
English: 
[Birds calling]
NARRATOR: On the rocky edge
of Kenai Fjords,
in the shadow
of a vast icefield,
the black oystercatcher makes
her home.
Here, tides rise and fall...
...fierce storms pelt
the shoreline,
massive glaciers flow,
calving into the icy sea.
And still,
the oystercatcher survives,
returning each season to nest
on a narrow band of beach.
[Bird calls]
In this wild
and weather-beaten landscape,
where dramatic change
is constant,
life abounds.

English: 
[ Birds calling ]
NARRATOR: On the rocky edge
of Kenai Fjords,
in the shadow
of a vast icefield,
the black oystercatcher makes
her home.
Here, tides rise and fall...
...fierce storms pelt
the shoreline,
massive glaciers flow,
calving into the icy sea.
And still,
the oystercatcher survives,
returning each season to nest
on a narrow band of beach.
[ Bird calls ]
In this wild
and weather-beaten landscape,
where dramatic change
is constant,
life abounds.

English: 
In a place this grand,
it would be easy to think
that Kenai Fjords National Park
is timeless and unchanging.
But the opposite is true.
Here the mountains, glaciers,
and shoreline
are in a constant state
of transformation.
From season to season,
even from day to day,
the raw process of change
is ongoing,
unfolding before our very eyes.
One of the things
that has always struck me
about this landscape
is that things are very big.
They're made of stone,
they're these giant glaciers,
and they have this air
of being so large
that that implies somehow
that they're permanent
and everlasting.
And yet, what I've seen
over the course

English: 
♫
In a place this grand,
it would be easy to think
that Kenai Fjords National Park
is timeless and unchanging.
But the opposite is true.
Here the mountains, glaciers,
and shoreline
are in a constant state
of transformation.
From season to season,
even from day to day,
the raw process of change
is ongoing,
unfolding before our very eyes.
Jim Pfeiffenberger: One of the things
that has always struck me
about this landscape
is that things are very big.
They're made of stone,
they're these giant glaciers,
and they have this air
of being so large
that that implies somehow
that they're permanent
and everlasting.
[rumbling]
And yet, what I've seen
over the course

English: 
of my 20-some years out here
is that they change
on a scale that's more rapid
than you would imagine.
Northwestern Glacier,
for example,
when I first came out here,
was a 300-foot wall of ice
dumping icebergs into the fjord.
Now it's receded a couple miles
and you can paddle up the fjord
in areas that were once buried
under hundreds of feet of ice.
The fact that something
that massive and powerful
can change in your lifetime
is just an impressive quality
of this landscape.
♫
If you spend enough time in it,
you realize
that an environment like this
is very delicate.
NARRATOR: Kenai Fjords
National Park,
perched on the northwestern edge
of the continent,

English: 
of my 20-some years out here
is that they change
on a scale that's more rapid
than you would imagine.
Northwestern Glacier,
for example,
when I first came out here,
was a 300-foot wall of ice
dumping icebergs into the fjord.
Now it's receded a couple miles
and you can paddle up the fjord
in areas that were once buried
under hundreds of feet of ice.
The fact that something
that massive and powerful
can change in your lifetime
is just an impressive quality
of this landscape.
If you spend enough time in it,
you realize
that an environment like this
is very delicate.
NARRATOR: Kenai Fjords
National Park,
perched on the northwestern edge
of the continent,
is a place where mountains, ice,

English: 
is a place where mountains, ice,
and ocean meet.
The Harding Icefield sits
at the top of the park,
covering 800 square miles
of the Kenai Mountains.
Formed more than
23,000 years ago,
it is part of the ice sheet
that covered much
of North America
during the last Ice Age.
Winter storms can bring
over 100 feet of snow
to these mountains every year.
The snowflakes amass
and, over time, compact
into dense ice
thousands of feet thick.
More than 30 glaciers spill
off of this icefield
towards the valleys
and sea below.
From the highest peaks
to the deep, finger-like fjords,
a complex, interconnected
ecosystem thrives.
On bare rock

