They were an All-Star team of fish and wildlife biologists. Alaska was still in its infancy as an official state, and its Department of Fish and Game was hiring young men and women from the top colleges in the country to get out and collect the data needed to properly manage some of the state’s most important resources. They were given an area, a budget, a special research question or a management objective, and most importantly, given the freedom to get out in the field and figure it out. Some incredible discoveries were made during those early years that helped shape the way wildlife are managed in Alaska and beyond, and Pat Valkenburg was right in the middle of it all.
Originally from South Africa, Pat moved to Alaska at the age of 21 in 1972 to work as a field assistant with his girlfriend, Audrey Magoun. Both were wildlife students at the University of Maine in Orono, and Audrey was beginning a graduate study at the University of Alaska focused on carnivore behavior. The two spent the summer in the remote Brooks Range, watching black and grizzly bears, wolves and wolverines as they fed on carcasses and interacted with each other and their surrounding environment.
After that first summer in Alaska, Pat was hooked. He worked with Audrey again the following summer, and entered the University of Alaska to work on his own Master’s thesis, a study of grizzly bears around Denali National Park. He was hired as a Game Biologist with the state in 1977, beginning a storied career in wildlife management.
Pat and Audrey were married, and Audrey continued on with a PhD project working on wolverines, where Pat helped out in his off time. Audrey’s research built much of the foundation of our understanding of wolverine biology and life history today, and she continued with wolverine research throughout her career.
As he settled into Alaska, Pat became a highly skilled hunter, angler and trapper. He had moved there already a licensed pilot, and the ability to fly was an incredible advantage. He eventually acquired an airplane and used it to access many remote areas of the state. During the early years of his career Pat would be laid off for a couple months in the winter. He would often fly to areas to trap, and with the high fur prices at the time, could make more money than he would have at his Fish and Game job.
Valkenburg worked on a ton of projects in his twenty-eight years with Fish and Game, creating lots of memories that make for great stories. He worked extensively with wolverines, wolves and bears, and eventually became the statewide caribou research biologist. Toward the end of his career, he even served as the agency’s Deputy Commissioner.
Pat Valkenburg was a common sense, practical scientist with an unending curiosity and eagerness to learn. He was a strong advocate for the importance of on-the-ground experience in wildlife management. He often questioned the real-world validity of increasingly popular complex computer models, and bemoaned the increasing paperwork, policies and red tape throttling the work of modern day biologists. Pat’s era of fish and wildlife biologists did a ton of good work, and it shows in the state’s wildlife resources today.
“49 Years in the 49th State” is a collection of stories and reflections from Pat Valkenburg published in 2021. It’s a fascinating read, both entertaining and educational. Sadly, Pat passed away in December of 2021, shortly after the book was published. He’ll be greatly missed.
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