amicus brief. “It is a critical policy choice, buried under a comparatively modest provision in the Clean Water Act. Northern Dynasty and its historical partners have collectively invested over $1 billion to develop a comprehensive plan to bring the Pebble copper to market,” Northern Dynasty’s brief stated. “For EPA to destroy what the state and the company worked so hard to create will not only deprive the United States of one of its largest potential copper sources, but will also discourage and impede investment in other potential mines.” And for their part, United Tribes of Bristol Bay and Bristol Bay Native Corporation – which are two of several commercial fishing, conservation and environmental organizations as well as Bristol Bay sportfishing lodges and other businesses that have dug in against Pebble – are willing to work with the state to ensure that the mine never gets off the ground as well as protect Bristol Bay’s multi-billion-
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Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been the state’s most vocal elected official to support the Pebble project. “I was told if I supported Pebble, I would never win another election. Well, I don’t know. I’m here. I’m still here,” he said at the Alaska Miners Association Conference. (GOV. MIKE DUNLEAVY)
dollar salmon fishing industry. “We’re open to discussions in the governor’s office as to what that would look like. Undoubtedly, the state of Alaska is a stakeholder in this, as are our organizations. And we want to have that dialogue as opposed to being in court and litigating,” said Daniel Cheyette, VP and associate general counsel at Bristol Bay Native Corporation. Cheyette also acknowledges that the plot twists seen in this saga could shift momentum again. “We believe in the administrative record that supports what the EPA has done. We believe that it is durable and will stop Pebble. But administrations change. It is possible to be administratively undone,” he said. “So while we don’t think it would happen, we certainly are interested in more durable legislative proposals that would more permanently protect the region from threats like Pebble.”
WHAT DO THE PEOPLE WANT? In October, Dunleavy spoke at the Alaska Miners Association Conference and reportedly said that his comfortable reelection in the gubernatorial race contrasts the notion that as one of Alaska’s most vocal elected proponents for Pebble, it would affect his chances of remaining the incumbent. “I was told if I supported Pebble, I would never win another election. Well, 38
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I don’t know. I’m here. I’m still here,” Dunleavy said at the conference. When told about Dunleavy’s remarks, Hurley and Cheyette dismissed the claims. Alaska’s Congressional leaders in Washington – Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola – have in various degrees opposed the project. Peltola, like Dunleavy, also recently won an election to win Alaska’s only seat in the House, replacing the late Rep. Don Young. “The governor trying to claim that his reelection is somehow an indication that people in this state overwhelmingly support the project is just not true,” Hurley said. “It’s a really big assertion that there is no backing for.” “Gov. Dunleavy is completely out of touch with the people he claims to represent with this outrageous lawsuit. Time and time again, the vast majority of Alaskans have called on our elected leaders to stop the proposed Pebble Mine, but Gov. Dunleavy is clearly on a reckless mission to defend this dead project regardless of the law, science and cost to Alaskans.”
FIGHTING FOR THEIR TRADITIONS Perhaps no single entity in the longstanding fight against Pebble has more at stake than Bristol Bay’s Native community. As the site of one of the world’s last great salmon runs, Bristol Bay has fed
DECEMBER 2023 | aksportingjournal.com
generations of families. On its website, United Tribes of Bristol Bay states, “We are a tribal consortium working to protect the traditional Yup’ik, Dena’ina and Alutiiq ways of life in Southwest Alaska that depend on the pristine Bristol Bay Watershed and all it sustains.” Hurley has made passionate pleas in the past to maintain her family’s livelihood of relying on returning salmon year after year within Bristol Bay. She feels confident in the 404(c)’s administrative record and the EPA’s Clean Water Act safeguards that for now would protect the region from the Pebble Mine. “But it is clear with the over 20 other active mining proposals (in Alaska), that our region is still in need of broader watershed-wide protections through Congressional action and any type of legislation that’s going to help us ensure that our grandchildren are not fighting these projects piecemeal from now until eternity,” she warned. “That’s not fair to the people of Bristol Bay; that’s not fair to this state. We’re really in need of broader watershed-wide protections, so that Bristol Bay can continue being the salmon powerhouse that it has been for thousands of years.” In a statement, Russell Nelson, chair of Bristol Bay Native Corporation’s board of directors, praised Alaskans in Bristol Bay and around the state for their persistence in preventing the mine’s construction. “More importantly, EPA’s work in Bristol Bay is grounded in solid science and an important regulatory obligation to protect the invaluable salmon resource that has sustained our people since time immemorial,” Nelson said. “It is extremely disappointing that the state of Alaska is seeking to prop up a mine proposal that science and federal administrations of both parties have roundly rejected. As we have for well over a decade, BBNC and our shareholders will never back down from the fight for our water, our fish, our economy, and our way of life.” ASJ Editor’s note: You can read the full Alaska tribal group’s amicus brief at supremecourt.gov/ D o c k e t P D F/ 2 2 / 2 2 O 1 5 7/ 2 8 9 1 76 / 20231109093415629_UTBB-BBNC%20 amicus%20brief%20--%20Alaska%20 v.%20U.S.%20--%20No.%20157%20 Orig.pdf.
