FWS Retirees 2026 Reunion
September 21-24, 2026,
Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage, Alaska

Get ready for your Alaska Reunion trip! Registration is now open. Here’s the link: https://form.jotform.com/261515388128158

The general schedule is:

Monday – registration, Walk for Wildlife, and Opening Reception – all at the hotel

Tuesday – program at the hotel – speakers will address relevant Alaska history (setting the stage for the Service in Alaska), current status and activities of various service programs in Alaska, and an evening speaker on the Iditarod National Historic Trail and sled dog race – yes, there is a nexus with the Service.

Wednesday and Thursday – Field trips:

• Seward, Alaska, including visits to the Alaska Sea Life Center and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (Wednesday only)
• Alaska Native Heritage Center (Wednesday and Thursday)
• Anchorage Museum (Wednesday and Thursday)
• Hatcher Pass/Independence Mine (Thursday only)

Thursday – closing banquet at the Hotel Captain Cook. Our own Jim Kurth is the speaker and the silent auction will be held during the banquet on Thursday evening – bring your donations.

This reunion is expensive, and we recognize that, but this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Alaska will be worth it. The registrationfee for the Reunion is $40. The deadline for registering and payment is August 15, 2026. The Opening Reception, Field trips, the Greenwalt Walk for Wildlife, and the Thursday evening banquet will involve additional costs for participation. Details on these are provided below.

Our host hotel is the Hotel Captain Cook, 939 W 5th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501. Here is the booking link: Booking Link, and the group code is: FWS Retirees Reunion. If you want to stay longer, subject to availability, the group rate is available before or after the reunion. You can call the hotel at 907-276-6000. Be sure to ask for “FWS Retirees Reunion” when you talk to the hotel. The group room rate is $199 per night plus taxes and fees. If you have any problems making reservations, please contact Helen Clough at 907-321-4004 or hcloughak@gmail.com. Please make your reservations as soon as possible. Parking at the hotel is $40 per day. Less expensive parking is available at nearby lots.

Anchorage International Airport is located about 5 miles from the hotel. The hotel does not provide a shuttle. Taxis and Ubers should be readily available. Taxis are located right outside of baggage claim. If you rent a car, as noted above, hotel parking is available but is expensive, and you may not need a car during the reunion. Less expensive parking lots are nearby the hotel.

All Reunion attendees are expected to be members of the Association in good standing, which means being current with dues. You can also use the registration form to pay your current annual dues ($25). In that same area on the form, you may also make a donation to support the Association and address unanticipated costs related to the Reunion.

 Greenwalt Walk for Wildlife – Monday, September 21

This year’s Retirees Association Walk for Wildlife is scheduled for the first day of the Reunion, September 21, and will begin at 3:00 PM at the Hotel Captain Cook. Join us for a leisurely bird walk from the heart of downtown Anchorage to the shores of Westchester Lagoon — one of Anchorage’s most popular birding spots.  Westchester Lagoon is just a 15-minute walk from downtown.  The paved Tony Knowles Coastal Trail runs along the shore and continues out to the coastal flats.  The trail is flat, easy, and open to all fitness levels, with sweeping views of Cook Inlet and the Alaska Range.  By late September, waterfowl gather on the water, as well as common loons, red-necked grebes, and wigeon.  At least one swan family readies for its journey south.  Bald eagles and ravens remain present year-round. Just half a mile south of the Lagoon along the Coastal Trail is the Fish Creek Estuary.  This tidal marsh attracts shorebirds and migrants.  Participants can either catch a ride back from the Lagoon or walk back to the hotel. Most of the walk is along the Coastal Trail. The donation for participants is $20, and all donations will be presented to the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges (the Friends group for all 16 Alaska refuges). The Walk is planned to be about two hours. For questions, please contact Board Member Lew Gorman (lew.gorman@yahoo.com).

Opening Reception $40. – Monday, September 21 – Will be held at the top of the hotel with an incredible 360-degree view of Anchorage and the surrounding area. We know, we are hitting you up for money for everything, but costs are high in Alaska and the reception will have great snacks and a cash bar. Unless you are really a big eater, it will probably feed you dinner.

Field Trips – We are offering several field trips at the Reunion. Each is listed below:

Wednesday, September 23 – Seward All-Day Field Trip $110 (lunch is extra – see below). An all-day field trip (bus will load at 7:30 a.m. and return to the hotel around 7:30 p.m. A motorcoach (with restroom) will transport participants to Seward, Alaska via a very scenic drive with wildlife viewing opportunities along the way to visit the Alaska Sea Life Center for a special behind-the-scenes tour. On the way back, we will visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center near Girdwood. Box lunches (order with registration) will be provided for an additional fee of $18, or you may bring your own lunch.

