Page 30 - Breath of the Bear

Soaring Into Alaskan History

THE STORY BEHIND FLY KATMAI

A New Vision and people started coming to see the bears
Ray’s vision didn’t stop at transportation. In instead of fish.”
1948, after flying a U.S. senator and a federal The Family Business Continues
judge on a fishing trip in the Bristol Bay area, Today, Fly Katmai is a modern continuation
he imagined something bigger: fly-out fishing of that legacy, blending deep local knowledge
lodges. In partnership with the National Park with state-of-the-art aviation. Operating out
Service—who were dealing with overfishing of Anchorage, Sean flies guests to Brooks
and litter—Ray and his partner John Walatka, Falls in a specially equipped nine-passenger
proposed the lodges as a way to promote floatplane—a turbine-powered Cessna
tourism while encouraging conservation. Caravan with modern avionics. The ability to
“He never really set out to build fishing rely on instruments and navigation is a vital
Our Family lodges,” Sean says. “He just wanted to generate feature in Alaska’s unpredictable weather.
traffic for his airline. But when no one else “It’s our niche,” Sean says. “We’re not just
stepped up, my grandfather and John, who was another tour company. We specialize in Katmai,
Nestled in the rugged beauty of Alaska’s knowledgeable about fisheries of the Bristol and we have a long history there and we have
Katmai National Park—where wild rivers tumble Bay region, decided to do it themselves.” a long history of getting visitors into Katmai to
over salmon-filled waterfalls—one family’s The first fishing camps in the late 1940s see the bears.”
legacy has helped shape both the tourism and eventually grew into the Angler’s Paradise With two aircraft in its fleet, Fly Katmai offers
aviation landscape of the region. At the center Lodges, including iconic sites like Kulik Lodge, exclusive day trips and backcountry charters.
is Sean Petersen, owner and operator of Fly and Brooks and Grosvenor Lodge—now historic On a clear day, passengers soar past active
Katmai, an aviation company specializing in day concessions within Katmai. These efforts volcanoes and across sweeping Alaskan
trips to the world-renowned bear viewing and jumpstarted tourism in the region, long before landscapes—views inaccessible any other way.
fishing areas of Brooks Falls. bear viewing became the global attraction it is Coming soon is a new app that will let
An Early Obsession today. customers track the flight path as they head
But the story doesn’t start with Sean. It A Changing Landscape into Katmai.
begins with his grandfather, Ray Petersen—a According to Sean, bears weren’t always Operating from late June through mid-
Nebraska farm boy captivated by the sky. part of the picture. “There were hardly any September, each trip offers four to five hours
His fascination with flight drew him to Alaska bears there back then,” he says. But as the area on the ground—ample time to hike, spot bears,
in 1934, back when it was still considered became a National Monument in 1918 and then and take in the remote wilderness that first
America’s last frontier. “He saw Alaska as a a National Park and Preserve in 1980, the bi- inspired a young farm boy to head north for the
place where aviation was really needed,” Sean product was an increase in the bear population skies.
explains. “In the lower 48, roads and railways because of the protected status of the land. As Though times have changed, the Petersen
were expanding. But in Alaska, planes were the people moved out, the bears moved in-and family’s spirit of adventure—and commitment
lifelines, a necessary mode of transportation.” so did the visitors. to preserving and sharing Alaska’s wild
In 1937, Ray launched Ray Petersen Flying “Katmai, first and foremost, has always been beauty—remains very much airborne.
Service in Bethel, Alaska. Flying miners and the people’s place,” Sean reflects. “We love the To learn more or book a trip, visit:
supplies in and out of Platinum, he soon bears. But before them, it was home to Alaska’s flykatmai.com.
expanded by acquiring several smaller bush Indigenous peoples. Over time, the bear
plane businesses. In 1947, these merged into population grew, the food source increased,
Northern Consolidated Airlines.

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