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ON THE COVER Silver salmon hauls on the Kasilof River are the norm for guests at the Anglers Haven Lodge near Soldotna. The Chulick family purchased the property in 2022 and continues to put their own stamp on a vision they’ve had to create a dream destination for visitors.
(ANGLERS HAVEN LODGE)
CORRESPONDENCE
X @AKSportJourn Facebook.com/alaskasportingjournal aksportingjournal.com Email ccocoles@media-inc.com
A DREAM WE CALL
• Iliamna River Lodge
• Rainbow River Lodge
• Bear Haven Lodge
• Royal Wolf Lodge
• The Ridge Lodge
• Alaskan Remote Adventures Lodge
• The Rock at Talarik Outpost
A HUNTER’S PROGRESSION
Scott Haugen has seen a few things during his decades-long hunting career, from living hand to mouth in Arctic Alaska, to depredation lion hunts in Africa, and back again to the Last Frontier with his dogs. “How the mind of a hunter develops over a lifetime is defined by their story. We all have a different one,” writes Haugen as he shares how he’s progressed over time.
17
A FAMILY BUSINESS ‘HAVEN’
Mike Chulick and his son Alex were smitten with Alaska during multiple fishing trips beginning when the latter was 8 years old. Alex left the Lower 48 to work in the Last Frontier’s fishing and guiding industry, and his parents longed to retire from their jobs to purchase a fishing lodge on the Kenai Peninsula. We chatted with Mike about the family’s vision for the Anglers Haven Lodge they continue to build into something special on the banks of the famed Kasilof River.
27 AN OVERLOOKED KENAI CLASSIC
From Field to Fire: Tips for trolling Alaska’s city stocker trout fisheries
For many, the Kenai River symbolizes combat fishing as crowds of anglers over the decades have vied for its salmon runs. But this classic Alaska fishery also features some epic trout fishing, as Mark Fong reports this month. Fong caught up with Soldotna-based guide Cody Dutcher, who previews how to target gorgeous Kenai rainbows during a season that begins in early summer and can run as late as mid-October.
47 FIGHTING BACK FOR CONSERVATION
When he was a whitewater guide, Cooper Freeman’s outlook on the natural beauty around him would change his life forever. “I was surrounded by incredible landscapes, but I also saw firsthand how threatened they were,” he tells our Tiffany Herrington. Now a crusader for conservation at a national nonprofit, Freeman explains how critical it is to protect Alaska habitat.
(SCOTT HAUGEN)
EDITOR’S NOTE
One of the beautiful aspects of traveling to new places is envisioning yourself wanting to stick around and never going back home. As long as someone can get my dog shipped to me, I’m in!
But seriously, I can remember many times when I’ve been in a special place and daydreamed of starting a business there. One of my favorite places on Earth is Lake Bled in the tiny but gorgeous European nation of Slovenia. At one point while staring out at the alpine setting along the lake, all I wanted to do was buy a resort catering to anglers, include a pub/sports bar with great food, and make it dogfriendly, of course.
In speaking to Mike Chulick, owner of Anglers Haven Lodge (page 45), his story reinvigorated my plans – realistic or not –
to someday relocate to a far-flung place and put out my shingle. After retiring from successful careers, and having enjoyed Alaska on previous trips, Chulick and his wife Tammy purchased a fishing lodge on the Kenai Peninsula’s Kasilof River.
“We decided to sell everything we had in the Lower 48 and come up here,” Chulick told me in our interview. “You’re at a point in your life where you know it’s time for a change. Myself and my wife had been doing the same thing forever. We just said, ‘Let’s give it a shot … Let’s make this the final push in our working life.’”
Such a salvo is tempting to me as I write this. I love the crazy journalism business I’ve gotten into, and I have savored 30-plus years of covering events, writing feature stories and getting to know intriguing people,
stressing at deadlines, editing other writers’ work and everything else that comes with the gig.
And I’m not going anywhere for now, so you’re still stuck with me. But just as Slovenia and similar places are siren songs for me, that’s what the intoxicating beauty and adventure of Alaska really was for the Chulick family.
“We got the place and have been trying to make it what our vision is for a place that people want to come to year after year and enjoy Alaska,” Chulick says of their still work-in-progress business venture.
I’m rooting for Mike, Tammy and their kids to achieve all their visions for a new life in a special place that we should all get to experience just one time. Ahhh, a traveler’s daydreams; sometimes they really do come true! -Chris Cocoles
The editor fell in love with Slovenia’s Lake Bled, one of many places he’s traveled to and daydreamed about starting a business at. Mike Chulick and his family did just that with their Kasilof River fishing lodge, Anglers Haven. (CHRIS COCOLES)
ADFG PREDATOR CONTROL EFFORTS BLOCKED BY JUDICIAL RULINGS
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is adamant that reducing the numbers of predators such as bears and wolves will save the dwindling Mulchatna Herd of caribou. But those plans continued to be blocked by state courts.
In March, after ADFG lethally removed 200 bears in and around the herd’s Southwest Alaska calving grounds, Third Judicial District Judge Andrew Guidi ruled that the agency’s actions were “unconstitutional.”
ADFG petitioned the Alaska Board of Game for an injunction. “The department is specifically asking for regulations to reinstate both same-day airborne permittee wolf removal, and department-led bear and wolf removal efforts,” ADFG said in its petition statement. “Department-led efforts have resulted in positive growth in herd abundance and improved calf-to-cow ratios while not impacting the sustainability of regional wolf or bear populations. It is critical for the continued recovery of the herd to continue predator control efforts.”
The Board of Game in turn approved the petition, offering the state another chance to thin predator numbers in and around the Mulchatna Herd, which like many Alaska caribou congregations has seen decreasing numbers for various reasons over the years.
“Right now, we have a herd that has shut down where a large number of people in Western Alaska can’t put caribou in their freezer right now. And it’s not going to grow if they don’t have calf survival,” Board of Game member Stosh Hoffman said at the time.
That prompted more legal action from the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, which has pushed back on the state’s process to remove caribou predators. The organization filed a restraining order brief in mid-April following earlier litigation that eventually led to Judge Guidi’s action to put a halt to the removals.
A defiant ADFG planned to forge ahead with its plans and reportedly eliminated 11 more bears, but in early May another Third District judge granted Alaska Wildlife Alliance a temporary restraining order, blocking ADFG from more predator removals.
Doug Vincent-Lang, ADFG’s commissioner, released a statement professing his disappointment with Judge Christina Rankin’s ruling: “Our efforts have been successful in turning the herd around, and we have observed increased calf survival and an increase in herd numbers. We were in the third year of our efforts, and this order halted our work and jeopardized our recovery efforts.”
