My hibernation celebration—Alaska News Brief October 2026
I love to watch bears, it’s true, but I also want to be one during the winter. I find myself falling into reverie about curling up in a cozy place and hibernating for a good long time. You know, like all those Katmai fat bears will do.
Bear 89, “Backpack” waiting for fish. Photo by N. Boak, NPS.
Yes, I voted for Backpack, the behemoth winner of this year’s Fat Bear Week, but I also want to be like him. Come Autumn, I yearn for the day when I can say, “Well the season’s work is done and it’s time to get some rest!”
Sadly, things don’t work that way for people, and the job’s never done around here.
We’ve got several oral arguments before Halloween and more in November. We’ve got briefs to submit, appeals in play, cases awaiting court decisions, and an endless slew of broken laws to address. We’ve got an administration intent on dismantling environmental protections in every way it can and doing so by ignoring the purpose and plain language of the law.
The latest effort came in the form of a memo sent to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s field offices that “reinterprets” the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition against killing endangered animals. The memo’s guidance would allow the killing and injuring of endangered animals if “incidental” or “accidental,” i.e., if you don’t have the intent to kill them. The thing is, most endangered animals killed or injured in this country did due to industrial and economic activities, not an intention to kill. That’s why laws require meaningful measures to prevent harm, not allow careless “accidents.”
And what is particularly egregious and this memo from a legal standpoint is that only Congress can change the law in this way; agencies don’t get to rewrite the law by calling it a “reinterpretation.”
Join us Oct 16 at Bleeding Heart Brewery from 6-9!
This relentless disregard for human and wildlife is tiring, and hibernation can sound so…well…comforting.
Thankfully, there’s a way out of chaos and carelessness fatigue, and it starts with getting together and showing care. So, we’ve joined the Alaska Wildlife Alliance in hosting my favorite kind of celebration of all—a Hibernation Celebration—on Friday, Oct. 16, from 6 to 9 pm at Bleeding Heart Brewing in Palmer.
We invite you to this big bear hug of an event to enjoy good company, tasty refreshments, and some grounding in what connects us.
I’ve heard there will be a cool silent auction with goodies that befit the Alaska life as well—like Patagonia Black Hole bags, a “hibernation” package from Betti’s Books in Anchorage, hand crafted pottery, gift certificates for the Potato, Wild Scoops, the Moose’s Tooth and Bear Tooth, plus adventures like a glacier cruise and whitewater rafting.
Join us for cocktails and court tales at Ursa Major Distillery in Fairbanks!
(As a side note, I must admit that there’s nothing like a good book, mug of coffee, and evening dinner plans to make me want to come out of my den.)
We’re connecting with folks again at Cocktails and Court Tales at the Ursa Major Distillery in Fairbanks from 6 to 8:30 pm Oct. 23. A portion of the distillery’s October “cocktail for a cause” will go to Trustees, so order “Cease and Desist” anytime this month and stop by on the 23rd to hear a few court tales, too.
Now, I’m not going to say our busy October social calendar makes me stop wishing for my own hibernation journey, but it does help me remember the joy of sharing stories, hanging out, and doing the good work of protecting what we love about Alaska.
Then I think of Backpack heading into a winter’s nap, I look over at Jasper and the wood stove, and I feel again that pull to curl up in a fuzzy blanket to read, nap, repeat. All winter long.
Jasper’s bedroom. Photo by Vicki Clark.
A girl can daydream.
PS. Thanks to supporters like you, we can continue fighting to protect Alaska’s land, water, air, wildlife and people.
A motor boat cruises on the Kobuk. The proposed Arctic mine is near the Kobuk Wild and Scenic River. Photo courtesy of NPS.
Mining companies profit and you pay the price—updates on the Ambler and Mat Su industrial roads
A collection of headlines surrounding the stripping of environmental review through streamlined permitting and the subsequent loss of public participation.
Agencies take wrecking ball to public process
A raven and a dog converse. Photo by Dawnell Smith.