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THE ROAD ENDS H
HUNTERS, ANGLERS MAKE PASSIONATE CASE AGAINST AMBLER PROJECT BY BJORN DIHLE
I
was on my hands and knees on a mountainside in the Brooks Range searching for the last of the season’s shriveled, half-frozen blueberries. It was early September; winter was not far away. I was seven weeks into a two-part traverse of the mountain range and had timed my food supply to last to a rendezvous point where two friends were supposed to fly in with more, as well as inflatable boats. Then, we’d float the 400 miles to the Chukchi Sea. However, they’d failed to show up on our agreed-upon date. I knew it was probably a weather hold, but with no food I was growing rapidly weaker each passing day. A rushing sound startled me and I rolled over, yanking my pistol out. I figured it was a grizzly. Instead, six bull caribou charged past just yards away. Something had been chasing them. I cocked my pistol, aimed at the smallest one and thought about ending my hunger. As I watched the caribou disappear into the tundra, I wondered if I’d made the wrong decision not pulling the trigger. I didn’t want to waste meat or
attract bears, but maybe something had happened and my friends weren’t coming. Suddenly, a howl rose up from the valley below. Other wolves joined in. I spent the next few hours limping through the willows, hoping to find a fresh caribou kill, until I gave up and sat on a tussock with my head in my hands. A nearby howl roused me. A white wolf appeared on a knoll, a sentinel, eying me suspiciously as the rest of its pack feasted on a caribou back in the willows.
THE BROOKS RANGE IS Alaska’s Arctic-
most mountain range, and it stretches roughly 700 miles across the top of the state. It is many things to different people, but outdoorsmen and -women know it as America’s most wild and remote hunting and fishing grounds. I’m a lifelong Alaskan hunter who, even before my parents set me free in the woods with a .22 rifle, lived vicariously through my dad’s annual hunts. I’ve hunted caribou in the Arctic numerous times. It was the same year, 2009, that I made the two-part, nine-week traverse of
A caribou bull and a spectacular backdrop just north of the Brooks Range make for a compelling argument against approving the Ambler Road Project, which many feel threatens caribou herds and fishing and hunting opportunities in the region. (BJORN DIHLE) 40
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the Brooks Range that the Ambler Road project became public knowledge. Not long after that trek, I sat in on a legislative listening session in Juneau to learn more. Being surrounded by politicians was a bizarre juxtaposition to the thousands of caribou, dozens of grizzlies, Dall sheep, wolves and wolverine I’d recently experienced in the field. But it was there that I learned the Ambler Road project would be a 211-mile-long industrial road with an up-to-400-foot right-of-way across the Brooks Range to help foreign-owned companies develop at least four – and probably more – open-pit copper, lead, zinc and gold mines. The road would act as a gateway for more industrial development to sprawl through the Brooks Range. It would also cost approximately $2 billion, financed by the publicly funded Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, a state-owned corporation. In theory, the cost would be paid back through tolls paid by mining companies. In reality, that is a big and questionable
S HERE
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act of faith. The preferred route would cross 11 rivers and around 2,900 streams, degrading fish and wildlife habitat, and be closed to the public. The memory that stands out about that legislative listening session was a state representative berating a woman after she raised concerns that the megaproject would negatively affect the Western Arctic Caribou Herd.
“All I ever hear is about caribou! People need jobs! They need something to wake up in the morning for!” he yelled. I’ve followed the Ambler Project ever since that meeting. Altogether, I’ve probably spent six months hunting and wandering the Brooks Range, and it’s offered me perspective on what’s at stake. I’ve also had conversations with people in the mining industry who have
called the megaproject a good economic opportunity for the region’s population. A lot of the minerals could be used for green energy. Yet one geologist confided that he hoped the project would never be built because he had experienced the Brooks Range and he thought it was more valuable to leave the place as it was. And I’ve chatted with people who live in the Brooks Range and who’ve said if the
Two hunters return to caribou camp in the Brooks Range. The Ambler Road would skirt the southern flanks of the mountains – home to diverse species of wildlife – along its 211-mile-long gravel course from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District. (AARON HITCHINS) 42
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Ambler Road Project were to happen, it would be the “death of deep wilderness and the end of a lifestyle.”