“While we continue to pursue any legal options available to us, we will schedule a Board of Game meeting in accordance with the court order to get the program reauthorized. By the court order, ADFG is immediately ceasing its brown bear predator control efforts. I apologize to local users and communities as this will jeopardize the herd’s recovery.”
In a press release, Alaska Wildlife Alliance executive director Nicole Schmitt was critical of the state essentially ignoring Judge Guidi’s original ruling that prompted AWA’s legal brief filing.
“The public holds a lot of trust in the Board of Game and ADFG to manage our wildlife resources sustainably. At the bare minimum, the state needs to adhere to its own constitutional process. This is important not only for bears, but for every wildlife species,” Schmitt said.
“If the Board can essentially draft their own proposal, then pass it as an emergency order despite a court order telling them they need due process and considerations of sustainability, that would have been a frightening precedent for anyone who cares about hunting, fishing or wildlife viewing in this state.”
While the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says predator management is rebuilding the Mulchatna Herd, judicial rulings have deemed the state’s removal of hundreds of bears as “unconstitutional,” leading to the program’s halt. (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE)
On May 10, the extreme north Arctic Alaska community of Utqiagvik (once known as Barrow) saw the sun rise at 2:51 a.m. and wasn’t expected to experience a full sunset for 84 days.
AL ASKA BEAT
TWEET OF THE MONTH
Tongass National Forest with the don’t-befoolish-enough-to-get-anywhere-near-abear reminder this summer!
Land of 3.2 million lakes? Take that Minnesota and your measly 10,000.
IT MAKES SENSE TO MASK YOUR SMELLY SCENTS
Often you’ll see salmon anglers wearing rubber gloves. This isn’t because they want to keep their hands clean of smelly baits, fish slime or blood. It’s because they want to prevent getting their scent on the baits, lures or plugs being used to catch salmon.
A lot of oils are excreted from the palms of human hands, and if these oils come in contact with baits, lures, lines and even swivels, it can deter a salmon from biting. Some people excrete more oils than others, and those folks may not catch as many fish for this reason.
In addition to wearing gloves, there are other things you can do to prevent foul odors from contaminating your salmon gear. If not everyone fishing wants to wear rubber gloves, have one person who is willing to wear them be the designated bait handler. In waters where bait can be fished, or in situations where you need to clean or change lures or plugs, have the person with gloved hands take care of it.
You can also eliminate eating oily foods while fishing – foods that are likely to add off-putting odors to your hands, which can then be transferred to fishing gear. Fried chicken, leftover pizza and potato chips are often eaten while fishing. These are some of the most oily foods there are. If you do eat these or other oily foods, hold them with a napkin or rubber gloves. But before handling your gear, put on a fresh set of gloves, ones that don’t have those odors on them.
“I’ve been hunting with Lance [Kronberger] and those guys for several years now, and we’ve all become good friends. It’s a special relationship – every one of them is more to me than just a guide; they’re my brothers. Killing that big grizzly was a lifetime achievement, and I feel blessed to have done it with them.”
-Hunter Brian van Lanen to the Boone and Crockett Club, which officially deemed the grizzly bear van Lanen, who’s from Wisconsin, took on a guided hunt last fall as a world record. The Norton Sound-area griz’s score was 27 9/16.
One guide buddy of mine is so convinced a salmon’s sense of smell is so powerful, he won’t let clients handle anything but the rods and reels when in his boat. He doesn’t want them touching bait, lures, even the line, for fear of transferring odors. If they have to let out more line – say, when plugging or backtrolling diver and bait – he has them do it by operating the reel, not handling the line, reasoning that even when they touch the line, that’s enough odor to make fish turn away. Overkill? Maybe, but he’s one of the best salmon anglers I know and is booked up years in advance. -Scott Haugen
Don’t underestimate the importance of keeping your salmon baits free of human scents as much as possible. Such meticulousness while fishing has served Scott and Tiffany Haugen well. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
The Valdez Halibut Hullabaloo, a special tournament within the summer-long Valdez Halibut Derby, takes place June 6-15, with a $1,000 prize awarded to the angler catching the biggest fish. (VALDEZ FISH DERBIES)
OUTDOOR CALENDAR
June 1-Aug. 15
King Salmon Derby, Prince of Wales Island (craigak .com/rec/page/salmon-derby-2025-coming-soon)
June 6-15 Valdez Halibut Hullabaloo (valdezfishderbies.com/ halibut-derby/halibut-hullaballoo)
June 13-21
June 15
June 30
Slam’n Salm’n Derby, Ship Creek, Anchorage (thebaitshackak.com/events/2021-slamn-salmnderby)
Brown bear hunting season ends in several units
Black bear hunting season ends in several units
July 1 2025-26 hunting regulations take effect
July 4
July 18-19
Mount Marathon Race, Seward (mountmarathon.com)
Copper River Salmon Jam, Cordova (salmonjam.org)
July 19-Aug. 31 Valdez Silver Salmon Derby (valdezfishderbies.com/ silver-derby)
Valdez Big Fish Friday (valdezfishderbies.com/silverderby/big-prize-fridays; also held Aug. 29)
Golden North Salmon Derby, Juneau (goldennorthsalmonderby.com)
For Alaska hunt dates, go to adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=hunting.main.
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH THEM
FAMILY TAKES ON A KASILOF FISHING LODGE VENTURE
BY CHRIS COCOLES
Father-son fishing trips to Alaska eventually led the Chulick family to make the Last Frontier a family business destination.
Mike Chulick, his wife Tammy, their kids Alex and Jessica, and even their pup Sarge – affectionately known as the resort’s “Hospitality Specialist” – have teamed up for their Kenai Peninsula venture, the Anglers Haven Lodge along the fish-filled Kasilof River (907-2012007; 49anglers.com). Their resort has become a special family-run operation in a special place for the Chulicks. Now they all play a role in fulfilling a dream that formed years ago.
FALLING FOR THE LAST FRONTIER
As a young family settling in in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Mike and Alex Chulick bonded over the outdoors.
“He’s always been my sidekick for hunting and fishing. We’d hunt in Wyoming when he was 4 or 5 and I’d be carrying him around on my shoulders for the whole day with me,” Mike Chulick recalls of his son.
One of his prized possessions hangs on the wall in his makeshift office at the lodge near Soldotna: a mounted buck father and son combined to harvest during a Cowboy State deer hunt when Alex was a boy.
The outdoorsy life became a conduit that Mike and Alex could share together, just as it was when Mike was a fishing and hunting kid in his native Cumberland, Maryland, home in the Appalachian Mountains.
Now it was Alex’s turn to experience what his father enjoyed as a young outdoor adventurer. Alaska became their muse.