English: 
and ocean meet.
The Harding Icefield sits
at the top of the park,
covering 800 square miles
of the Kenai Mountains.
Formed more than
23,000 years ago,
it is part of the ice sheet
that covered much
of North America
during the last Ice Age.
Winter storms can bring
over 100 feet of snow
to these mountains every year.
The snowflakes amass
and, over time, compact
into dense ice
thousands of feet thick.
More than 30 glaciers spill
off of this icefield
towards the valleys
and sea below.
From the highest peaks
to the deep, finger-like fjords,
a complex, interconnected
ecosystem thrives.
On bare rock

English: 
at a glacier's edge,
tiny plants find a foothold.
Stands of Sitka spruce tower
in the northernmost edge
of North America's
temperate rainforest.
And where tidewater glaciers
calve into the ocean,
a convergence
of glacial melt, saltwater,
sunlight, tides, and currents
creates
a nutrient-rich environment
for phytoplankton to bloom.
This is the basis
of the fjords' entire food web,
supporting seabirds
and other marine life
from the tiniest zooplankton
to 45-ton humpback whales.
Generations of people
have also been sustained
by these bounties.
Trappers and traders.

English: 
at a glacier's edge,
tiny plants find a foothold.
Stands of Sitka spruce tower
in the northernmost edge
of North America's
temperate rainforest.
[rumbling and splashing]
And where tidewater glaciers
calve into the ocean,
a convergence
of glacial melt, saltwater,
sunlight, tides, and currents
creates
a nutrient-rich environment
for phytoplankton to bloom.
This is the basis
of the fjords' entire food web,
supporting seabirds
and other marine life
from the tiniest zooplankton
to 45-ton humpback whales.
[huge splash]
Generations of people
have also been sustained
by these bounties.
Trappers and traders.

English: 
Fishermen and entrepreneurs.
Explorers and artists
like Rockwell Kent,
who spent a fall and winter
on Fox Island back in 1918.
The book and paintings
that were inspired by his stay
brought the beauty
of this remote place
to public view.
But long before
any adventurers came here,
the Sugpiaq --
a maritime people --
made their home in the fjords.
For over a thousand years,
they endured and adapted
to the harshness of the weather
and the landscape.
KAREN MOONIN: Our ancestors
were nomadic people
and traveled great distances
in their kayaks
in search of food.
NARRATOR: When the Russians
arrived on the Kenai Peninsula
in the late 1700s,
the Sugpiaq lifestyle
changed dramatically.
They began hunting sea otters
in large numbers

English: 
Fishermen and entrepreneurs.
Explorers and artists
like Rockwell Kent,
who spent a fall and winter
on Fox Island back in 1918.
The book and paintings
that were inspired by his stay
brought the beauty
of this remote place
to public view.
But long before
any adventurers came here,
the Sugpiaq --
a maritime people --
made their home in the fjords.
For over a thousand years,
they endured and adapted
to the harshness of the weather
and the landscape.
KAREN: Our ancestors
were nomadic people
and traveled great distances
in their kayaks
in search of food.
NARRATOR: When the Russians
arrived on the Kenai Peninsula
in the late 1700s,
the Sugpiaq lifestyle
changed dramatically.
They began hunting sea otters
in large numbers

English: 
to exchange their pelts
for trade goods.
With their way of life altered
and their population reduced
by disease,
the last of the Sugpiaq
left the Outer Coast
by the end of the 1800s,
settling
in established communities.
For the Moonin-Kvasnikoff
family,
a visit to the fjords is,
in some ways, a journey home.
♫
HERMAN: A lot of my family lived
out this area.
They traveled
all these coastlines.
A lot of good food
on the beach.
It's like, you know,
tide is out, the table is set.
NARRATOR: The foods
of these fjords
were first named in Sugpiaq.
HERMAN: We got mussels.
You call them amyaks.
And the clams are salaq.
And you got cockles.
They're called taugtaaq.
Snails and, you know,

English: 
to exchange their pelts
for trade goods.
With their way of life altered
and their population reduced
by disease,
the last of the Sugpiaq
left the Outer Coast
by the end of the 1800s,
settling
in established communities.
For the Moonin-Kvasnikoff
family,
a visit to the fjords is,
in some ways, a journey home.
HERMAN: A lot of my family lived
out this area.
They traveled
all these coastlines.
There's just a lot of good food
on the beach.
It's like, you know,
tide is out, the table is set.
NARRATOR: The foods
of these fjords
were first named in Sugpiaq.
HERMAN: We got mussels.
You call them amyaks.
And the clams are salaq.
And you got cockles.
They're called taugtaaq.
Snails and, you know,
pretty much