I’VE TALKED WITH HUNTERS who are fully aware that a trip to Alaska’s Brooks Range is the trip of a lifetime. With no public access and the road’s potentially devastating impacts to fish and game, the megaproject is a lose-lose situation
Author Bjorn Dihle surprised this brown bear during a long trek through the area where the road is proposed. “The preferred route would cross 11 rivers and around 2,900 streams, degrading fish and wildlife habitat, and be closed to the public.” (BJORN DIHLE)
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for all of us who live by the rifle and rod. That’s a large reason why opposition against the proposal is rapidly growing among hunters and anglers. The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s mission is pretty simple: “To guarantee all Americans have quality places to hunt and fish.” The Ambler Road endangers one of the nation’s greatest places to do that. That’s why TRCP has helped organize Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range (huntfishbrooksrange. com), which “is a collective of seasoned hunters, anglers, conservationists and leading outdoor brands.” All “are committed to defending the wild and remote character of Alaska's Brooks Range – a world-class hunting and fishing destination – from the proposed Ambler Industrial Road.” Jen Leahy, the Alaska program manager for TRCP, is clear why the Ambler Road is a bad idea. “The risks of this proposal far outweigh the benefits. Hunters and anglers understand the Brooks Range is most valuable exactly how it is: vast, wild, and remote. This is the kind of place you take your dad for his last big
hunt. It’s where you bring your kids for a wilderness float trip they’ll always remember. Even in Alaska, this degree of solitude is rare. We’re not willing to trade the enduring legacy of the Brooks Range for wildly optimistic promises by foreign-owned mining companies.”
IT’S NOT JUST PEOPLE looking to experience a trip of a lifetime to the wildest country left in North America who are opposing the megaproject. Dozens of Alaska Native Tribes are collectively represented by multiple standing resolutions opposing the Ambler Road. Their main reason is that the road, if built, would negatively impact traditional ways of life, to which hunting and fishing is essential. The Native corporation Doyon, the largest private landholder in Alaska, recently canceled a land access agreement with AIDEA, citing “poor treatment.” They have no plan to enter a new land access agreement with AIDEA for the 10 to 12 miles of Doyon’s land the road would cross. This announcement creates a serious hitch in turning the Ambler Road into a reality.
Nonetheless, AIDEA announced it intends to spend $7 million in 2024 on the Ambler Road Project. That will mean AIDEA has spent $54 million on its efforts on the megaproject so far. Where and how that money has and will be used is unclear. An independent audit in 2022 exposed AIDEA as a “floundering entity” that has lost Alaska $10 billion since its formation 41 years ago. AIDEA board member Albert Fogle was quoted in an Anchorage Daily News report that the Ambler Road project is “near and dear to my heart,” and that the corporation should “really push the envelope on getting those developments. If that means going above and beyond, we need to do it. I mean, take some dozers and drills and make it happen.” There is a good reason why AIDEA clings to the dream of making the proposed Ambler Road a reality. If built, it would very likely lead to an industrial sprawl of roads, and multitudes of mine and oil developments from the Dalton Highway to the Chukchi Sea. It would result in significant adverse impacts to wildlife, wild lands and the people who care about those things. To some
Hunting and fishing this “vast, wild, and remote” country is something Alaskans and Lower 48 visitors dream of. Those same outdoorsmen and -women – not to mention Alaskan Natives – worry that the Ambler Road Project could harm fish and wildlife habitat. (BJORN DIHLE) 44
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DECEMBER NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ARTICLE SPOTLIGHTS PUZZLING CARIBOU DECLINES
A
s Alaska’s famed Western Arctic Caribou Herd, which Ambler Road critics say could be affected if the project is permitted, continues to decline, an unanswered question is this: What is the reason some caribou populations are declining? Alaska Department of Fish and Game surveys have painted a dismal picture for the Western Arctic herd, which dropped sharply from 479,000 animals in the early 1990s through the mid-2010s, saw a modest increase around 2017, and then another decrease to only 152,000 bulls, cows and calves counted in 2023 surveys. A bit of good news? The drop between 2022 and 2023 was less than the previous year, but it’s also still the fewest caribou that have been in the herd since the early 1980s.
When National Geographic magazine sent writer Neil Shea to Alaska and Canada’s Northwest Territories to figure out reasons behind the widespread decline of caribou, answers were as elusive as the animals themselves. “I didn’t think there was a terrestrial large mammal left in North America that we didn’t know much about,” U.S. Geological Survey wildlife biologist Heather Johnson told Shea. “I thought, how can we possibly know so little about these animals? But then an older colleague said, ‘Heather, you’ve got to flip that around: You should be impressed that we know even as much as we do.’” But whether it’s climate change, overhunting, predation, mining or energy extraction, there doesn’t appear to be a definitive talking point to build on.
“I think by now if there was just one thing, we’d know it,” Canadian biologist Jan Adamczewski said in the December 2023 issue story. “But when you draw up a list of all the things that might be affecting caribou, it can be a very long list. And when you draw up a list of things you can do about it, it’s usually a very short list.” Still, the report points out that industrial development like the proposed Ambler Road project would bring probably wouldn’t help herds like the Western Arctic either and is something to be concerned about in terms of the species’ long-term outlook. “If there’s one thing they don’t like, it’s industrial development,” Johnson told NatGeo. “They are just really sensitive to development. It’s been shown so many times.” -Chris Cocoles
A Bureau of Land Management map shows land ownership in the Ambler Road project area (Alternative A is the preferred 211-mile route). Approved by the Trump Administration in 2020, subsequent lawsuits led the Biden Administration to suspend that OK for BLM to perform more studies. The agency’s draft supplemental environmental impact statement, released in October, identified “66 communities whose subsistence activities could be potentially impacted” and found “that any road alternative may significantly restrict subsistence uses in nearly half of these communities.” Public comment on the SEIS runs through December 22, 2023. (BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT) aksportingjournal.com | DECEMBER 2023
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people, that cost pales in comparison to the money that might be made.