“I started bringing my son up here on fishing vacations when he was 8 years old in 2008,” Mike Chulick says. “We started an every-other-year thing and it became more of an annual thing as he got into his midteen years.”
This breathtaking lodge setting along the Kenai Peninsula’s Kasilof River was too enticing for the Chulick family to pass up. They’ve owned what’s now known as Anglers Haven Lodge since 2022. (ANGLERS HAVEN LODGE)
Alex Chulick, his parents Tammy and Mike, plus dog Sarge, welcome guests to their work-in-progress lodge near Soldotna. Daughter Jessica is also involved in marketing for the property. (ANGLERS HAVEN LODGE)
Mike knew Alex was hooked right out of the chute.
“We fished north of Anchorage, where Montana Creek drains into the Little Su (River). The chum salmon were in thick, as were the pinks. We were trying for silvers but weren’t finding any. But do you think that matters to an 8-yearold?” Mike recalls.
“We’re throwing Vibraxes with spinning rods. His first fish was getting into this giant buck chum. It was the funniest thing ever – this little kid trying to land this great big salmon and yelling at me, ‘What do I do?!’ But he did it all on his own. We pulled that chum in and I had to explain to him that it was a colored-up chum. But being an 8-year-
old kid, we had to keep it and try to make table fare out of it. It might not have gone well, but it was OK. Later on that trip we went down to the Kenai and we caught some silvers and sockeye.”
Ensuing getaways convinced a now coming-of-age Alex Chulick that Alaska was a place he wanted to return to on a more permanent basis. “He absolutely fell in love with coming up here,” his father says.
Alex didn’t wait long – two days after high school graduation, to be precise –to pursue a deckhanding gig on a Kodiak fishing boat.
“He found a company that was looking for summer help, went out there to Larsen Bay and spent the
summer there,” Mike Chulick says. “The following year he moved over to the Kenai Peninsula and went from the saltwater to freshwater and worked drift boats on the Kasilof River and did some deckhand work out of Seward. And then he went and bought his own drift boat and went independent.”
After that first chum salmon catch came Alaska expeditions fairly frequently for Mike and Alex as the latter got older. They hit up a trio of magnificent places – the three Ks, if you will – Kodiak, Ketchikan and the Kenai. They were all wonderful trips, but Mike would eventually be connected most with the Kenai Peninsula.
“When Alex got in with his initial employer on the Kenai after his year in Kodiak, I came up to stay with him and that’s when I really got to know the area,” says Mike Chulick, who at some point along the way befriended area lodge owner Randy Berg, who’d provide plenty of intel about this vast region of Southcentral Alaska that makes Lower 48 outdoor adventure seekers swoon.
“Of all the places we’ve been in Alaska, this one has the best balance of any of them,” Chulick says. “This has the freshwater; this has the saltwater; it’s got accessibility.”
And it was a place he wanted to someday make a new life out of.
THROWING A CHANGEUP
Chulick was in the ROTC program during his college years at Penn State. He’d soon embark on a two-decade military career, and that’s where he met his future wife Tammy. When their service time ended, they worked together for 18 years in consulting for the federal government in security and defense preparedness.
Retirement – at least from that sector – seemed to be approaching, and Alex Chulick didn’t need to make too much of a sales pitch with his parents on the idea of relocating to Alaska.
“Right around 2019, before Covid, we decided that we’d like to buy a lodge. Nothing worked out for us at that time. So we would wait until we were a little bit older and retire when we’d be around 60,” Mike Chulick says. “What happened in between was (Alex) went independent and started looking for a
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Based in stunning Sitka, Alaska, we offer unforgettable fishing charters and lodge experiences. Whether you’re chasing king salmon, reeling in giant halibut, or relaxing at our cozy lodge, every detail is designed to make your trip extraordinary. From dock to dinner, we handle everything — fresh catches, custom processing, and chef-made meals.
Come for the fish, stay for the experience.
one-bedroom or two-bedroom cabin to be able to have a place to park his boat and live here in the summer guiding as an independent contractor. And as we’re shopping for this, we stumbled across this non-operational lodge on the Kasilof River. And Alex was already drifting the Kasilof and he said, ‘Mom, Dad, this is the place. If we can get something on the Kasilof, this is where we want to be.’”
The Kasilof wasn’t exactly on the Chulick’s radar during their explorations of the Kenai years earlier.
“We didn’t even know about the Kasilof at that time. One of the littleknown gems at that time was the Kasilof fishing when everyone was Kenai, Kenai, Kenai (River). We found out that there were some gems here that were nicer than the Kenai.”
Just like the rest of the Last Frontier, the Kenai Peninsula is an intriguing place to get to know better.
“Without leaving the (Kenai) again,” Chulick says, “I can explore until I die and not even come close to seeing it all.”
PURCHASING A FIXER UPPER
While the old lodge had the “three L’s of location, location, location” that most tempted Mike Chulick, it also wasn’t love at first sight or instant curb – riverside? – appeal. The way the previous owner had set up his compound needed some creative changes.
“It had a quirky vibe. We’ve changed the vibe since then. From the air … it looked like a military compound. With a little bit of imagination, it has a little more of an Alaskan lodge vibe because
it didn’t have one when we bought it. But it had the essentials – sound buildings, a common area that looked like it could be made into a central gathering point. And it had a nice location on the Kasilof. When you’re running a guide service it’s nice to be a half-mile from the launch instead of 20 miles.”
And the previous owner – “a nice gentleman,” Mike recalls – who would eventually sell to the Chulicks was based in Hawaii and longed to sell his business to buyers just like Mike and Tammy, who wanted to start a small, family-operated establishment.
“He sold to us at a little bit less than his original asking price. So we ended up buying this lodge. It was not operational,” Mike says.
“We sold our place in Colorado and then we sold (Alex’s permanent) place in Wyoming, and we combined all the family assets and are trying to make a go of the place. We had customer zero on the books when we bought it, so we had to build it up from absolutely nothing. We’re still in the process of trying to build the lodge up and establish a customer base.”
A WORK IN PROGRESS
Calling what’s now known as Anglers Haven Lodge a labor of love must emphasize the word labor, because the Chulick family is constantly working to improve their investment.
“Two factors on why this property: Because of where we were in our lives financially and everything else, buying a fully operational lodge with an established book of business was probably not realistically within our means,” Mike says. “Buying a place that we could build up and afford with our income level at the time was far more advantageous for us. The slow and steady approach for us is better. The lodge was in good enough condition to where it could be operated immediately and make gradual improvements … I wouldn’t call it turnkey, but close enough.”
