Our annual Seattle Update – March 7, 2023

Our annual Seattle Update – March 7, 2023

Please join us at Town Hall Seattle on the evening of Tuesday, March 7. In addition to providing an update on the status of our seabird study colony and the melting Arctic, we will share stories (some funny, some sad) about the joy and heartbreak of maintaining a remote field camp for five decades. We look forward to seeing old and new friends in the Seattle area who can attend in person, but are also glad the presentation will be available as a livestream on our YouTube channel. The evening will begin with an in-person reception starting at 6 pm with light fare, beverages and conversation, followed by an in-person...

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2022 Cooper Island Update

2022 Cooper Island Update

March 15, 2022 Town Hall Seattle Reception at 6 pm with presentation at 7 pm We are happy to once again have an in-person event in Seattle at Town Hall Seattle, but glad the presentation will also be available on YouTube for live streaming and later viewing on our YouTube channel. The evening will begin with an in-person reception starting at 6 pm and we look forward to sharing light fare, beverages and conversation with old and new friends. The in-person and virtual presentation starting at 7 pm will include an overview of George Divoky’s half-century on Cooper Island documenting...

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The nearly impossible 2020 field season

The nearly impossible 2020 field season

Maintaining a long-term study of an Arctic seabird on a remote island off the northern Alaska coast has never been easy.  Maintaining that study in 2020, when very few things anywhere in the world were easy, meant dealing with a new set of logistical hurdles and personal dilemmas and sacrifices.  Thanks to the extraordinary help of extraordinary friends, however, in this year of such disruption for all of us I am happy to report that, against all odds, we were able to collect data for the 46th straight year on Cooper Island this summer. During March and April, when I...

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A decreased breeding effort, but the colony persists.

A decreased breeding effort, but the colony persists.

This improbable 2020 field season is finishing its second week. As I anticipated, being back in Utqiagvik and heading out to Cooper Island helped make this bizarre year feel a little more normal.  But once on the island, my initial census of the colony quickly reminded me that, while the entire world is focused on the disruptions and dangers of the pandemic, the repercussions of a melting Arctic continue – as they have for the majority of the 47-year Cooper Island study. In the late 1980s the Mandt’s Black Guillemot colony on Cooper Island had over 200 breeding pairs, thanks...

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Against all odds: a 2020 field season

Against all odds: a 2020 field season

In early spring, when the first evidence of the scale of the pandemic was becoming clear, many field biologists realized that restrictions or concerns about travel would prevent them from having a field season. The impact was especially bad for graduate students and early career researchers who had worked hard to obtain funding and prepare for the 2020 field season. It also was a major blow to those of us who have conducted continuous long-term studies requiring annual field work. Friends of Cooper Island was impacted by the earliest stages of the pandemic when we had to cancel our annual...

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Webinar on Cooper Island documentary now streaming

Webinar on Cooper Island documentary now streaming

The April 24th webinar with Joe McNally discussing his 2001 and 2019 visits to Cooper Island and the making of the documentary Watching the Earth Melt Away, is now available for on-demand online viewing at this link or clicking on the image below. Many thanks to both Joe and PhotoShelter for telling the story of the long-term study on Cooper Island and informing the public about the rapidly changing Arctic. WATCH: Q&A with Joe McNally About His Documentary “Watching the Earth Melt Away” In this webinar, Joe talks about some of the most meaningful photos captured during his trips to...

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Earth Day 2020

Earth Day 2020

In honor of Earth Day 2020, Joe McNally and Photoshelter will be holding a webinar where Joe will discuss his 2001 and 2019 visits to Cooper Island, the photos and video he obtained during those visits and the importance of conservation photography in engaging and educating the public. We had planned to have Joe attend our annual Seattle update at Town Hall Seattle, which had to be cancelled due to the need for social distancing and are glad he is able to discuss his Cooper Island work in this webinar. You can register for the webinar at this link or...

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