WHILE ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITY of
Bears and wolves rely in part on the dwindling Western Arctic Caribou Herd, as well as other game, for their food sources. (BJORN DIHLE)
Alaska in the early 2000s, I’d drive once or twice a year up the Dalton Highway into the Brooks Range to hunt caribou. Back then the Western Arctic Caribou Herd population was estimated at 490,000. Today, it’s down to 152,000. Some locals have difficulty getting the meat they need. Under very controversial orders, significant portions of federal lands in Game Management Units 23 and 26a were closed to nonlocal caribou and moose hunters for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. It is unclear what will happen for the 2024 season, but it is clear that the Ambler Road would likely disrupt caribou migrations, which could ultimately result in even fewer hunting opportunities for all
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is among the most vocal opponents of the road. “We’re not willing to trade the enduring legacy of the Brooks Range for wildly optimistic promises by foreign-owned mining companies,” says Jen Leahy, TRCP’s Alaska program manager. (BJORN DIHLE) 46
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DECEMBER 2023 | aksportingjournal.com
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For Dihle, a lifelong Alaska adventurer, the Brooks Range is a special place worth protecting. “With no public access and the road’s devastating impacts to fish and game, the megaproject is a lose-lose situation for all of us who live by the rifle and rod,” he writes. (BJORN DIHLE)
There’s an elegant simplicity to shed caribou antlers buried in heavy snow in the shadows of the Brooks Range that makes these lands worth fighting for. (BJORN DIHLE)
A geologist confided to the author that the Ambler Road Project could spell the “death of deep wilderness and the end of a lifestyle.” (AARON HITCHINS)
user groups. My hunts and wanders up in the Brooks Range have been some of my favorite moments. The second part of my nine-week traverse was three weeks alone, paralleling the route the Ambler Road would take. I lost track of how many thousands of caribou I walked with – at least 20,000. I saw somewhere between 50 and 60 grizzlies. One night I awoke, gun in hand, and ripped open the vestibule as a bear trampled the lower part of my tent. I came upon wolves at a den. I got stalked for hours by a sick, injured wolf. 48
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During those 60 or so days in the field, I encountered only three other people. I’ve hunted and wandered much of Alaska, and the Brooks Range is the wildest, most epic country I’ve experienced. For me, and other hunters and anglers, that is definitely something worth waking up in the morning for.
THE BUREAU OF LAND Management recently released a draft supplemental environmental impact statement for the proposed Ambler Road Project. The statement makes it clear that if built, the megaproject would negatively affect
DECEMBER 2023 | aksportingjournal.com
local and visiting hunters and anglers. The public has until December 22, 2023 to comment on the project’s EIS and take a stand safeguarding the future of America’s hunting and angling opportunities. ASJ Editor’s notes: To comment on the project, go to https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanningui/project/57323/510. Author Bjorn Dihle is a lifelong Alaskan and hunter. This article was sponsored by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (trcp.org). Its mission is to guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish.
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FROM BOREDOM T A BULL IN A FLAS
“Moose hunting can be painstakingly boring,” writes author Brian Watkins, who worked hard to try and get his old college buddy Dave Moore an elusive bull on Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson near Anchorage. (LISA HUPP/USFWS) 50
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M TO ASH Watkins had hunted this area five years before and helped a longtime Alaska roommate score a moose of her own. Now, he hoped Moore could follow suit and fill his tag. (BRIAN WATKINS)
MOOSE HUNTERS PRACTICE PATIENCE AS THEY LOOK TO FILL A TAG ON JOINT BASE ELMENDORF RICHARDSON BY BRIAN WATKINS
M
oose hunting can be painstakingly boring, as I’ve discovered many times while pursuing these giants. My best friend from college, Dave Moore, drew an awesome moose tag that encompasses a large part of Anchorage. It’s a bow-only tag that is on Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson along the outer edges of the city. Dave is just getting into hunting. I took him under my wing and showed him how the draw system in Alaska works, gave him some insights and showed him the ropes. He applied for the JBER tag because it’s close to Anchorage and is for any bull. I knew it would be a great tag for him to draw because I could help him out throughout the season and come assist anytime something happened because it’s so close to home. Luck was on Dave’s side, as he drew the highly coveted tag despite only 2 percent draw odds. The tag season runs from September 1 through November 15, leaving a lot of opportunity for Dave to find a moose and for me to teach him how to hunt for a bull. The start of the season occurs during the pre-rut and the landscape doesn’t afford much opportunity to glass, as much of the Army and Air Force base is set on low-lying land. I figured the best way to find a bull was by covering ground. We took fat-tire bikes out on trails to see if we could get lucky. We did not. But let me repeat: Moose hunting can be painstakingly boring. I headed out of town for a couple of weeks to hunt goats and deer as Dave continued to pedal his way around the base looking for moose. He didn’t turn up any bulls, but he did lay eyes on a couple cows.