And sweat equity will hopefully pay off handsomely as the Chulicks put their own twist on the lodge they envision. They spruced up some of the exterior aesthetics of the grounds. They added kitchens to all four studio units (guests
The drift boat fishing on the Kasilof River can be epic for silver salmon, and there are some great trout and steelhead ops. “It had a nice location on the Kasilof. When you’re running a guide service it’s nice to be a half-mile from the launch instead of 20 miles,” Mike Chulick says of choosing this property to make a go of it. (ANGLERS HAVEN LODGE)
LATE SUMMER SALE
cook their own meals).
New furniture and mattresses went into all the sleeping rooms among the four studios, two-bedroom dwelling and the house that sat on the property when it was on the market and is now designed to be an extra-large, twostory rental unit to accommodate as many as 12 guests.
“It’s been one project after another. Constant work,” Mike says with a laugh. “We underwent a crash course of remodeling certain units and refurbishing everything.”
“Over two years we went on a rebuilding renovation campaign. We stained the exteriors of the buildings, we rebuilt a deck area, added a woodburning fireplace out there and new grills. We basically made the place more functional and more attractive. We’ve still got some work to do.”
One amenity that the family is excited about is soon being able to process caught fish right onsite rather than having to take the harvests into Soldotna, which can get extremely busy during the high seasons of salmon runs on the Kasilof and other Kenai fisheries.
“We’re working on a master plan. We haven’t finished it yet,” Mike admits of new ideas buzzing around the family’s heads.
COME FOR THE FISH, BEAUTY
One of the first times Mike Chulick traveled from Anchorage to Soldotna for what became his home base on the Kenai impacted his perception of how amazing this region can be.
“You’re headed down the Cook Inlet on the Turnagain Arm. And all those mountains, the amount of snow, and then the lush green hills in late July. From a scenery perspective, I’ve been all over the globe. But it was an ‘oh my gosh’ kind of ‘just look at this. This looks amazing.’ And then when you follow the Kenai down with those turquoise waters before you get down to Soldotna, it’s just a truly beautiful river. The whole thing just captures your attention and puts you in a state of awe.”
Running their lodge near the less busy Kasilof River is perfect for the kind of vibe Anglers Haven Lodge wants to present. Unlike the power boat fleet that plies the more popular Kenai River, the
Kasilof’s drift boat fishery makes for a peaceful setting.
When he’s not busy – and most of the fishing season he is – Mike Chulick likes to just enjoy the quiet time.
“The scenery on the place was nice and the river itself, there’s something magical on the Kasilof with the glacial flow and the fact that you’re not listening to power boats all the time. You can sit out there on the bluffs and it’s absolutely mesmerizing. If you’re not careful, you can lose a whole afternoon sitting there doing nothing.”
So far, the reviews from guests at this fledgling lodge have been good. Alex Chulick, who does much of the heavy lifting while guiding guests on the water, will often take the drift boat to shore when fishing is a little slow and prepare a salmon meal for anglers after catching a fish or two. The Chulicks added heaters for their drift boats to keep anglers comfortable on those chilly mornings.
The next step is getting more potential Alaska visitors to book reservations at Anglers Haven Lodge.
“How to market to people is still a
Guests can enjoy a peaceful moment outdoors on the Anglers Haven Lodge property. Since buying the lodge, the Chulicks have made aesthetic changes to add to the experience. (ANGLERS HAVEN LODGE)
mystery. That’s one we’re still trying to figure out,” Mike Chulick says. “It’s a good thing that I worked with helping grow some small businesses in the consulting realm. The business sense of how to run a business transferred over to the nuances of running a lodge. You learn on the fly and make a lot of mistakes. Customer service is customer service. If you like people, you want to show people a good time, experience Alaska and have fun; that just comes natural.”
And as the summer begins to heat up, those wanting an Alaska fishing vacation will have a chance to savor one of the Last Frontier’s most pristine environments and some outstanding salmon and trout fishing. Mike Chulick hopes what drew his family to the shores of the Kasilof will become infectious.
“Right now our expansion focus is trying to get people to recognize that the second half of the year here is really good fishing,” he says. “You’ve got coho salmon, and the Kasilof has a steelhead run of fish that are very much worth catching.”
Sounds like heaven for anglers. ASJ
Editor’s note: Follow Anglers Haven Lodge on Facebook and Instagram (@ anglershavenlodge).
The brown bears of the Kenai also find the surroundings and the fishing appealing around the lodge. “There’s something magical on the Kasilof with the glacial flow and the fact that you’re not listening to power boats all the time,” Mike Chulick says. (ANGLERS HAVEN LODGE)
Their project is still a work in progress, but the Chulicks have a lodge to be proud of, and a lot of great fishing adventures for visitors to experience. (ANGLERS HAVEN LODGE)
DESTINATION, TROUT HEAVEN
TARGET
‘MOVING STOMACH’ WITH FINS – KENAI RIVER FISHERY FOR RAVENOUS RAINBOWS FIRES UP IN JUNE
BY MARK FONG
The Kenai River has a reputation as being one of the premier river destinations for anglers in the state of Alaska. In addition to the amazing salmon fishing, the Kenai is also home to a world-class rainbow trout fishery.
Recently, Alaska Sporting Journal caught up with Cody Dutcher, the owner of TakeDown Sportfishing, to get his thoughts on this special trophy trout opportunity. Based in Soldotna, Dutcher started guiding at the age of 15 and has been guiding now for nearly two decades.
“The rainbow trout season on the Kenai typically starts in mid-June (June 11) and runs until mid-October,” explains Dutcher. “On average, a typical Kenai rainbow trout runs between 18 to 20 inches. Fish in the mid-20-inch range can weigh anywhere between a couple of
pounds all the way up to 10 pounds. Fish in the 10-pound class are frequent, and they can run up to 20 pounds. While we don’t land fish in this class on a consistent basis, we definitely get opportunities at them throughout the season.”
SALMON CYCLE EFFECTS
According to Dutcher, “The trout fishery is based on the life cycle of the salmon. Instead of following the hatch of a bug, the fish follow the hatch of the salmon, and that is what their movement in the river system is based on. Not only do the trout feed on the salmon eggs, but they also feed on the nutrients created by the life and death of the salmon cycle.”
The Kenai has some very large runs of sockeye, and even before these fish spawn, there is a harvest of salmon going on along the river banks. The
trout in turn have learned to key in on these areas.
“Anglers on the banks of the Kenai are harvesting salmon and returning the carcasses back to the river, and the trout feed off of them like crazy,” Dutcher says. “The trout are there to eat – anywhere that food is being funneled towards them, that is where they are going to be. When it comes to this time of year, these fish are just a moving stomach.”