English: 
anything off the beach --
kelp, pop kelp or ribbon kelp.
KVASNIKOFF: My ancestors
lived here,
and living here
and coming to visit here
are two very different things.
KAREN: I really am enjoying
my time having Forest
out here with us.
Sharing the knowledge
that I have learned
through my lifetime,
knowing that it will go on
for generations
long after I'm gone.
KVASNIKOFF: I completely forgot
about how tasty
these plants are.
How would the elders say
that they would preserve these?
KAREN: They would dry
a lot of plants,
but, like, these kind of plants
are kind of succulent.
They probably wouldn't dry
so well,
so they would store them
in seal oil fat
and then they would
be able to have fresh greens
in the wintertime
when they need it.

English: 
pretty much
anything off the beach --
kelp, pop kelp or ribbon kelp.
FOREST: My ancestors
lived here,
and living here
and coming to visit here
are two very different things.
KAREN: I really am enjoying
my time having Forest
out here with us.
Sharing the knowledge
that I have learned
through my lifetime,
knowing that it will go on
for generations
long after I'm gone.
FOREST: I completely forgot
about how tasty
these plants are.
How did the elders say
that they would preserve these?
KAREN: They would dry
a lot of plants,
but, like, these kind of plants
are kind of succulent.
They probably wouldn't dry
so well,
so they would store them
in seal oil fat
and then they would
be able to have fresh greens
in the wintertime
when they need it.

English: 
In a wilderness like this,
I feel more connected
to our ancestors
and how they would live.
This is the wrong plant.
It looks like kind of similar.
See how close
they look like each other?
But you can see this one.
The smell of it is different.
FOREST: It is
an empowering thing for myself
because you know that you can
go out into the wilderness
and gather all the plants
that she showed me
that are edible.
The salad was awesome.
NARRATOR: Today,
there are few visible traces
of the first people
who lived here.
But their story continues
in their descendants
and in this wild land.
[bird calls, splashing]
The powerful forces of weather
and the changing climate

English: 
In a wilderness like this,
I feel more connected
to our ancestors
and how they would live.
This is the wrong plant.
It looks like kind of similar.
See how close
they look like each other?
But you can see this one.
The smell of it is different.
KVASNIKOFF: It is
an empowering thing for myself
because you know that you can
go out into the wilderness
and gather all the plants
that she showed me
that are edible.
The salad was awesome.
NARRATOR: Today,
there are few visible traces
of the first people
who lived here.
But their story continues
in their descendants
and in this wild land.
The powerful forces of weather
and the changing climate

English: 
underscore every story
in Kenai Fjords.
Over the millennia,
glaciers have retreated
and advanced
with natural cycles
of warming and cooling.
As they advance,
they plow into the earth,
gouging the bedrock
with their massive weight.
As the glaciers recede,
they leave behind
U-shaped valleys, or fjords,
that fill with glacial melt,
seawater, and marine life.
The most recent glacial advance
ended in the mid-1800s.
In that period called
the Little Ice Age,
the glaciers at Kenai Fjords
reached far beyond
where they end today.
In the past few decades,

English: 
underscore every story
in Kenai Fjords.
[water splashing, dripping]
♫
Over the millennia,
glaciers have retreated
and advanced
with natural cycles
of warming and cooling.
As they advance,
they plow into the earth,
gouging the bedrock
with their massive weight.
As the glaciers recede,
they leave behind
U-shaped valleys, or fjords,
that fill with glacial melt,
seawater, and marine life.
The most recent glacial advance
ended in the mid-1800s.
In that period called
the Little Ice Age,
the glaciers at Kenai Fjords
reached far beyond
where they end today.
In the past few decades,