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The author says that when cow-calling for big bulls, sometimes it pays to be a bit under the weather, as he was back in 2016. A scratchy throat only adds to the call’s effectiveness. (BRIAN WATKINS)
The successful calling and patience the hunters displayed allowed Moore to take a close-range shot with his bow. (BRIAN WATKINS)
PATIENCE IS KEY FOR scoring a moose.
Moore shows off his well-earned prize. (BRIAN WATKINS) 52
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While the actual shot always seems to happen fast, things can move very slowly beforehand. As September moves along, it’s time to start doing a little bit of calling. The bulls move a lot in early September, so I try to mimic that. While walking trails slowly, I try to sound heavy on my feet and grunt as I walk. I use a deep call from down in my chest, an “EWWWA.” I typically do very light bush-beating this time of year. The bulls will scrape their velvet off, but they don’t seem to be raking trees very heavily. I’ll rarely use cow calls. My goal is to cover ground and coax a bull into seeing what other bulls are around. I hear a lot of people letting out the standard long cow call, but it’s just too early. If there’s any cow calling at all, it should be soft calls with the same purpose as the bull grunt – to coax a bull out. The long cow “locator calls” are meant to get bulls that are in full rut coming from long distances away. I save those for later. Deeper into September I start bull grunting and raking brush a bit more aggressively. I also like to wait for the first frost of the year to start the long cow calls. Once that frost hits, I let out the standard cow locator calls: three long “EERRRRRRRRAAAAAAHH” calls, with the third having a lot of cadences to it. Back in 2016, I had a cold during the heart of the rut. It caused my throat to be scratchier than normal. I believe having that bug boosted my calling abilities tenfold. Every noise I made had the bulls
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moving. I’m not sure if it was just a good year or if that made a difference, but if you can get a scratch to your call, give it a try.
The author was just as excited about his old buddy scoring his first big game animal with a bow. “The excitement and adrenaline flowed,” Watkins writes. (BRIAN WATKINS) 54
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DAVE AND I STARTED seeing a lot more action as the rut picked up into October. We found cows more readily and knew we would turn a bull up in due time. Now that the rut was on, I was really getting into the calling sequences. The later the season gets, the more my calling picks up. In the back third of September, I call every 30 minutes and remain silent between. At the very end of September and with this tag continuing through October, my sequences were every 10 to 15 minutes. I would cow call with three long calls. Then after 10 minutes, I’d let out shorter, quieter calls. With it being an any-bull tag, I figured the smaller bulls would be moving around quite a bit. In between those calls, I would beat the brush extremely aggressively and bull grunt while I did so. Back in 2018, my older roommate had this same tag. I called a bull into 20 yards for her on October 7. With that in mind, I felt confident Dave and I could get it done and fill his tag as well. We sat in the same spot from five years earlier. A half hour before dark I mentioned to Dave that we could move and call to see if we could expand our range. Dave said, “Let’s just stay here and see if anything turns up.” Boy, was he right. I agreed and said, “Well, I am going to get super aggressive then.” Cow-calling nonstop, I looked off to my left and saw a moose! The bull was coming on a beeline to my calling. He had seen me, so I threw my hands in the air to mimic another bull. This has worked in the past to get a bull to close in; it can literally bring them into your lap. This bull made his way toward us. As it came closer, Dave asked if he should rise up to shoot. We were both crouched down, so I said not yet, as I could tell the bull wanted to check us out. He came between a small sapling at just 4 yards from us. We waited for the bull to turn broadside and then Dave sent an arrow into the bull. His first big game animal with a bow ever! The excitement and adrenaline flowed as we watched Dave’s bull find his final resting place. So yes, moose hunting can be painfully boring. But when a bull is coming in and you get a shot, it’s thrilling. ASJ
TROPHY HUNTING IN B.C.
WOLF
BLACK BEAR MOOSE TAIN GOAT Contact Us To N U O M L YNX Start Your Hunting Adventure 250-644-0081 • telkwariveroutfitters@gmail.com • telkwariveroutfitters.com
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ATTENTION, HOLIDAY S FIELD-TESTED AND -APPROVED GEAR GIFT IDEAS FOR OUTDOOR LOVERS
BY SCOTT HAUGEN
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hristmas is my favorite holiday, and yes, I like Christmas music and colorful lights. Another thing I love about Christmas is the gifts; not so much getting them, but giving them. This year I got to try a lot of great gear and here’s a look at what I loved and will keep using.