PRODUCTIVE STRETCH
Most of Dutcher’s trout trips take place on the Middle Kenai between Soldotna and Sterling. Anglers fish out of a spacious, custom-built 21foot Willie Classic, which is powered by a 50-horsepower prop-powered outboard. The boat is specifically built for the Kenai and it can accommodate
The Kenai River’s salmon runs literally feed its outstanding rainbow trout fishery. (CODY DUTCHER/TAKEDOWN SPORTFISHING)
up to four clients and the guide.
Dutcher runs a lot of combo trips where anglers can target both salmon and trout on the same day. He also offers trout- or salmon-specific outings; it is all up to the client. On a trout-specific outing during the peak of the season, a group of anglers can have over 100 opportunities during a day’s fishing. All of his trout trips are catch and release. Anglers have the option of fishing with either fly or conventional gear.
“We fish a single hook with a bead on a 10-foot, 7-weight fly rod with an indicator rig or a spinning rod with a bobber and float setup,” Dutcher says.
“I am actually working with Prolite Rod Technology to develop a fly rod designed specifically for the Kenai trout fishery –one that can better handle some of the larger trout that we encounter.” ASJ
Editor’s note: To learn more about TakeDown Sportfishing or to book a trip, Cody Dutcher can be reached at (907) 398-1749.
Guide Cody Dutcher runs combo trips for trout and salmon on the Kenai. His troutspecific outings focus on a stretch of the Middle Kenai between Soldotna and Sterling. Season runs mid-June through mid-October. (CODY DUTCHER/TAKEDOWN SPORTFISHING)
“On average, a typical Kenai rainbow trout runs between 18 to 20 inches,” Dutcher says. “Fish in the mid20-inch range can weigh anywhere between a couple of pounds all the way up to 10 pounds. Fish in the 10-pound class are frequent, and they can run up to 20 pounds.” (CODY DUTCHER/TAKEDOWN SPORTFISHING)
TROLLING FOR CITY TROUT
GOOD FISHING CAN BE HAD AT STOCKED LAKES IN AND NEAR ANCHORAGE, AND HERE’S HOW
“For many folks, catching trout stocked in (Alaska) lakes near city hubs provides great joy,” writes author Scott Haugen. Mag Lips are very versatile plugs for trolling and casting for trout. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
BY SCOTT HAUGEN
Not all fishing in Alaska takes place in remote, hard-to-reach locales. For many folks, catching trout stocked in lakes near city hubs provides great joy and good-eating fish. I’ve been trout fishing in lakes since the mid-1960s, and one thing I’ve confirmed over the decades is that the learning never stops. With the creation of new gear comes more opportunity for anglers, and some of the following moves have helped me put more fish in the boat.
TROLLING MOVES
Speed, angles and turns are key to increasing more bites when trolling for trout. This is something my grandfather taught me in the ’60s, and today I’m surprised with the number of boaters I see continually trolling in a straight line. Vary your speed and angles and you change the delivery of the terminal gear, and that’s what often elicits a strike.
Even a change in speed of half a mile an hour can make a difference. If you’re marking trout on a depth finder but
getting no bites, speed up next time you go through that same spot. If increasing the speed doesn’t work, slow down for the next pass. Adding or subtracting weight also might be necessary to reach the target depth.
Should a change in trolling speed fail to catch trout, try turning the boat when you’re over the fish. Making a sharp turn probably entices a strike more than any move you can make. This is because the change in angle quickly slows the travel rate of the terminal gear, and this
BY TIFFANY HAUGEN
Trout is a mild meat that takes on the flavors it’s cooked with. If you like spicy add-ons, then spice it up, but if you want to taste the trout flavor, go easy on the ingredients.
BUILD A HEALTHIER BURGER WITH TROUT, CAPERS, DILL
One of the great things about this recipe is that it works with not only trout, but a wide range of fish. I first tried it with coho and loved it. At first, I thought the capers might be too overpowering for the trout, but that wasn’t the case. In fact, everyone who’s tried it, loved it. Bottomfish even turns out great.
1 pound trout
⅓ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh or dried dill, chopped
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup panko or breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sourdough buns or rolls
Skin trout and remove meat from bones. Roughly chop trout into small chunks. In a medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, dill, capers and garlic until thoroughly combined. Fold in trout and gently stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Sprinkle panko or breadcrumbs on a large platter. Divide fish mixture into three or six portions (depending on how big you want your burger patties). Press both sides of trout burgers into panko/ breadcrumbs.
Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Fry trout burgers for three to four minutes on each side until they are golden brown. Serve on a bun with mustard tartar sauce (below) or sauce of choice.
MUSTARD TARTAR SAUCE
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped pickles or capers
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh or dried dill
½ teaspoon puréed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
In a small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients until thoroughly combined.
Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Cooking Seafood, and other best-selling titles, visit scotthaugen.com.
Trade in ground beef for trout as a base for a unique burger. Chef Tiffany Haugen adds dill and capers for added flavor. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)
FIELD
often convinces trout to strike. Close to 80 percent of our strikes when making turns over the years have come on the inside rod; that is, the rod on the side of the boat toward which you’re turning. Turn left, and the rod on the left side of the boat is more likely to get hit. This is because that’s where most of the slack in the line is created the quickest, resulting in a faster drop of the bait that interests fish.
When changing trolling angles, don’t just troll in circles or ovals. Make figureeights and sharp-angled zigzags. Even holding a rod in one hand and quickly jerking the mainline with the other in order to speed it up and slow it down can yield results. Reeling in lines a few feet at a time while trolling will increase terminal gear action and sometimes result in a bite.
TROLLING GEAR OPTIONS
There’s a lot of gear in today’s trout fishing world, so investing in a selection of it is a good idea.
I recently fished with a buddy who
had a giant tackle box full of the latest and greatest trout gear. When the bite was slow, we changed out terminal gear to give the fish something new to look at. Two hours after getting started we were back at the ramp waiting to take out. Three of us in our boat had limited out with five trout each, but anglers in two other boats in line to take out were disappointed with how slow the action was and had called it quits well shy of their limits. However, what I found most interesting was when I asked the anglers what gear they were using, they shared how they’d stuck with the same setups without changing a thing all morning.
If something’s not working, make a change. While we tried multiple plugs, lures, spinner blades and different kinds of baits that day, the hot bite came on a pink-bladed Silver Magic snelled spinner. Chartreuse was usually the goto color in the lake, but 12 of the 15 trout we caught that day came on pink with half a nightcrawler and a piece of salad shrimp as bait.
Not only can changing the color of your
spinner make a difference, but changing flashers can as well. Vary the color and size of flashers you use. Change between high profile and low profile, mylar wings and metal blades. One of my go-tos is Mack’s Lure Flash Light Trolls, both in the two- and three-blade models. The Les Davis Trolling Flasher, and Yakima Bait’s UV Rooster Troll and 4-inch Mini Big Al’s Fish Flash, which we often rigged in tandem, are also tops.