English: 
the relatively steady
rate of retreat
has accelerated,
largely as a result
of human-induced climate change.
In a piece of historical
good fortune,
the National Park Service has
a 100-year-old visual record
of glaciers in Kenai Fjords.
GIDDENS: In 1909,
two USGS geologists came up
to Alaska,
and their primary purpose
was mining interests
and mapping the Kenai Peninsula.
And they happened to take
these really excellent
photographs
of many
of our tidewater glaciers
that serve
as a fantastic baseline now
that we go back to
for comparison.
That's Ogive Glacier
right there.
NARRATOR: Since 2004,
the park has been
re-photographing the glaciers
from the same vantage point.
The result is an extraordinary
record of glacial change.
GIDDENS: We have pictures
of Grant and Higgins on glaciers

English: 
the relatively steady
rate of retreat
has accelerated,
largely as a result
of human-induced climate change.
In a piece of historical
good fortune,
the National Park Service has
a 100-year-old visual record
of glaciers in Kenai Fjords.
GIDDENS: In 1909,
two USGS geologists came up
to Alaska,
and their primary purpose
was mining interests
and mapping the Kenai Peninsula.
And they happened to take
these really excellent
photographs
of many
of our tidewater glaciers
that serve
as a fantastic baseline now
that we go back to
for comparison.
That's Ogive Glacier
right there.
NARRATOR: Since 2004,
the park has been
re-photographing the glaciers
from the same vantage point.
The result is an extraordinary
record of glacial change.
GIDDENS: We have pictures
of Grant and Higgins on glaciers

English: 
and obviously
most of that ice is gone,
so when we try to re-create
some of these pictures,
it was a challenge
trying to figure out
where they were.
Most of our repeat photographs
of tidewater glaciers
are done from water,
which presents
its own challenge,
in, okay,
we've got this GPS unit
but now we've got winds
and currents
that we're competing with
and trying to snap
that perfect picture,
to really show the change.
The repeat photography studies
give us really great
visual evidence
of changes that are happening,
changes that are due
to a warming climate.
Most of the glaciers
in this park are melting,
and we have a few
really dramatic examples.
McCarty Glacier has retreated
about 15 miles back
from where that original image
was taken.
Northwestern has retreated
about 8 miles back.

English: 
and obviously
most of that ice is gone,
so when we try to re-create
some of these pictures,
it was a challenge
trying to figure out
where they were.
Most of our repeat photographs
of tidewater glaciers
are done from water,
which presents
its own challenge,
in, okay,
we've got this GPS unit
but now we've got winds
and currents
that we're competing with
and trying to snap
that perfect picture,
to really show the change.
The repeat photography studies
give us really great
visual evidence
of changes that are happening,
changes that are due
to a warming climate.
Most of the glaciers
in this park are melting,
and we have a few
really dramatic examples.
McCarty Glacier has retreated
about 15 miles back
from where that original image
was taken.
Northwestern has retreated
about 8 miles back.
♫

English: 
NARRATOR: Scientific studies
high on the Harding Icefield
confirm that the icefield
and many of its glaciers
are getting thinner
as the balance of winter snow
and summer melt changes.
Glacial retreat
is easy to witness
at the face of Exit Glacier.
GIDDENS: Every few days,
if you go out there,
you see how it's melting
and how it's different.
NARRATOR: As the glaciers
thin and retreat,
biologists and marine scientists
are asking
another set of questions
about the impact
of these rapid changes
on sea life
and coastal ecosystems.
COLETTI: We don't really know
what's going to happen

English: 
NARRATOR: Scientific studies
high on the Harding Icefield
confirm that the icefield
and many of its glaciers
are getting thinner
as the balance of winter snow
and summer melt changes.
Glacial retreat
is easy to witness
at the face of Exit Glacier.
[running water]
GIDDENS: Every few days,
if you go out there,
you see how it's melting
and how it's different.
[running water]
NARRATOR: As the glaciers
thin and retreat,
biologists and marine scientists
are asking
another set of questions
about the impact
of these rapid changes
on sea life
and coastal ecosystems.
COLETTI: We don't really know
what's going to happen

English: 
when the glaciers are gone.
♫
They're clearly a source
of freshwater inputs,
which can be really important.
They hold carbon,
and carbon helps
with higher productivity.
NARRATOR: These are
long-term questions
with no quick and easy answers.
Studying the glaciers
and the animals that live here
is essential
to protecting this place.
[ Bird calls ]
Black oystercatchers
may tell us a lot
about the health
of the coastal environment.
COLETTI: They rely solely
on this very narrow band
of the intertidal.
They nest here, they breed,
and they forage
in the intertidal.
So, if something is changing,
then we should see it reflected
in their populations
and productivity.
We want to look at
the whole nearshore food web,
so we collect prey items,
things that they bring
back to the nest
to feed their chicks.