PELICAN COOLERS I first used the Pelican 14-quart Personal Cooler on dog training sessions and big game scouting trips last summer. I was so pleased with its ability to keep things cold and frozen that I stepped up to their 70-quart Elite cooler; I’m glad I did.
Both coolers serve specific needs while I’m hunting and camping. The Elite is one of the best-performing big coolers I’ve ever used – be it on extended hunts, weekend outings or defrosting freezers at home. The latch and seal systems are user-friendly, and I love the nonskid feet. Rugged handles and durable design are built for protection and performance. These coolers are Alaska tough! Info: pelican.com.
SLAYER’S RANGER DUCK CALLS I instantly fell in love with Slayer Calls’ The Ranger, a double-reed call that’s easy to run, offers excellent sound control and
Incoming! Brant bomb into a spread of Big Al’s silhouette decoys. Haugen has used these decoys with consistent success in Alaska, the Lower 48 and Mexico. (SCOTT HAUGEN) 56
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gets the attention of ducks. The Ranger can handle a lot of air, which is ideal for getting ducks to look on those windy, stormy days in the wide-open spaces of Alaska. Info: $135, slayercalls.com.
BIG AL’S SILHOUETTE DECOYS Whether you’re hunting brant in a bay, cacklers on the tundra or ducks on a pond, Big Al’s silhouette decoys are worth checking out. They’re durable, fast and easy to set out and then reposition as needed and pick up, and the photofinish quality of these silhouettes is the best I’ve seen and used. I’ve hunted with them in parts of
FIELD
Y SHOPPERS! Alaska, multiple places in the Lower 48 and even Mexico, and their performance and ability to fool waterfowl is why I’ll keep using them. Info: bigalsdecoys.com.
BENCHMADE FLYWAY KNIFE I once helped design knives for a prominent knife company. Benchmade
isn’t the company and the Flyway isn’t the knife, but I wish it was! The Flyway instantly exceeded my expectations – sleek, streamlined, easy to handle and control, even with bloody, greasy hands. The blade style is perfect for articulating cuts around the keel, shoulders, leg joints and thighs. Strong, lightweight and sharp, I’ve used it on hundreds of birds, including ptarmigan, grouse and waterfowl, and I did not have to sharpen it one time. Info: $200, benchmade.com.
ENGEL HD20 HEAVY-DUTY SOFT-SIDED COOLER BAG I was instantly impressed with Engel’s
soft-sided cooler bag. The welded seams, durable zippers, strategic straps and multiple lashing points caught my attention before I even used it. Then I put some frozen meat in it, carried it on a plane, got delayed and 45 hours later opened the bag to find everything still frozen rock solid. Since then, this has become my goto soft-sided cooler, not only for keeping things frozen, but also for toting drinks packed in ice. It features closed-cell foam insulation, which prevents air from passing through and optimizes the thermal range of the cooler. It’s efficient, rugged and I like the price point. Info: $180, engelcoolers.com.
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FIELD MAKE THE MOST OF FISH LEFTOVERS BY TIFFANY HAUGEN
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hough we no longer live in Alaska, reflecting upon past winters brings back some of our most fond memories for Scott and I. For most of the 1990s we lived on the North Slope – Point Lay and Anaktuvuk Pass – and while the winters were long and full of total darkness, we enjoyed it. And when we lived in Hyder, though we got tired of shoveling snow, we were fond of the silver-dollar-sized snowflakes and the stark beauty of the rainforest in winter. Winter in Alaska is also when we’d
“Leftovers are often the best beginnings for appetizers,” Tiffany Haugen writes about what to do with your remaining fish, whether it be sheefish or salmon. One idea: stuffed mini bell peppers. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)
put a dent in our freezer supply, especially the fish. Frozen fish doesn’t keep as long as big game, so by winter’s end we were pretty much out of it. Oftentimes, I’d pull out a whole coho, a fat sheefish filet or big chunk of king salmon to cook up. It seems that no matter what fish I’m using, then and now, there are always leftovers. Leftovers are often the best starter for appetizers. Sometimes a “little bit of this” and a “little bit of that” can quickly and simply come together to create a dish that doesn’t even resemble what it was the night before. Reheating fish can be tricky, but mixing it into a pepper filling helps retain the moisture and keeps the flavor fresh. This filling can also be used to stuff larger bell peppers to serve as an entree. Whether it’s great-eating king salmon, coho, sheefish, ocean-caught fish or any fish you might have in the freezer, including bottomfish, this recipe is sure to be a hit. We’ve even enjoyed it with northern pike. 1 cup cooked, flaked fish 10 to 14 mini peppers 1 cup cooked, cooled rice ½ cup tomato salsa ½ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
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2 tablespoons minced herbs (parsley, basil and/or cilantro) 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ cup grated cheese (cheddar, jack and/ or Parmesan) Additional cheese for sprinkling Additional herbs for garnish Cut mini peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds. In a medium bowl, mix rice, salsa, sour cream or Greek yogurt, herbs, garlic and grated cheese until combined. Gently fold fish into the rice mixture. Stuff each pepper and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with more cheese and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven 12 to 14 minutes. (Peppers can also be cooked on a grill over indirect heat.) Garnish with additional herbs and serve warm or at room temperature. Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Cooking Seafood, and other best-selling titles, visit tiffanyhaugen.com.