DON’T NEGLECT PLUGS
Plugs are very effective for catching trout in lakes. They can be casted and trolled. Rapalas have been proven for decades. But in recent years I’ve had the best results when fishing a 2.5 Mag Lip. This little plug casts great with 40-pound Maxcuatro braided line or 6-pound copolymer. One day on the lake, four of my five trout came while casting the Mag Lip, the other trolling a worm behind a flasher.
Mag Lips are also great for trolling. I like trolling them flatlined and will often add a second duolock snap swivel, thereby increasing the erratic, skip-beat
This planter rainbow couldn’t resist a Silver Magic trout spinner trolled behind a Les Davis Trolling Flasher. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
FIELD
action of this plug when slowly trolled. When trolling a smaller, proven trout catcher, the 2.0 Mag Lip, add a medium-sized split shot or two about 30 inches up the line. These little plugs have great action and trout love them. Frog patterns work great early in the day, while gold and orange colors can be top options once sunlight hits the water.
Even the 3.0 Mag Lips are great for casting and trolling for trout. You can also take the hooks off the plug and use it as a diver, pulling bait 2 feet behind it.
When trolling for trout this summer, consider changing your gear, varying your trolling path and trying different baits. Oftentimes, making just one change can increase the number of fish you catch.
For a map of Alaska’s stocked lakes and recent release stats, see adfg.alaska .gov/SF_Lakes. ASJ
Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s best selling books, visit scotthaugen.com Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.
If you want to catch a fistful of hatchery trout this season, gear up accordingly and vary your trolling speeds and direction. (SCOTT
HAUGEN)
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A HUNTER’S PROGRESSION
SPORTSMAN PONDERS HOW HE AND THE PURSUIT HAVE CHANGED OVER THE DECADES
BY SCOTT HAUGEN
Staring at the buck through my rifle scope, I took in one last breath, let out half of it and then slowly pressured the trigger. A soft, crisp click followed.
I was now content; I closed the scope caps, lifted my rifle from the tripod and backed out the same way I’d snuck in. The buck had no idea I was there. It was the 11th pronghorn I’d passed and the last one I even considered shooting. I’d just burned 24 preference points, and I will likely never draw that pronghorn tag again in my lifetime.
Was my decision the right one? For me, it was. But when I shared it with other hunters, most razzed me for not killing a buck. But they’re not me. They haven’t walked in my shoes and they
haven’t hunted for a living for the past 25 years. Let me explain.
ALL BY MYSELF
I was hunting in my home state of Oregon. I’d killed close to 30 pronghorn in my life, nothing over 80 inches, but had lots of great hunts. To this point, all of my pronghorn hunts had been filmed for the TV shows I hosted. It was always me and the camera crew on the hunts.
On my Oregon antelope hunt two seasons ago, it was just me; no cameras. I stalked many animals – all day, every day. I passed a number of bucks in the 72- to 82-inch range and lost count of the number of smaller bucks I saw.
The first buck I considered shooting was a whopper – all of 82 inches – with
the biggest cutters I’d ever seen. I passed it twice because it had weak tops. I’d seen a bigger one with that buck when scouting, but never found it during the season. I was good with that.
The fact I had so many stalks that could have ended in success was all the gratification I needed. I wasn’t hunting for clicks on social media. I wasn’t hunting to put meat in the freezer because I had other hunts coming up in the fall. Though antelope meat is some of my favorite, I was after a trophy buck or nothing. I went home with nothing.
THE EVOLUTION OF A HUNTER
How the mind of a hunter develops over a lifetime is defined by their story. We all have a different one. For me, I’ve been on
Author Scott Haugen is content with the decisions he’s made as a hunter, a journey that’s taken him from Alaska, where ptarmigan are a staple for many, to Africa, from TV shows to lone pursuits. Regardless of where he goes, the joy of hunting never wanes. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
hundreds of big game hunts all over the world. A large percentage of my hunts were filmed for television shows I used to host. Were it not for TV, I would have been going on only a few hunts a year instead of 50 or more. I have TV and being a full-time outdoor writer to thank for making my dreams come true.
As a kid who grew up in a hunting family, two animals topped my wish list: a big male lion and a brown bear that squared over 10 feet. Even in grade school I was aware of these feats and knew I’d likely never realize either one. But I did.
The lion hunt was intense. I’d killed man-eating lions while helping the government of South Africa sort out a problem pride, but they were all females; the last one of the four charged us and was killed three paces from where me and a government official stood. My hunt for a male lion came years later, when I closed the deal via a spot-and-stalk hunt late one morning. The massive male tipped the scales to nearly 500 pounds and measured 10 feet, 1 inch from nose to tail.
Six years later I was on a brown bear hunt on Alaska’s upper Aleutian Islands chain, a land known for big bruins. I’d taken a 9-footer there before and returned with my sights set on a giant bear or nothing.
I was hunting with Bruce Hallingstad of Becharof Outfitters (becharof.com) because I wasn’t an Alaska resident at the time. I’ve hunted bear and moose with Hallingstad, who is known in the
bear world as one of the top outfitters for producing trophy-class coastal brown bears. This hunt proved it.
In the end, I put my tag on a bear that surpassed my wildest expectations, a 10foot, 9-inch giant that aged out at 23 years old. It was the second oldest bear ever recorded on the upper Alaska Peninsula at the time. It was a high record-book bear, but I didn’t enter it in the books. I’ve taken many record-book game animals with a rifle and bow, but I have never entered any into the record books. That’s just a choice.
Walking up on that giant bear, I turned to Hallingstad and my camera man, Ty Cary, and told them if I never killed another big game animal in my life, I’d be OK with it. I meant what I said. They knew it. All was silent for the next several minutes. I admired the bear and relived scores of successful big game hunts I’d had in my life.
ADVENTURES IN THE HIGH ARCTIC
Some of the most memorable hunts were when my wife Tiffany and I lived a semi-subsistence lifestyle in Alaska’s high Arctic. Here, we relied on Dall sheep, moose and caribou for meat. This was in the 1990s, when there were
Haugen has been fortunate to make his living hunting and fishing around the world. Every experience has enriched his life, including his dream hunt for an African lion. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
For many hunters, a big brown bear tops their bucket list. So too it was with Haugen, who also enjoys photographing these animals, creating powerful moments he’ll never forget. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
For most of the 1990s Haugen lived a semi-subsistence life on Alaska’s North Slope. Here, he learned many valuable skills that would shape his future career as a TV host and one of the most prolific outdoor writers in the country. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
no stores in Point Lay or Anaktuvuk Pass, the two villages we called home for nearly a decade.