English: 
when the glaciers are gone.
They're clearly a source
of freshwater inputs,
which can be really important.
They hold carbon,
and carbon helps
with higher productivity.
NARRATOR: These are
long-term questions
with no quick and easy answers.
Studying the glaciers
and the animals that live here
is essential
to protecting this place.
[ Bird calls ]
Black oystercatchers
may tell us a lot
about the health
of the coastal environment.
COLETTI: They rely solely
on this very narrow band
of the intertidal.
They nest here, they breed,
and they forage
in the intertidal.
So, if something is changing,
then we should see it reflected
in their populations
and productivity.
We want to look at
the whole nearshore food web,
so we collect prey items,
things that they bring
back to the nest
to feed their chicks.

English: 
What is it? How many?
How big are they?
And track those changes
over time.
Ultimately,
I think, with monitoring,
is not only
are we getting a sense
of how the environment is doing
but maybe even start to think
about how adaptable it is
to potential changes.
2128.
2128. Got it.
COLETTI: Sea otters,
of course, are charismatic.
But they're also
a really important player
in the nearshore
to shallow subtidal zone.
They are voracious predators
in the nearshore.
They are a marine mammal
that doesn't have blubber
that lives in the North Pacific.
So, one of the ways
they stay warm
is to eat a lot.
♫
They eat about a third
of their body weight a day.

English: 
What is it? How many?
How big are they?
And track those changes
over time.
Ultimately,
I think, with monitoring,
is not only
are we getting a sense
of how the environment is doing
but maybe even start to think
about how adaptable it is
to potential changes.
21.28.
21.28. Got it.
COLETTI: Sea otters,
of course, are charismatic.
But they're also
a really important player
in the nearshore
to shallow subtidal zone.
They are voracious predators
in the nearshore.
They are a marine mammal
that doesn't have blubber
that lives in the North Pacific.
So, one of the ways
they stay warm
is to eat a lot.
They eat about a third
of their body weight a day.

English: 
The wildlife is incredible here.
It's a very powerful place.
All the research that we do
is hopefully
informing management
to help protect
these wild places.
NARRATOR: In 1989,
the Exxon Valdez oil tanker
spilled 257,000 barrels of oil
in Prince William Sound,
killing about
a quarter of a million seabirds
and almost 3,000 sea otters.
1,300 miles of coastline
were impacted.
20 of those miles
were inside the park.
Oil still lingers
on those beaches today.
The oil spill was decades ago,
but human impacts, often from
far beyond park boundaries,
are an ever-present threat.
COLETTI: There's
shipping channels,
collisions, oil drilling,
contaminants.
The marine debris,

English: 
The wildlife is incredible here.
It's a very powerful place.
All the research that we do
is hopefully
informing management
to help protect
these wild places.
NARRATOR: In 1989,
the Exxon Valdez oil tanker
spilled 257,000 barrels of oil
in Prince William Sound,
killing about
a quarter of a million seabirds
and almost 3,000 sea otters.
1,300 miles of coastline
were impacted.
20 of those miles
were inside the park.
Oil still lingers
on those beaches today.
The oil spill was decades ago,
but human impacts, often from
far beyond park boundaries,
are an ever-present threat.
COLETTI: There's
shipping channels,
collisions, oil drilling,
contaminants.
The marine debris,
plastics that we use every day,

English: 
plastics that we use every day,
animals can eat those, get sick.
The list is almost endless
of the impacts that we can have
on the nearshore.
NARRATOR: To protect
this remarkable place,
we must be stewards,
not just of the park,
but of the broader natural world
around us.
The rich fabric of Kenai Fjords'
interconnected ecosystems
extends far beyond the shoreline
and park boundaries.
The Chiswell Islands -- remnants
of former mountain peaks --
are home to an extraordinary
concentration of seabirds.
Horned and tufted puffin nest
by the thousands.
Steller sea lions lounge
on rocky ledges.
Humpback whales migrate
thousands of miles
to feed in these rich waters.