WATERFOWL & BIG GAME HUNTING IN SASKATCHEWAN Known as the ‘Land of Living Skies’ for producing some of the countries most breath taking sunsets, stormy horizons and northern lights, its sky is also home to one of the largest duck populations on the continent.
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BOOK YOUR HUNT TODAY! John Prosak Saskatchewan, Canada 306-380-6204 noflyzone.info@gmail.com nfzwaterfowl.com
FIELD
Pelican’s Elite 70-quart cooler is the author’s favorite big cooler he’s used, and it stands up to Alaska conditions. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
SEA TO SUMMIT BIG RIVER DRY BAGS
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This dry bag quickly got my attention. I first used it in bird hunting camp in the Midwest, where it was hot, sandy and windy. I also used it in rainy, windy conditions. The 20L Big River Dry Bag protected my valued camera gear and other select items. I also used it fishing in the ocean and it kept saltwater spray and driving rains from penetrating. Then I used it on multiple duck hunts, as well as a carryon during a recent cross-country plane flight. It comes in multiple sizes and colors, but you get the picture. I like it – a lot! I’ll be getting more of these. Info: From $40, seatosummit.com.
standards. Last fall I wore an array of 5.11 Tactical clothes, from base layers to ripstop pants, insulated jackets to softshell pants, and they all impressed me. My wife and From Field to Fire coauthor Tiffany used their specialized women’s clothing while biking over 400 miles and hiking another 150 last summer in Europe, and she loved their fit and performance. The 5.11 line of luggage and backpacks are also tops in durability, space and functionality. Don’t let the tactical name fool you; these are quality clothes that are comfortable for travel, hunting, fishing, camping and more. Info: 511tactical.com.
5.11 CLOTHES AND TRAVEL BAGS
WILEY X DETECTION GLASSES
I’m finicky when it comes to functional clothing that performs to Alaska
These are the most ingenious eye protection glasses I’ve worn. The frame
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– wait; there is no frame – provides a 100-percent field of view, and the five lenses offer unmatched clarity in any lighting situation. The lenses are fast and easy to change, and I switched them out multiple times a day on hunts to meet continual lighting changes and different habitats. They’re strong and scratch-resistant – I learned that when I dropped them on some rocks while chukar hunting – and are so comfortable that you’ll forget you have them on, honestly! They’re also my go-to glasses for yard work, home projects, wood cutting and more. Info: $210, wileyx.com. ASJ Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s many books, which also make great Christmas gifts, visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott’s adventures on Instagram.
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Black Hills Ammunition
black-hills.com The 6.5 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge) from Black Hills Ammunition pushes modern 6.5 high-BC projectiles another 250 feet per second faster than the 6.5 Creedmoor and with comparable accuracy. Ballistics with these calibers were similar, but the 6.5 PRC has advantages over all of them. For Black Hills’ first loading, they chose to load this cartridge with the Hornady 143-grain ELD-X.
Knives of Alaska knivesofalaska.com The slim drop-point Alpha Wolf coupled with the Cub is specially designed for hunters who need excellent field-dressing capabilities with almost no weight. This set is super light (9.9 ounces) and perfect for hunters who hunt the mountaintops, where every ounce of weight matters.
Alaska Family Motorhomes
Holiday Gift Guide
Willie’s Distillery
alaskafamilymotorhomes.com Alaska Family Motorhomes is offering a free bedding package on any motorhome or camper van rental booked prior to January 15, 2024. Just email afmotorhomes@gmail.com with the subject “Holiday Free Bedding” and make your reservation on their website and they will do the rest.
The Grip Guy
gripguy3.com The finest handmade custom grips for your firearms. Made in Texas.
williesdistillery.com A small-batch distillery located on Main Street in picturesque Ennis, Montana, on the banks of the fabled Madison River, Willie’s mission is to make world-class spirits for world-class individuals. They use fresh mountain water straight from the source, and acquire their grains and ingredients from small Montana farms and growers ranging from a local apiary to the barley fields of the Montana Hi-Line. Each bottle is handled and filled with care.
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Holiday Gift Guide
WMD Guns
wmdguns.com Give the gift of long life! The proprietary NiB-X nickelboron-coating process from WMD Guns extends firearm life by permanently defending against wear, abrasion, rust and corrosion. So this year, give NiB-X-coated parts – they just might be the longest-lasting gifts you ever give! (And check out WMD’s Beast NiB-X AR rifles/pistols.)
Flylabel
flylabel.com The Case 1973 7 Dot Classic Reddish Brown Cattle Bone 6347 PU Serpentine Stockman pocket knife has beautiful glazed polished clip/ spey point/punch stainless steel blades with “for flesh only” etched on the spey point. Clip/ punch open to 8 5/8 inches long, closes to 3 7/8 inches and weighs 2.8 ounces. There is no box with this knife.
