2023 AWARDS

FRANK GOLATA OUTSTANDING OUTFITTER AWARD: PAUL A. CHERVENAK

This year’s Frank Golata Outstanding Outfitter Award recognizes one of Alaska’s shining stars: Paul A. Chervenak, master guide and outfitter of Kodiak Outdoor Adventures. Since 1985, Chervenak has owned and operated his guiding and outfitting business on Kodiak Island and has set himself apart in his commitment to clients’ success and safety and in his dedication to conservation.

As Jack Atcheson, Jr., explained in conferring the Golata Award, Chervenak is where he is today in large part thanks to his father giving young Paul a one-way ticket from his home in Minnesota to Kodiak Island so he could hunt and fish. He arrived, and he remained, becoming a leading voice and benevolent force for Alaska’s wild places and wildlife. Together with his wife Angie, Chervenak has led an epic life.

Since 1996, Chervenak has served on the Kodiak Fish and Game Advisory Committee (KFGAC), which reports to the state Board of Fisheries and Alaska Board of Game. During this time on the KFGAC, Chervenak has held the big game guide seat and has been vice chairman since 1999.

In 2002, Chervenak helped form the Kodiak Unified Bear Subcommittee (KUBS), which he has chaired since its inception. KUBS is a standing subcommittee of the KFGAC that was formed to oversee the implementation of the Kodiak Brown Bear Management Plan created in 2001. KUBS works with the local management agencies responsible for Kodiak’s bears, their habitat and its users. In 2010, Chervenak was appointed by Governor Sean Parnell to be the state of Alaska representative on the Kodiak Brown Bear Trust, a nongovernment trust supporting bear conservation on the Kodiak Islands.

Chervenak’s long years of service in all these organizations have paid off handsomely: the current Kodiak bear population is at an all-time high.

Beyond Kodiak, Chervenak has an excellent reputation throughout Alaska and has worked exhaustively on statewide hunting issues. In addition to donating countless hours, he has been a steadfast donor to WSF for many years.

“Chervenak typically kills the largest bears year to year on the island and produces like few in our industry for his clients,” said master guide Coke Wallace of Midnight Sun

Safaris in his nomination letter. “This past May, he helped a client of mine who is missing a leg get a very nice brown bear on the eleventh day of the hunt! And if you have ever spent any time afield in Kodiak, you know what an accomplishment that is: it’s beautiful but the Emerald Isle also has some of the most brutal terrain to move through in our state.”

In accepting the Frank Golata honor, Paul Chervenak thanked his guides and mentors who fought the brutal fights to keep non-resident hunters coming to Alaska. “I’m just a small part of it. Thank you to all who keep booking hunts so we can continue our work doing what we love.” WS