English: 
animals can eat those, get sick.
The list is almost endless
of the impacts that we can have
on the nearshore.
NARRATOR: To protect
this remarkable place,
we must be stewards,
not just of the park,
but of the broader natural world
around us.
The rich fabric of Kenai Fjords'
interconnected ecosystems
extends far beyond the shoreline
and park boundaries.
The Chiswell Islands -- remnants
of former mountain peaks --
are home to an extraordinary
concentration of seabirds.
Horned and tufted puffin nest
by the thousands.
Steller sea lions lounge
on rocky ledges.
Humpback whales migrate
thousands of miles
to feed in these rich waters.

English: 
Everywhere there are signs of
a vibrant and dynamic ecosystem.
[rumbling, splashing]
COLETTI: Kenai Fjords
is not subtle.
It's big, it's loud,
it's dramatic,
and it's amazing.
♫
NARRATOR: Change is inevitable
in Kenai Fjords.
It is inherent in
the very nature of the glaciers.
It blows in with each gale
from the gulf,
descending as rain or snow,
cloaking the coastal mountains
in gray mist
or brilliant sunlight.
As a visitor to the park,
you can witness
this dynamic change.
You can walk up to Exit Glacier
and see its path of retreat.

English: 
Everywhere there are signs of
a vibrant and dynamic ecosystem.
COLETTI: Kenai Fjords
is not subtle.
It's big, it's loud,
it's dramatic,
and it's amazing.
NARRATOR: Change is inevitable
in Kenai Fjords.
It is inherent in
the very nature of the glaciers.
It blows in with each gale
from the gulf,
descending as rain or snow,
cloaking the coastal mountains
in gray mist
or brilliant sunlight.
As a visitor to the park,
you can witness
this dynamic change.
You can walk up to Exit Glacier
and see its path of retreat.
[ Tourists exclaiming ]

English: 
You can hear
the thunderous sounds
of icebergs tumbling
into Aialik Bay.
You can kayak
in Bear Glacier Lagoon
and see the giant icebergs
that have calved
off the glacier.
And you can take
your own photographs
and document the ongoing changes
in Kenai Fjords.
KVASNIKOFF: When you come
out here
and you just experience
the place,
you realize that your life
back in your town
working in your office
and doing your daily life
is so removed
from everything
that naturally happens
in the world.
The wilderness
and the forest and the trees
and everything
that exists out here
is what sustains our lives.
PFEIFFENBERGER: This is
that place where I can come,
sort of contemplate
the infinite and the grand,
and get out of
my everyday thinking

English: 
[rumbling, visitors exclaiming]
You can hear
the thunderous sounds
of icebergs tumbling
into Aialik Bay.
You can kayak
in Bear Glacier Lagoon
and see the giant icebergs
that have calved
off the glacier.
And you can take
your own photographs
and document the ongoing changes
in Kenai Fjords.
FOREST: When you come
out here
and you just experience
the place,
you realize that your life
back in your town
working in your office
and doing your daily life
is so removed
from everything
that naturally happens
in the world.
The wilderness
and the forest and the trees
and everything
that exists out here
is what sustains our lives.
PFEIFFENBERGER: This is
that place where I can come,
sort of contemplate
the infinite and the grand,
and get out of
my everyday thinking

English: 
and feed my spirit.
♫
FOREST: Coming to this place
just gives you peace.
♫
NARRATOR: This place
of mountains, ice, and ocean --
both rough-hewn and grand --
invites us to pause
and, in doing so,
to appreciate the wildness
that is Kenai Fjords
National Park.
♫
♫

English: 
and feed my spirit.
KVASNIKOFF: Coming to this place
just gives you peace.
NARRATOR: This place
of mountains, ice, and ocean --
both rough-hewn and grand --
invites us to pause
and, in doing so,
to appreciate the wildness
that is Kenai Fjords
National Park.
