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A red-breasted sapsucker braces its strong central tail feathers against the tree trunk. Mary F. Willson notes the bird is not excavating. (Courtesy Photo / Kerry Howard)

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How tails help birds get ahead

Focusing on particular uses of tails that have special functions.

This graphic shows All the large recent earthquakes on the Aleutian Subduction Zone, including the magnitude 7.8 in the “Shumagin Gap” that occurred July 21, 2020. (Courtesy Image/Alaska Earthquake Center) This graphic shows All the large recent earthquakes on the Aleutian Subduction Zone, including the magnitude 7.8 in the “Shumagin Gap” that occurred July 21, 2020. (Courtesy Image/Alaska Earthquake Center)

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Recent earthquake adds missing piece to puzzle

What was learned from the biggest earthquake on the planet so far in 2020.

Sue Mauger, Cook Inletkeeper’s science and executive director, works in the Russian River. (Courtesy Photo | Joe Yelverton)

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What climate change means for Alaska’s rivers — and king salmon

A study finds some answers for Chinook salmon decline lie in freshwater rivers and streams.

Eaglecrest Ski Area will be closed to all users on Thursday, July 23, 2020, as they conduct blasting operations. (Courtesy photo | Eaglecrest Ski Area)

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Eaglecrest to hold demolition work

They’re blasting into a rock face to create more material for trails.

Pond lilies and dandelions brighten a cool, damp day

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Pond lilies and dandelions brighten a cool, damp day

Some of the dandelion stems had reached extraordinary lengths.

The Nenana River originates near here, north of the Alaska Range, and flows through the mountains south of the range. (Courtesy Photo | Ned Rozell)

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Rivers U-turn through Alaska range

The ‘unusual’ feature that makes bananas cheaper in Fairbanks.

Monkey boats and sailboats: Bringing a Bristol Bay relic back to life

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Monkey boats and sailboats: Bringing a Bristol Bay relic back to life

They were looking for a boat with history. They found it.

Jeff Lund attempts to hook a golden trout in Wyoming during a recent trip. “Yes, [I] traveled to fish during the pandemic,” Lund said. (Jeff Lund | For the Juneau Empire)

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Yes, I traveled to fish during the pandemic

Don’t mistake the tone of this, I am not making light of traveling during a pandemic.

Being a fly on the wall for complicated life cycles

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Being a fly on the wall for complicated life cycles

Not just growing up.

A grizzly bear roams an exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo, closed for nearly three months because of the coronavirus outbreak in Seattle. Grizzly bears once roamed the rugged landscape of the North Cascades in Washington state but few have been sighted in recent decades. The federal government is scrapping plans to reintroduce grizzly bears to the North Cascades ecosystem. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

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Conservation groups upset by North Cascades grizzly decision

Decision draws rebukes from conservation groups, who have worked to grow the tiny population.

Nolin Ainsworth sights down an Ishapore 2A1 rifle at the Hank Harmon Rifle Range, Dec. 1, 2019. The range will be closed Monday and Tuesday as the brush around the perimeter is cleared by the COVID-19 Conservation Corps. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire)

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Rifle range closing Monday and Tuesday for maintenance

It’s been some time since the hedges were trimmed.

Proof of the past: These rock formations offer evidence of an ice-free Alaska

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Proof of the past: These rock formations offer evidence of an ice-free Alaska

It’s hard to believe Alaska’s cold heart was grassland when Manhattan and Chicago were under blue ice.

Twice-told tales — Juneau style

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Twice-told tales — Juneau style

This essay brings together a few of the special stories from our little expeditions over the years.

Bald eagle rescued on Fourth of July

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Bald eagle rescued on Fourth of July

Injured but conscious, the raptor will get treatment in Sitka.

Wild Shots: Photos of Mother Nature in Alaska

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Wild Shots: Photos of Mother Nature in Alaska

Reader-submitted photos for July 2020.

Courtesy Photo | Kyle Joly Caribou cross the Kobuk River in northwestern Alaska.

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Meet Alaska’s long-distance champions

They log thousands of miles each year.

This July 2019 photo provided by Peter Westley shows the carcass of a chum salmon along the shore of the Koyukuk River near Huslia, Alaska, July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded in the state. Global warming looks like it will be a far bigger problem for the world’s fish species than scientists first thought, since a study led by Dr. Flemming Dahlke released on Thursday, July 2, 2020 shows that when fish are spawning or are embryos they are far more vulnerable to hotter water. (Peter Westley | University of Alaska Fairbanks)

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Fish more vulnerable to warming water than first thought

Study shows that when fish are spawning or are embryos they are more vulnerable to hotter water.

Rare documentation of when Jeff Lund remembered his headlamp. (Jeff Lund | For the Juneau Empire)

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10,000 hours doesn’t always make for an expert

Malcolm Gladwell must’ve been talking about someone else.

Courtesy Photo | Kerry Howard Chocolate lilies smells fetid (unlike most flowers) and is pollinated by flies.

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Solstice and more

Sights are worth braving some broken or missing boards

This March 25, 2020, file photo shows a small load of pollack being sorted as it comes off a boat at the Portland Fish Exchange in Portland, Maine. The amount of commercial fishing taking place worldwide has dipped since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but scientists and conservation experts say it’s unclear if the slowdown will help jeopardized species of sea life to recover. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

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Worldwide slowdown in fishing unlikely to save rare species

Commercial fishing taking place worldwide has dipped since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.