Jones arrives at Cold Bay. Headquarters established at Thornbrough Air Forces Base, beginning 27 years of continuous wildlife monitoring on the Alaska Peninsula.
Aerial surveys of Amchitka Island document a thriving population. North side: 526 counted; south side flights: 314 and 559. Rat Island yields 279. Total estimated population ~3,420. This is the core remnant population that survived the fur trade.
Disease epidemic strikes eastern Amchitka. Seventy dead otters or parts recovered between April 6–12 at Constantine Harbor. Jones documents feeding ecology, deep-sleep behavior, and the first systematic study of these animals in the wild.
Predator control program initiated using strychnine and Compound 1080 baits to eliminate introduced foxes from Amchitka Island, restoring conditions for ground-nesting birds.
Multi-site census documents sea otters at Savik Island (355), Snack Rocks (65), Sandman Rocks (97), and smaller groups at Kodiak sites. Regional total: 550+ animals (excluding Amchitka). The species is spreading outward from its Aleutian stronghold.
Major survey effort finds 633 otters around Little Koniuji in the Shumagin Islands, and 321 in Prince William Sound (Robards correspondence). The recovery frontier is extending eastward along the Alaska Peninsula.
Experimental capture and translocation project initiated. Fur salvage operations also begin, with 53 sea otter furs collected. These early captures lay groundwork for the ambitious translocation programs of the 1960s–70s.
A young sea otter is observed feeding at the eastern entrance to Cold Bay near Vodapoint Point on March 13. This is the first documented sea otter in the refuge's home waters — a harbinger of the colonization to come.
Surveys around Tongue Island and broader Amchitka area yield an estimated total population of approximately 3,500 animals — the highest figure recorded for this core population.
Quick survey of Sanak Islands finds 128 otters including one substantial pod. Along the Unimak north coast, 30 otters at Cape Mordvinof and approximately 75 near Sennat Point. The recovery wave continues eastward.
Alaska becomes the 49th state on January 3, 1959. This transforms wildlife management jurisdiction, with the new state assuming authority over many species previously managed under federal territorial governance.
A single pod of about 400 male otters observed in a large offshore kelp patch near Eddy Island. Sea otter tagging project also conducted this year, with 70+ animals tagged for population studies.
On October 13, a single sea otter is documented near Grant's Point in Izembek Bay. This marks the beginning of colonization of the refuge's core lagoon system — the species has finally arrived home.
Comprehensive eagle nesting survey on Amchitka locates 25+ nests and bands 28 nestlings. Remarkably, sea otter fur is found in 14 of 20 eagle nests examined — documenting an unexpected predator-prey relationship.
Experimental sea otter harvest conducted at Amchitka. Animals found to be in excellent condition with extensive fat deposits. At Izembek, 9 otters now sighted in the area — family groups establishing.
FWS wildlife census form records 13 sea otters in the Izembek NWR area. The colonization trajectory is clear: from 1 animal in 1960 to an established group in three years.
Census form records 23 sea otters — nearly doubling in one year. Reproduction and continued immigration are both contributing to growth.
Census records 25 sea otters. The Izembek colony is now a self-sustaining population. In just five years, a single pioneer has become a viable community.
The Atomic Energy Commission detonates the first underground nuclear device on Amchitka Island. This begins a period of tension between nuclear testing and wildlife conservation that will define the next decade.
The vessel EKATERINI runs aground near Izembek with a large fuel load aboard, posing a direct threat to the growing sea otter population. Jones documents the hazard and the slow bureaucratic response.
Jones reports that sea otters are "now sufficiently common in Izembek Bay" to be encountered routinely during brant surveys. Whole family groups are usually seen — the colonization is complete.
The Alaska Department of Fish & Game conducts a fall harvest of 425 sea otters in the central Aleutians. Jones notes with concern that 62% of those taken were females — a demographic imbalance that could impact population recovery.
A rabies outbreak reduces fox populations to near extinction in the refuge area. Cascading ecological effects follow: vole and ground squirrel populations subsequently elevate without fox predation pressure.
ADF&G conducts sea otter trapping operations in the Aleutians. Pelts sold at public auction. The return of commercial exploitation, however regulated, marks a profound shift from the species' near-extinction a century earlier.
On November 6, the AEC detonates the Cannikin warhead — a 5-megaton device at 6,000 feet depth beneath Amchitka. It is the largest underground nuclear test in US history. The greatest toll to wildlife is sustained by sea otters: "perhaps several hundred killed." Jones, who had fought to protect these animals, had been "in effect without portfolio" — powerless against the AEC.
The Atomic Energy Commission begins withdrawing from Amchitka. Military personnel reduced from 700 to fewer than 200. The island that was both sea otter stronghold and nuclear proving ground enters a new chapter.
The Bering Sea freezes solidly for the third time in four years. Jones writes one of his most powerful passages: "These animals cannot maintain holes in the ice as seals do, and when their world freezes they have little recourse but to die." Twenty-five otters are rescued and released in Cold Bay on the Pacific Ocean side. "Except for the 25 we intercepted and released... none survived." These are among Jones' final words as refuge manager.
Jones' final report caps nearly three decades of continuous black brant population monitoring at Izembek Bay — one of the longest-running waterfowl datasets in Alaska. Peak fall staging counts exceeded 150,000 birds in some years.