Patrick’s Fly Shop
patricksflyshop.com Patrick’s Fly Shop offers fly casting and fly-tying classes for all experience levels. Fly-tying class schedules are listed on the website and casting lessons are scheduled by appointment. Gift cards for classes or products can be purchased in-store or online!
Eastern Washington Guides
Anglers Edge Sportfishing
anglersedgesportfishing.com At Anglers Edge Sportfishing, a six-person fishing charter out of Westport, Washington, they are passionate about fishing and providing their clients with the best experience possible. If you’re ready to have a great time and make some unforgettable memories, contact them today. Gift certificates are available and make a great Christmas present.
easternwashingtonguides.com The perfect gift: a waterfowl facial! The folks at Eastern Washington Guides love landing birds in your face! They offer fully guided hunting and fishing trips around the greater Columbia Basin, Moses Lake and the Potholes Reservoir. Waterfowl trips target Canada geese, snows and ducks with hunts available throughout the holiday season. Give the one you love the perfect gift, a waterfowl facial from Eastern Washington Guides. Happy holidays! To get $50 off your booked trip, use code NWSGIFT at checkout. 64
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Holiday Gift Guide
Cut Plug Charter seattlesalmonfishing.com Cut Plug Charter offers Puget Sound fishing trips for salmon and lingcod. Hands-on fishing experience with light tackle is what they specialize in!
Lazy Bear Outfitters
lazybearoutfitters.com/ products/lazy-bear-gift-card Make gift-giving fun and easy with a Lazy Bear Gift Card! Perfect for friends, family or special occasions, the card never expires and will fund an unforgettable experience! Treat your loved ones to a unique and memorable gift – they’ll be thrilled (and may even owe you one!).
Westview Marina
westviewmarina.com/ m3dia/promo-video-2021 Drive or fly in, four nights lodging, three full days of guided fishing/catching salmon, halibut, lingcod and much more, with all of your meals off a large restaurant menu. $2,100 USD each for a crew of four to six people.
Fly Gyde
flygyde.com Give a gift that can never be wrong and will surely thrill the fisherman in your life! Fly Gyde’s Gift Card can be redeemed for fishing trip options and any products from their online fly shop. Happy holidays!
Warlander Enterprises
warlanderenterprises.com Small-batch, heirloom-quality knives and leather goods made with premium materials. One hundred percent handcrafted in Georgia. 66
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Holiday Gift Guide
Rocco Handmade
roccohandmade.com Handmade cutlery, tools and leather goods. Carefully crafted in Michigan.
Skinner Sights
skinnersights.com What do you get the person with everything? Something to put it in! Looking for a great way to conceal a rifle or shotgun (up to 40 inches in length), a couple handguns and magazines, accessories, tactical flashlight, etc., where they can be hidden in plain sight? The Skinner Sights Concealed Carry Garment bag will hold all that and more. Constructed of heavy-duty Cordura, premium stitching and using the world’s strongest hanger, this bag can be hung in a closet along with clothes for excellent concealment. Available in tactical black or inconspicuous olive. The hanger is removable, allowing the bag to be folded into an easily carried case. Made in Montana, this is a great gift for those who want to be prepared. $189
Buktek Products
thetacbox.com Be ready. Keep your pistol and gear in reach with the TacBox. Your fastest access to a firearm is when your gun is mounted in the same location and position every time. The TacBox is easy to mount in multiple positions and holds your gear securely, but at the ready. For use in vehicles, home office, gunsafes, etc. 68
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Robbins Custom Cases
robbinscustomcases.com Available in high-quality nylon, vinyl or leather (on special orders) with a plush, padded interior. Plain cases are customizable with embroidered nylon or embossed vinyl. Variety of sizes to fit your needs.
HOLCOMB’S MARINE
Specializing in Outboard Jets
REPAIR / REPLACE www.holcombmarine.com
(360) 864-6406 • holcombmarine@msn.com
1307 Spencer Rd, Toledo, WA 98591 • on the COWLITZ RIVER near BLUE CREEK
• 115 ELPT Jet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,950 • 8hp Hi-Thrust ELPT . . . . . . . . . . . $3,450 • 9.9 Hi-Thrust EL . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,650 • 25hp M Tiller . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,450
• 50hp EL Tiller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,950 • 115hp Long 2 Stroke Jet . . . . . . . . $CALL • 6hp Short . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $CALL • 8hp ML 4-Stroke Kicker . . . . . . . . $2,650
• 15hp Long P Trim . . . . . . . . . . . $3,450 • 8hp Short . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,850 • 10hp Short . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,450
Dissimilar Trades Accepted - RVs, Travel Trailers, Ski Boats, ATVs, Harleys, Trucks, Autos Accepted aksportingjournal.com | DECEMBER 2023
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