Exploring the Copper River Delta in FRCC’s Ecology Field Class.
If you’re a travel enthusiast with a passion for adventure and learning, you’ll appreciate the journey I embarked on this summer with the FRCC ecology field class through the college’s Natural Resources program.
Our destination? The breathtaking Copper River Delta in Alaska. Here’s a snapshot of our week-long exploration into the ecology of south Alaska.
Day 1: The Adventure Begins
Our adventure began with a mix of excitement and nerves as 14 eager students and two dedicated instructors gathered at the Alaskan Airlines gate at Denver International Airport (DIA). As we flew over majestic peaks and sprawling snowfields students buzzed with curiosity about what lay ahead.
Our hosts at Orca Adventure Lodge greeted us as we disembarked in Cordova, Alaska, and drove us to our home for the next week: an old cannery turned fishing lodge steeped in history. Buck—the lodge dog—was often an honorary member of class.
Day 2: Everything Is New
Our second day greeted us with perfect weather, setting the stage for a day full of exploration and discovery. The itinerary consisted of setting smolt (baby fish) traps is a few locations to collect smolt for an evening fish identification activity followed by a hike through a coastal forest.
One of the streams in which we set traps is new—as warming occurs in glacial areas, glaciers melt creating potential new habitat for salmon to spawn. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game wants to know if fish are utilizing these new streams. We were excited to investigate this for the agency.
On the way, we stopped for a bit of moose watching as a bull strutted his stuff. Once we hit the trail, we moved at slug pace as the students were so excited and interested in everything! The trail meandered through two distinct ecozones shaped by glacial recession and terminated at a glacial lake.
Prior to departure each student had chosen a plant to research—one that we know is found in the area. If the student saw this plant on the hike, they were instructed to stop the group and to tell us about it. They were so excited when they found their plants!
The hike concluded at a glacial lake, where we observed the effects of glacier retreat since the 1930s. The excitement continued as we checked our fish traps, discovering an astonishing 82 baby fish in the trap on the new stream!
We also came across two intriguing piles of wolf scat—one filled with beaver fur and the other containing porcupine quills. Our hope was to avoid a close encounter with the wolf responsible!
Day 3: A Day at Sea
Our third day was dedicated to a wildlife boat trip into Prince William Sound. The day’s topic was wildlife including sea birds. Students delved into the lives of sea otters as they observed and documented their behavior, learning how to complete an ethogram study (a system of recording animal behaviors).
The thrill escalated when our captain received word of whales in the sound. To our delight, we encountered a pod of orcas, a rare and exhilarating sight.
Our adventure didn’t stop there. We spotted two brown bears on a nearby beach before they retreated into the forest.
We continued our journey to an island with a remnant stand of yellow cedars, which are currently under study due to their declining population. Despite the rainy weather, the students embraced the soggy island, absorbing every detail of the lush, moss-covered terrain as they theorized why the cedars are declining.
Back at the dock, we listened to a lecture by an Alaska Department of Fish and Game employee who determines whether commercial fishers are allowed to fish. The weight of people’s livelihood rests on his shoulders and he described how he balances immediate economic need with ensuring that the fishery is ecologically and economically viable for years to come.
We also visited the department’s lab where research is conducted on otoliths—ear bones of a fish—to determine whether the fish is hatchery-raised or comes from wild populations. The day concluded with a post-dinner class meeting on fishery management, sea ocean rise and orcas.
Day 4: Tidepools and Culture
There is no better place to visualize species diversity and richness than in the tidepools located at the shore of the Orca Adventure Lodge. This morning was spent counting critters found in three separate tidal zones to then calculating the species richness and diversity of each zone.
Before this activity, students had hypothesized which zone would be the most diverse—and they then tested that hypothesis. The afternoon was spent at the local indigenous cultural center, as the state of Alaska is unique to the lower 48 in the history of its indigenous communities.
Day 5: A Glacial Marvel
Our fifth day proved to be one of the most magical of the trip. Our focus was on glaciers and ecological succession. We kayaked across a glacial lake fed by the melting Sheridan Glacier—a journey that had evolved significantly over the past 14 years. Due to significant melting, what was once a walk-on glacier is now a 3-mile paddle to its face.
The mile hike from the parking lot to the lake allowed us to witness firsthand all the stages of succession from the bare ground beginnings to the later successional stage of mature forests.
Once in our kayaks, and under the clear sun, we encountered a recently flipped iceberg with striking blue ice exposed. Rounding a corner, we came upon an iceberg arch, which left many students in tears of awe.
Day 6: Gulls, Transects and a Local Celebrity
On our sixth day we focused on studying seabird nesting sites on a barrier island. Students walked several lines of uniform distances counting gull nests. They recorded which ones had eggs (and how many), and whether any had hatched or appeared to have been preyed upon. Students have participated in the project every year since this course began and Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game relies upon this data to monitor the population highs and lows of these seabirds.
Accessing the island required flying on a small plane and landing on the beach next to grizzly bear tracks. That begged the question, how did a bear get on an island? Spoiler alert: Bears can swim. A few curious students followed the bear tracks and discovered the tracks of a moose and calf, surmising the bear was tracking the moose calf hoping for a meal.
A special treat awaited students when we returned to the hanger: a celebrity sighting of sorts. Gayle Ranny, who is featured in the Smithsonian’s Women of Flight exhibit, was there working on her plane. Gayle holds the most flight hours of any Alaskan female bush pilot in history and she took time to thrill the students with stories of her flights.
Day 7: Ocean Life and Fishing Fun
A study of the Copper River would not be complete without some conversation around the fishing industry. Hence our last full day included a trip on the sound to experience firsthand this activity that is so important to the culture of Cordova.
Students were treated to a day of ocean fishing dotted with discussions on specific regulations regarding species catch limits and allowable catch, as well as the specialty purposes of the different looking boats in the harbor. Some folks in Cordova are experimenting with industries outside of fishing and we took a look at a kelp farm, though it was out of season.
Day 8: The Big Tree
On our final morning in Alaska, we took a quick hike to the big tree, a giant Sitka Spruce, to stretch our legs before the long flight home. This reminded us how significantly environments differ can across the landscape. From glaciers to marine life to the most northern temperate rainforest forest, Cordova exposes students to unique ecosystems not found in Colorado.
Our journey through Alaska’s Copper River Delta was nothing short of extraordinary. From the grandeur of glaciers to the thrill of wildlife encounters, every moment was a reminder of the beauty and complexity of our natural world. For anyone with a thirst for adventure and a love for learning, this trip was truly a dream come true.
