Fall is coming—Alaska News Brief August 2026
Folks are still harvesting from their gardens, smoking fish, and waiting for the blueberries to pop, but the time to prepare for winter has come.
You can smell the hint of decay in the air. You can see leaves yellowing and drooping, the Fireweed blooms nearly topping out, the bellies of those so fat bears bulging.
Jasper’s bedroom. Photo by Vicki Clark.
Fall is coming.
It’s the time of year where you remember the reason you make the best laid plans—and probably why marketing folks decided to make August “make a will month.”
Honestly, I never thought about wills much, even a short decade ago. I never thought I’d have anything to pass on to anyone on account of student loan debt; college is expensive, and as for law school…well, oof.
I don’t have kids either, but come to think of it, that might be even more reason to plan for where I want my stuff to go instead of letting a probate court decide. Besides, my dogs feel like kids to me. A friend said to me once, “you know that you’re getting my pet in my will and I’ve set aside some money to help” and I thought to myself, “huh.” Now that’s good planning. I sure want my dog to go to a loving home if something happens to me, and to help financially support who takes on that role.
To be clear, I’m probably like many of you who plan to circumvent the whole dying thing altogether, but it’s good to plan for the possibility. The people who come after us will be grateful.
Here at Trustees, we’ve been truly blessed with legacy gifts from people’s wills as well as being a beneficiary in their retirement accounts or a life insurance policy. I’m endlessly struck by how these gifts really do carry on the values and acts of care that folks spend their lives building and then pass on to the future.
It’s profoundly meaningful to know that people trust Trustees to keep fighting for the places and living communities they love even after they’re gone. It’s inspiring to see people who often could not contribute huge amounts to charity during their lives do so later through their bequests to Trustees and other nonprofits.
The Trustees Board of Directors astutely decided that most of these gifts go into an endowment investment account that will continue rippling outward to help Trustees protect land, wildlife, and communities in Alaska for decades to come.
Seeing other people do that makes me realize how I can choose my legacy too. I first put together a will when I bought my house about nine years ago. I don’t’ have much—a house and retirement account—so I used a free online resource to build my will. My goals included giving to my niece and nephews, and to the organizations I love, like Trustees, a nonprofit environmental law firm in Santa Barbara, and other nonprofits working to serve those marginalized and help my community.
When I took this job, I did not know much about fundraising, but I learned how hugely impactful legacy gifts can be. Organizations like ours can’t budget for these types of donations, but when they come, often as a surprise, they truly lift up our work, our spirits, and our future health. It’s the community and camaraderie that we’ve built together that makes us stronger.
We feel the same power when hearing that someone has included us in their estate planning. Making a will shows kindness to ourselves, to the people and groups we care about, and to the future to which we help build.
Jasper lounging in the yard. Photo by Vicki Clark.
We’d love to hear from you if you put Trustees in your will. Find out more here about how to do that.
As for me, well I’ve got a lot to do before getting the yard in order, the house projects done, the winter gear ready to go, and of course updating my own will.
Jasper is counting on me.
PS. Thanks to supporters like you, we can continue fighting to protect Alaska’s land, water, air, wildlife and people.
Brant flock in Izembek Lagoon. Photo by Running Wild for Defenders of Wildlife.
Another Izembek lawsuit, plus a court ruling that makes corporate CEOs swoon
A backpacker in Adak wilderness on Adak Island. Photo by Paxson Woelber.
Wilderness with a capital W
Arctic bumblebee on an Arctic poppy. Illustration by Madison Grosvenor.