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WWF Polar Bear Expedition Diary

Margaret Williams, leader for WWF's Bering Sea & Kamchatka ecoregion, traveled to Chukotka, the northeastern most corner of Siberia on an expedition in April 2007. With several Russian and American colleagues, Margaret and her team traveled over 700 miles across the roadless, snow-covered Chukotka Peninsula to reach the small village of Vankarem, north of the Arctic Circle on the Chukchi Sea. The expedition is part of an ambitious effort to protect and study polar bears and address an increasing problem caused by climate change -- conflict between polar bears and humans.

Join Margaret on her journey across the vast and frozen tundra, and learn more about WWF's work in the Bering Sea & Kamchatka ecoregion.

Part 10: The road back
After an evening of driving, we arrive back in Amguema, the "refueling" stop for people and vehicles. We stretch our legs in town by getting a tour of the new school, built with funds from the beloved Governor Roman Abramovich. The governor is known to some as an oil baron and the richest man in Russia but to Chukotkans, he is considered a hero! It is thanks to his personal efforts and income generated by an oil company he owned until recently that millions of dollars have been invested in Chukotka, vastly improving the quality of life here.
On the road again, Igor, the main navigator and senior driver, has determined that we will take a different route back - one which he thinks will be slightly shorter. He hasn't done this trip in a while and none of us have the route on GPS. Another adventure awaits us!

We pass through Vostochny, a gold mining settlement. Like Alaska, Chukotka is a land rich in resources, including gold, coal, and other minerals. Unfortunately, many of the mining and exploration practices here are conducted with poor enforcement of environmental. WWF has worked with the Chukotka government to promote other types of nature use, primarily ecological tourism, but there are tremendous challenges to ensure that tourism in a wild and remote place like this can be both ecologically and economically sustainable.

As we drive into the night, it begins to snow. The wind is absolutely brutal, and visibility is terrible. We plow though an astounding blizzard. The visibility is about ten feet, and we soon lose sight of the second vezdekhod behind us. It's not a comforting sensation, so when they catch up to us at a tea break, I am greatly relieved.

The snow is thick and the road is very slow. Gradually we leave behind the blizzard and the landscape begins to reveal itself. It is almost as equally daunting without the blizzard. For miles and miles, there is nothing but white tundra, rolling hills, and frozen rivers. We are utterly alone, but for the many snow-white ptarmigan (a grouse-like bird whose winter white plumage allows it to camouflage beautifully here), an occasional snowshoe hare, and a single Arctic fox we observe racing away from us, disappearing over a hillside.

posted by World Wildlife Fund # 9:31 AM