Wednesday, September 23, and Thursday, September 24 – Alaska Native Heritage Center Field Trip (morning) $35.00. At 8:45 a.m., a van will shuttle participants 6 miles to the Alaska Native Heritage Center and will depart to return to the hotel at noon. Just minutes from downtown Anchorage, the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) is Alaska’s premier cultural destination representing all Alaska Native peoples. More than a museum, ANHC is a vibrant living cultural center where you can discover the traditions, languages, and arts of Alaska Native cultures through live cultural programming and exhibitions. Explore life-sized Village Sites and learn from dynamic exhibits in the Hall of Cultures. Enjoy cultural demonstrations and performances on the Gathering Place stage. Watch short films and documentaries in the Theater, shop for authentic Alaska Native art in the Ch’k’iqadi Gallery, or from Alaska Native artist vendors on-site.

Wednesday, September 23, and Thursday, September 24, Anchorage Museum (afternoon) $35.00: At 1:30 p.m., a van will shuttle participants the short distance to the Anchorage Museum. Return transportation will be available at 4:30 p.m. Visit the permanent exhibits, including the largest and longest loan made by the Smithsonian Institution. The Living Our Cultures exhibition has brought more than 600 Alaska Native cultural heritage pieces to their homelands and provides access for hands-on study by Alaska Native Elders, artists, educators, and scholars. The Alaska exhibition tells the story of Alaska through multiple voices and perspectives reflecting the ingenuity, technology, ways of knowing, and intimate understanding of the landscape that have allowed people to survive and thrive across the North. A special exhibit invites visitors aboard a recreated section of the University of Alaska Fairbanks research vessel Sikuliaq, highlighting the role of science and the people behind it in deepening our understanding of the Arctic marine ecosystem.

Thursday, September 24 – Hatcher Pass/Independence Mine – approximately 6-7 hours. $75.00 plus lunch. Your van will leave from the hotel at 8:00 a.m. to travel to the Hatcher Pass area north of Anchorage. Tucked into the Talkeetna Mountains just an hour north of Anchorage, Hatcher Pass is one of Alaska’s most stunning and accessible alpine habitats. The drive alone is worth the trip: a winding road climbs through river valleys lined with cottonwood and birch before opening into sweeping tundra meadows, granite ridge lines, and panoramic views. Hatcher Pass is home to the Independence Mine State Historical Park, where the remains of a 1930s gold mining operation have been restored. Visitors can explore the restored buildings and learn the stories of the miners who once worked this remote terrain. The area is home to a diverse array of plant species adapted to the high-altitude environment, as well as moose, black bears, marmots, snowshoe hares, and occasionally Dall sheep. Birders will have a chance to spot numerous species, such as willow ptarmigan, golden eagles, American golden plovers, gray-crowned rosy finches, and a host of songbirds that thrive in the alpine and tundra habitats. You will be back at the hotel in plenty of time to get ready for the banquet.

Banquet, Thursday evening – Hotel Captain Cook $85.00: The banquet will be a buffet with salads, starches, vegetables, entrée, and a selection of desserts. There will also be a cash bar. The Banquet speaker will be Jim Kurth, who will share information from his time in Alaska, including as manager of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Oral History Opportunities at the Reunion

Our reunions provide excellent opportunities to record oral histories of former FWS employees’ careers. Some of our oral history interviewers will be attending the Reunion and could arrange to interview you and record (audio tape) the stories of your career. After your oral history is transcribed into a written narrative, these make excellent gifts for your children or grandchildren! If you want to reserve a date/time to provide your oral history (approximately one hour), please check YES on the registration form. Someone from the FWS’s History Committee will contact you to schedule an appointment at the Reunion.

If you have specific questions, contact the following

Registration form and payment by mail – Patrick Martin, Treasurer, 913-212- 0725, treasurer@fwsretirees.org

Greenwalt Walk for Wildlife – Lew Gorman, 856-952-6970, lew.gorman@yahoo.com

General Reunion Information – Helen Clough, hcloughak@gmail.com or 907 321 4004, or Robin West robinnoteast@gmail.com or 541-787-0938 (remember Alaska is 4 hours earlier than Eastern time)

Additional Information

You can check out information on fall in Anchorage from the perspective of a local FWS retiree, Donna Dewhurst, at https://www.anchorage.net/blog/post/autumn-in-anchorage/

You might want to consider visiting Denali National Park. If you go before the reunion, as it will be the end of the season, but the park road may be open to private vehicles.

Thanks to Robin West, Major Marine Tours is offering us a 20% discount on two tours. The % discount can be used for the 6-hour Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise September 18 – 20, and/or the 4-hour Kenai Fjords Wildlife Cruise September 18 – 26. [Note: the longer cruise discount is limited to immediately preceding the reunion, while the shorter cruise is discounted both before and after. Use the following link https://majormarine.com/fws-reunion/. These are amazing tours. If you are not prone to seasickness, it is great in any weather. If you are prone to seasickness, please check that good weather is forecast.

Good information on the Anchorage area is available from “Visit Anchorage,” which can be found at anchorage.net. Good information on visiting Alaska can be found at the State of Alaska’s visitor website https://www.travelalaska.com/. You may wish to order their Alaska Travel planner, which is loaded with information on Alaska travel options.