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Joanne Beierly

Joanne Beierly was born in Seattle, Washington, and moved to Skagway when she was in high school when her father came to the area for a job as a heavy-duty mechanic on the Black Lake Road construction project. She graduated from Skagway High School, where she met Andrew Beierly. They were married in 1965 and together raised two children in Skagway. After her children were grown, Joanne worked as a teacher’s aide, at the Skagway library, and in the Skagway Museum. Joanne is a founding member of the Skagway Bird Club and has been heavily involved with the rescue of injured or sick birds, and participates in the annual Christmas bird count. As nature lovers and outdoors people, Andy and Joanne are keen observers of their local environment and the natural world. They walk Skagway's beach everyday observing the birds, the changing seasons, the weather patterns, and collecting a variety of items along the shoreline. In 2016, Joanne collected 41 carcasses of dead common murres from the beach in Skagway, and along with Elaine Furbish, was concerned about this large-die-off and they sent the specimens out for scientific analysis to determine cause of death.

Joanne Beierly appears in the following new Jukebox projects:

Observing Change in Alaska's National Parks

Interview Title	Abstract	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Date of Interview
Andrew and Joanne Beierly, Part 1	Andrew and Joanne Beierly were interviewed on October 5, 2018 by Karen Brewster at the Peniel Mission building in Skagway, Alaska. In this first part of a two part interview, the Beierlys talk about changes in the local environment they have observed in their close to 70 years of living in Skagway and their daily beach walks. They talk about changes in the bird, animal, and fish populations, the presence of different insect species and invasive plants, receding glaciers, and changes in the seasons, temperatures, and weather patterns. They also discuss the unusual large die-off and starvation of common murres that occurred in 2016.	2018-14-04_PT.1	Observing Change in Alaska's National Parks	Oct 5, 2018
Andrew and Joanne Beierly, Part 2	This is the continuation of an interview with Andrew and Joanne Beierly on October 5, 2018 by Karen Brewster at the Peniel Mission building in Skagway, Alaska. In this second part of a two part interview, the Beierlys continue to discuss their observations of environmental change in Skagway. They talk more about the unusual large die-off and starvation of common murres that occurred in 2016, as well as changes in weather, precipitation, seasonal timing, wind, snowfall and ice. They also discuss floods, and environmental changes in Dyea. Finally, they mention changes in the community of Skagway due to tourism.	2018-14-04_PT.2	Observing Change in Alaska's National Parks	Oct 5, 2018