Alaska Outdoors

U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen announces David Schmid as the new Regional Forester for Alaska Region

He will oversee management of more than 22 million acres.

Black Friday shoppers wait in line to check out at the Nebraska Furniture Mart store in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday, Nov. 23, 2018. (Nati Harnik | Associated Press)

Shopping spree self-control

What Black Friday weekend really looked like.

Black Friday shoppers wait in line to check out at the Nebraska Furniture Mart store in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday, Nov. 23, 2018. (Nati Harnik | Associated Press)

Movie screening to show gardens, raise funds for arboretum

Movie screening to show gardens, raise funds for arboretum It will be a well-seasoned event. “Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf” will be screened… Continue reading

The Kaxdegoowu Heen Dei (Brotherhood Bridge) Trail is close to being eroded away by the Mendenhall River on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

The fight against trail erosion

This is Rain Country.

The Kaxdegoowu Heen Dei (Brotherhood Bridge) Trail is close to being eroded away by the Mendenhall River on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
In this July 9, 2014 photo, an adult humpback whale breaches in Lynn Canal near Juneau. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Food chain disruption eyed in Hawaii whale sighting decline

Issue likely caused by warmer ocean temperatures in Alaska.

In this July 9, 2014 photo, an adult humpback whale breaches in Lynn Canal near Juneau. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Tree nets at night

It’s dark all the time now. When you leave for work or school, there is no light coming home either. Winter in Juneau.

From my window

There hasn’t been a lot of observable biological activity on recent walks.

Short-lived salmon play a role in long-term survival

Jacks are an important part of most, if not all, sockeye runs.

Flying — with or without wings

How many other little tricks of flight are out there, still to be discovered?

Is it really surprising?

I’ve been pretty surprised with how surprised I’ve been lately. First has been the early afternoon darkness after daylight saving time. Despite growing up in… Continue reading

Claire Helgeson attempts to cross between two snow covered ponds. (Gabe Donohoe | For the Juneau Empire)

Photo blog: First snow of the season

A fresh new winter season feels good.

Claire Helgeson attempts to cross between two snow covered ponds. (Gabe Donohoe | For the Juneau Empire)
A black-capped chickadee at 40-below zero. (Courtesy Photo | Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Alaska chickadees are brainy birds

Alaska chickadees have proven themselves brainier than Colorado chickadees. A researcher at the University of California, Davis once compared black-capped chickadees from Anchorage to chickadees… Continue reading

A black-capped chickadee at 40-below zero. (Courtesy Photo | Ned Rozell)

On the Trails: Fungi and wildlife

Taking a bite of mushroom or truffle is quick and easy.

Jeff Sauer and his wife, Theresa Svancara, stop for a picture in Glacier National Park in Montana while hiking the Continental Divide Trail in September 2018. (Photo courtesy Jeff Sauer)
Video

Juneau hiker finishes country’s three major trails

He’s one of just under 400 people to do it.

Jeff Sauer and his wife, Theresa Svancara, stop for a picture in Glacier National Park in Montana while hiking the Continental Divide Trail in September 2018. (Photo courtesy Jeff Sauer)
Video
Sockeye salmon splash their way up Steep Creek in 2012. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)

Glacier center starts ‘Mendenhall Minis’ program for young children

The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center will host a series of activities for young children this winter on the second Saturday of every month. The events… Continue reading

Sockeye salmon splash their way up Steep Creek in 2012. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)
Labels and group identities are complex. Just because the author is conflicted about Prop 1, doesn’t mean he doesn’t Stand for Salmon. (Courtesy Photo | Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Longing to belong

I sat under the cover of a massive cedar tree on top of a steep hill hidden from Google Earth satellites, hoping a deer will… Continue reading

Labels and group identities are complex. Just because the author is conflicted about Prop 1, doesn’t mean he doesn’t Stand for Salmon. (Courtesy Photo | Jeff Lund)
High-bush cranberries on Douglas Island on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

On the Trails: Berries and cherries

It is advantageous for plants to disperse their seeds away from the parent plant. If all the seeds just fell under the parent, the high… Continue reading

High-bush cranberries on Douglas Island on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Dr. Kevin Maier. (Courtesy Photo)

Sustainable Alaska: An autumnal mediation on salmon and sustainable decision making

As Alaskans, we know this — salmon are a defining characteristic of our state’s cultures.

Dr. Kevin Maier. (Courtesy Photo)
The remains of a caribou not far from the Dalton Highway north of Atigun Pass. (Courtesy Photos | Ned Rozell)

Wildlife Wednesday gets brainy

At the next Wildlife Wednesday on Nov. 7, naturalists Mary Willson and Kathy Hocker will share images, stories from the field and hands-on skull examples… Continue reading

The remains of a caribou not far from the Dalton Highway north of Atigun Pass. (Courtesy Photos | Ned Rozell)
Andrea Odell, an undergraduate student in the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, tosses dead sockeye salmon onto the bank of Hansen Creek in southwest Alaska in August 2018 while other researchers record data and look for salmon in the stream. (Courtesy Photo | Dan DiNicola via University of Washington)

Researchers threw salmon carcasses on one side of a creek for 20 years. Here’s what happened.

New study proves something Alaskans always knew.

Andrea Odell, an undergraduate student in the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, tosses dead sockeye salmon onto the bank of Hansen Creek in southwest Alaska in August 2018 while other researchers record data and look for salmon in the stream. (Courtesy Photo | Dan DiNicola via University of Washington)

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