Exploring the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska by Car: Scenic Route and Highlights
Off on an Alaskan Adventure
My fantastic expedition through Alaska kicks off under a radiant sun in Anchorage. Fueled up with coffee, attire, waders, and bear-friendly resources - including stickers, brochures, and educational sheets - I hit the road for a journey down the Kenai Peninsula. The primary goal? To immerse myself in breathtaking landscapes, engage with thriving communities, and aid these regions in coexisting peacefully with bears.
Year after year, I eagerly anticipate the Kenai Peninsula Bear Safety and Electric Fencing workshops. For seven action-packed days, I made five stops to deliver presentations. In Homer and Hope, I even had the chance to lend a hand on property consultations, offering guidance on designing fences that cater to Alaskan bears.
Defenders of Wildlife partners with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to deliver this exciting workshop series across the Kenai Peninsula. These events allow me to chat with enthusiastic community members about our Electric Fence Incentive Program, addressing queries and encouraging folks to make use of this invaluable tool to safeguard their bear attractants.
This year, I couldn't resist the temptation to team up with fellow Defenders for some beluga monitoring and water quality sampling in this area. Fasten your seatbelts, and let's dive into the details of this unforgettable trip!
Homer - The Gem of the Kenai
First stop: Homer - a gem nestled at the very end of the Kenai Peninsula. As you descend the steep hill into the city, you're greeted by awe-inspiring views of Kachemak Bay, the Kachemak Bay State Wilderness Park, and The Homer Spit. Quite simply, if I were to pick a favorite place on the Kenai, it would be Homer.
During the summer months, Homer becomes a bustling tourist hotspot, equipped with shopping opportunities and a variety of tours for hiking, bear viewing, fishing, and kayaking. However, in the off-season, the atmosphere transforms into a calmer retreat, reminiscent of the beach towns I visited along Cape Cod, Massachusetts, during my university years.
Our workshop in Homer is consistently well-attended, with the strong beekeeping and gardening community playing a significant role in spreading the word about our workshops and Incentive Program. Coexistence programs, such as the Electric Fence Incentive Program, help protect the geographically isolated brown bear populations living on the Kenai, which are especially vulnerable to population decline. Threats to these bears include climate change, habitat destruction, and conflicts with humans. Defenders offers homeowners resources to prevent bear mortality associated with encounters over chickens, gardens, beehives, compost, garbage, and more.
Soldotna and Funny River - A Trio of Wildlife and Work
Defenders of Wildlife's Alaska Marine Representative, Ragen Davey, and Alaska Senior Representative, Christi Heun, welcomed me at my stop in Soldotna. Together, we completed a beluga monitoring session but unfortunately couldn't spot any belugas. The trio then moved on to water quality testing in the Kenai River, a key site for salmon - the primary food source of the endangered Cook Inlet belugas. Defenders has collaborated with the Kenai Watershed Forum and other partners to monitor the river's water quality for several years. Our team gathered samples from three sites and delivered them for analysis.
Following the fieldwork, I bid farewell to Ragen and Christi and made my way to Funny River for my second workshop of the week. Funny River is a small, rural community with around 900 residents, offering a tranquil environment surrounded by excellent bear and moose habitat.
Only a few miles away runs the Kenai River, a well-known location for both human fishing and bears. Given the close proximity of bears, safety tools like electric fencing are essential to ensure the community remains secure for both humans and bears.
My next day's workshop took place back in Soldotna and boasted the highest attendance ever for an electric fencing workshop! I hope that as these programs become more frequent in these communities, they can evolve into larger events, thereby garnering greater community involvement over time.
Hope - Sharing Space with Bears
Two hours north of Funny River, and two hours south of Anchorage, is Hope - a quaint, bear-friendly community. Although bear fatalities resulting from conflicts fortunately remain low in Hope, the number of chicken coops and other attractants is steadily increasing. To maintain a safe and secure future for bear populations, especially under the threat of climate change, it's essential to help communities like Hope equip themselves with resources to prevent conflicts that usually lead to bear deaths.
Seward - The Final Frontier
My final destination was Seward, located an hour and 20 minutes southeast of Hope. Seward, much like Homer and Hope, is a coastal community offering up-close encounters with marine wildlife, including whales, sea lions, sea otters, and seals.
We have strong partnerships in Seward, including with Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance and the Seward Cares for Its Bears Working Group, which Defenders joined this year. Together, we've distributed bear-resistant garbage cans, organized outreach events to share information about the Electric Fence Incentive Program and bear safety, and subsidized electric fences in the area.
I eagerly look forward to returning to the Kenai Peninsula for future workshops, excited to expand the series to encompass more locations and share more resources with the compassionate communities of Alaska!
About the Author
Isabel Grant
Isabel received her Master of Science in Conservation Medicine from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. With a passion for wildlife conservation, Isabel is dedicated to protecting and preserving the delicate balance between humans and the natural world, particularly in Alaska's diverse ecosystem.
- The environmental-science focus of the workshops in Homer, Soldotna, and Funny River on the Kenai Peninsula includes discussions about climate-change impacts on bear populations and promoting the use of lifestyle-friendly tools such as electric fencing to protect both humans and bears.
- As part of the Alaskan adventure, travel opportunities extend beyond bear safety workshops to include activities like beluga monitoring, water quality sampling, and immersing oneself in the distinctive lifestyles and landscapes of coastal communities like Seward, showcasing a harmonious blend of science, lifestyle, and travel.