Hunting for subsistence is unlike any form of sport hunting I’ve found. In those days, failure was not an option. If I set out for caribou and couldn’t find any, I’d shoot ptarmigan and snowshoe hare. If I was out with a local and we happened upon a big herd of caribou, we could shoot five a day each. This rule was wisely put in place for resident subsistence hunters, for should animals otherwise be sparse but suddenly appear, you could get meat for yourself as well as to share with others in the village who were in need. Again, it’s part of my story. So many of those hunts gave me the skills needed to carry out what I do today for a living, and that is hunt.
THE DOGS’ LIFE
Eleven years ago I got a hunting dog. Her name is Echo and she changed my life, especially my hunting life. Two years after
that I got another pudelpointer, Kona. He’s a half-brother to Echo. Their dad is Lon. Simply say Lon’s name to those familiar with pudelpointers and they know the dog you’re talking about. It’s like talking about basketball and saying Michael (Jordan).
From boyhood through college I was into sports and never had time to devote to a dog. Living in Alaska was not the time or place either. Then I spent 14 years filming TV shows around the globe – often gone 250 days a year and sometimes more. Toss in three months of speaking appearances around the country, and still the time wasn’t right for me to have a dog.
Then I got out of TV and gave up public appearances. That’s when my hunting life changed even more. Now I was reveling in my boyhood dream of hunting birds with my dogs – pups I raised and trained myself. If I had one day left to hunt in my life, it would be just me and my dogs sitting in a duck blind. If I had a giant bull moose
standing broadside at 50 yards or a teal coming into the decoys, I’d take the teal every time because my dogs would be a part of it. Oh, how they love to duck hunt. And how I love to watch them hunt.
In 2019-20 we lived in Hyder, Alaska. Here, hunting ducks and geese with Echo and Kona was a true joy. We also hunted ruffed grouse. And they went fishing with me – a lot. It was a magical time in a magical place. I miss those days.
HAVE A COW, MAN
The year after I hung up my TV hosting hat, I killed a cow elk. It was one of the best-eating animals Tiffany and I had ever had. I’ve not killed a bull since – by choice. Maybe one day, if it feels right.
Tiffany used to be a full-time cookbook author, columnist and recipe developer of all things big game, birds and fish. For over a decade she was one of the most sought after speakers on the topic in the country. She still writes columns and
develops recipes (see her latest in our From Field to Fire feature on page 31). Some of her books were among the top sellers for us over the years. Today, we still fill our freezers with venison, fish, upland birds, waterfowl, and more. Like many of you, fish and game is all we eat; we never buy store-bought meat. It’s a life we love.
DIFFERENT STROKES …
As hunters, how our minds progress is unique to each of us. Our stories and experiences set us apart from one another, which is what dictates our desires and peace of mind. For me, having taken more big game animals in a season than many folks I know have taken in a lifetime is part of my story.
It’s not a bragging point. It’s a simple fact that tells my story, and I’m happy with how my story is turning out.
It’s not over either. ASJ
Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s best-selling book, Hunting The Alaskan High Arctic, visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram.
Haugen and his dogs Kona (left) and Echo with some great eating Vancouver Canada geese they got when living in Hyder, Alaska. “If I had one day left to hunt in my life, it would be just me and my dogs sitting in a duck blind,” he writes. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
Summer RetreatN
FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE OF ALASKA FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT
ALASKA DIRECTOR FOR CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY TALKS CONSERVATION BATTLES
BY TIFFANY HERRINGTON
Alaska is one of the last places on Earth where nature still dominates. It’s a land of salmon-packed rivers, towering glaciers and caribou migrations that have played out for thousands of years.
But the Last Frontier is also a battleground. Industrial fishing fleets, mining projects and fossil fuel expansion are pushing deeper into its wild spaces, threatening the ecosystems and communities that depend on them.
Cooper Freeman has made it his life’s work to fight back. As Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity, he moves between courtrooms, remote villages and government offices, challenging policies that put short-term profit over longterm sustainability. His work spans everything from stopping destructive mining projects to protecting marine life from industrial trawling.
In this interview, Freeman discusses the biggest conservation battles facing Alaska today, the political challenges that shape the fight, and what keeps him motivated. It’s a look at what’s at stake – and what can still be saved.
Cooper Freeman has worked tirelessly to help protect the Last Frontier – such as the area around the mouth of the Johnson River as it enters Cook Inlet – as the Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity. (CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY)
Long-term prospects for Alaska salmon seem murky given both low returns of kings throughout the state and threats to other species from proposed mine operations.
“We still have rivers full of wild salmon, ancient forests where bears roam and caribou migrations that haven’t changed for thousands of years,” Freeman says. “That’s rare, and it’s worth fighting for.” (BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT)
Alaska’s wild places face immense challenges, but advocates like Cooper Freeman and the Center for Biological Diversity are fighting every day to protect them.
Tiffany Herrington What first drew you to conservation work, and how did you end up at the Center for Biological Diversity?
Cooper Freeman I grew up outside – running rivers, skiing, hiking – but everything shifted when I spent nearly a decade as a Class V whitewater river guide. I was surrounded by incredible landscapes, but I also saw firsthand how threatened they were – dams, severe water pollution.
One moment that stuck with me was the Mount Polley Mine tailings dam
breach in British Columbia. It released around 20 million cubic meters of waste into the Fraser River. We’d finish river trips at a large fish camp on the riverbanks. After the spill, when we pulled out our boats, they were coated in thick orange sludge. The fish racks were empty, the smokehouses silent. It wasn’t just a fish run lost; it was a way of life gone.
I saw similar things globally. In Africa, habitat destruction threatened lions, elephants and hippos. In Patagonia, deforestation impacted old-growth forests and pumas. In the Himalayas, pollution and development were wiping out birds, fish and wildflowers.
Eventually, I couldn’t just be a spectator. Alaska – with its vast, intact ecosystems –
Traveling the world, conservation became a passion for Freeman. “Eventually, I couldn’t just be a spectator,” he says. (CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY)
felt like the right place to commit my work. That led me to the Center for Biological Diversity, where we use science, the law and creative media to protect life on Earth.
I consider myself an all-purpose activist. I have a background in law and some experience in science, and I use whatever tools are necessary to protect biodiversity, habitats and the climate they depend on. Some of my time is spent on legal work, some on digging into the science, and a lot of it is connecting with people on the ground – communities threatened by destructive projects and tribes fighting to protect their traditional homelands and subsistence resources.
TH What does protecting Alaska’s public lands and wildlife mean to you personally?
CF Alaska is unlike anywhere else. Its scale and intact ecosystems are what make it remarkable. We still have rivers full of wild salmon, ancient forests where bears roam and caribou migrations that haven’t changed for thousands of years. That’s rare, and it’s worth fighting for. Protecting these ecosystems isn’t just about scenery; it’s survival. They filter our air and water, regulate the climate and sustain biodiversity.
Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run. The Brooks Range supports the world’s longest
terrestrial migration – Western Arctic caribou moving through truly wild lands.
But projects like the Pebble Mine threaten Bristol Bay’s waters and salmon. The Ambler Road would cut through caribou migration routes, crossing nearly 3,000 freshwater streams. These projects don’t just impact one species; they disrupt entire ecosystems and threaten Alaska’s identity.
We spend a lot of time working with small-boat, family-owned fishing operations – people who want to pass their boats and permits down to the next generation and keep the watersheds they rely on intact. Alaska’s tight-knit communities remind us what we’re fighting for: the birds, the insects, the flowers, the animals, the fish. That’s what makes life worth living.
TH How do you navigate advocacy work when administrations shift policies on mining and drilling?
CF The fight never stops. Every administration brings new challenges. We’ve seen conservation wins under the Biden Administration, but also major setbacks. The Willow Project is the largest Arctic oil drilling project in decades. The administration also advanced the road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, threatening vital bird habitat.
Even when we win – like halting Ambler
Road – the fight isn’t over. Permits can return. Policies flip. We must be relentless. The last administration prioritized profits over sustainability. But no matter who’s in office, our mission stays the same: Keep oil in the ground, stop destructive mining and protect ecosystems future generations depend on.
Switching between D.C. politics and conversations in small Alaskan communities isn’t easy, but it’s essential. Our work is about bridging that gap between courts, government agencies and the people directly affected.
TH Some argue that conservation hurts Alaska’s economy. What is your take on that?
CF It depends on the economy you want. If it’s a short-term boom and bust – profits flowing out of state while communities are left behind – then unchecked extraction fits. But if you want an economy that supports Alaskans for generations, environmental protections are essential. Industries like fishing, tourism and outdoor recreation provide sustainable jobs without sacrificing our resources.
Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery generates $2 billion annually and supports 15,000 jobs. That’s a renewable economy. If the Pebble Mine contaminates those waters, that economy is gone – forever. The real question is: Do we build an economy
that destroys natural resources or one that preserves them?
And it’s not just our lands; we’re seeing the same thing happen with Alaska’s waters. Our public waters and oceans are being commodified. Corporate trawlers, based in Alaska but owned by massive companies, are plundering the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. These industrial operations have devastating effects on marine ecosystems and kill countless nontarget species through bycatch. Alaskans are pushing back, fighting for a sustainable vision that prioritizes small-boat, family-owned fisheries supporting local communities.
TH Predator hunting is controversial in Alaska. What’s your take on recent rollbacks of hunting regulations on public lands?
CF We’re not anti-hunting or anti-fishing. What we oppose is unethical hunting that violates fair chase principles and disrupts ecosystems. Chasing wolves with snowmachines, killing wolf pups in dens, baiting bears – these aren’t management tools. They’re political moves to eliminate predators, and they don’t belong on public lands.
TH Some say predator control is needed for healthy game populations. How would you respond to that?
CF The key is science. Predator control hasn’t been proven to help ungulate populations long-term. In many cases, it harms them by disrupting predatorprey balance.
Wildlife management should maintain ecological balance; not boost one species for another’s sake. Climate change, habitat loss and disease threaten caribou and moose far more than predators. That’s where the focus should be.
TH What role do wolves and bears play in ecosystem health?
CF Predators are critical. Wolves strengthen caribou herds by culling the weak. Brown bears fertilize forests by dragging salmon inland, spreading marine nutrients.
When we reduce predator numbers, we weaken ecosystems and even lose tourism revenue. People come from around the world to see wolves in Denali, bears in Katmai, caribou herds in the Arctic. Predators are ecologically and economically vital.
TH What are the biggest conservation battles ahead? What’s not getting enough attention?
CF The Johnson Tract gold mine is a major threat. It’s within Lake Clark National Park and the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The mine and its port could devastate Lake Clark’s brown bears, pollute Cook Inlet’s last razor clam beds, disrupt seabird nesting sites and destroy
the only known winter feeding grounds for endangered Cook Inlet belugas. Local lodges, tribes, fishermen, birders, beluga advocates – all are united against it. This is a gold mine – no national security or renewable energy benefit – and just another short-term project leaving behind a toxic waste dump in one of Alaska’s most remarkable places. Stopping it is a top priority.
TH Climate change is hitting Alaska hard. How is the Center addressing the impacts? CF Alaska’s on the front lines. Rising temperatures, melting permafrost, shifting wildlife – everything’s changing fast. Ice-dependent species like seals, polar bears and whales are in trouble as their world disappears. Caribou and musk oxen face starvation when winter rain freezes tundra forage. Salmon runs are collapsing on rivers like the Yukon and Kuskokwim. We must stop new fossil fuel projects and phase out existing ones. Alaska’s future – ecological and economic – depends on it.
TH What key projects are you working on to protect watersheds and marine ecosystems?
CF One of our main priorities is fighting the corporate trawling industry and blocking new offshore oil and gas in the Arctic and Bering Sea. Industrial trawlers are stripping the base of the food chain – taking fish vital to whales,
sea lions and marine mammals. Bycatch kills countless nontarget species. It’s one of the most destructive industries operating in Alaska. We’re working creatively with others to push back, because once these ecosystems are gone, they don’t come back. Alaska’s waters should remain a resource for Alaskans and future generations; not corporate profit.
TH How can everyday Alaskans get involved?
CF Take the long view. Mines may operate for a decade, but the damage lasts forever. Push for sustainable, local economies. Urge elected officials to stop selling Alaska’s lands and waters to outside corporations. Invest in what sustains Alaska for generations.
TH What keeps you motivated? What gives you hope for Alaska’s wild places?
CF There’s still so much left worth fighting for. You can still see massive brown bears, hear birds in the morning and spend weeks in true wilderness. That’s rare and precious. Every time I’m out on the bay, watching whales and seabirds, I’m reminded of what’s at stake. That’s what keeps me inspired –and why I keep fighting every day. ASJ
Editor’s note: To learn more about the Center for Biological Diversity’s work, visit biologicaldiversity.org.
Freeman calls on the public to also get involved with protecting the state’s fish and wildlife habitat. “Take the long view. Mines may operate for a decade, but the damage lasts forever. Push for sustainable, local economies. Urge elected officials to stop selling Alaska’s lands and waters to outside corporations. Invest in what sustains Alaska for generations.” (CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY)
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