Alaska Outdoors

Mallards, sleeping in the snow bob. (Photo by Mary F. Willson)

Birds in winter’s cold

The temperatures plummet to single digits, and maybe the winds howl too, and even if the lovely sun is shining, the days are short, food… Continue reading

Mallards, sleeping in the snow bob. (Photo by Mary F. Willson)

There is life in dead wood

Deadwood — every bureaucracy has some! Yet each “deadwood” individual supports a vibrant community of personal bacteria, and perhaps a fungus or a tapeworm. And… Continue reading

Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center releases 2018 Fireside Lecture schedule

The Tongass National Forest has released the schedule for the 2018 Fireside Lectures at Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. Local photographer Mark Kelley will start the… Continue reading

The most remote places in Alaska. Map by Dorte Dissing.

The most remote place in the U.S.

Richard Forman, a Harvard professor of landscape ecology, once visited a mangrove swamp in the Florida Everglades that he described as the most remote place… Continue reading

The most remote places in Alaska. Map by Dorte Dissing.

A Gustavus winter walk yields insights about clams, gulls and more

The good snow was long gone, leaving only some soggy snowplow berms along the roads, where moose and wolves had left their marks days ago.… Continue reading

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain in April. (Bjorn Dihle | For the Juneau Empire)

Notes from ANWR

Edward Abbey, the iconic wilderness writer, called Alaska “the last pork chop” in an essay based around a float trip he made in the Arctic… Continue reading

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain in April. (Bjorn Dihle | For the Juneau Empire)
Northern sea ice off the coast of Alaska. Photo by Ned Rozell.

Driven by open ocean, Arctic continues to warm

NEW ORLEANS — At this gathering of thousands of scientists at a horseshoe bend of the lower Mississippi River, a few talked about a far… Continue reading

Northern sea ice off the coast of Alaska. Photo by Ned Rozell.

Preparing for an invasion in the Bering Sea

Invasive species have devastated marine ecosystems in the Lower 48 but, thanks to its icy waters, the Bering Sea has been largely unaffected. So far.… Continue reading

Fellowship focuses on coastal flooding

The average number of flooding disaster declarations or severe storms in Alaska has increased from one to four and a half a year, according to… Continue reading

US Forest Service to raise prices for printed maps

The price of national forest and grassland visitor maps will increase on Jan. 1, 2018. Currently, visitor maps are $10 for the plastic or $9… Continue reading

Fisheries Board calls for proposals

Want to have a say in how Alaska’s fisheries are managed? The Alaska Board of Fisheries wants to hear from you. The board issued its… Continue reading

Forest Wagner leads the way up to Black Bear chairlift at Eaglecrest Ski Area on Wednesday, Dec. 6.

Photo blog: Eaglecrest Run

What happened to winter? Rain on Douglas in December? Why no snow on the road? Avy gear? Yeah, probably should. First ODS run of the… Continue reading

Forest Wagner leads the way up to Black Bear chairlift at Eaglecrest Ski Area on Wednesday, Dec. 6.

Curious by Nature: Don’t eat the berries

This week’s Curious by Nature question comes from Jim Protz: “There’s a small sign at the end of Perseverance Trail with a warning not to… Continue reading

Declining AK birds subject of Audubon talk

This year, an unprecedented number of bird species made it on to the Audubon Alaska WatchList’s Red List, a designation which signals the highest level… Continue reading

Photo contest: Holiday lights

Dust off those boxes, untangle the lights and hang them high for all to see. The holiday season is upon us, and with darkness setting… Continue reading

This marten was surprised to see the photographer on the trail and took to the trees. (Photo by Matt Knutson)

Southeast’s mustelids include the well-known and elusive

One of the treats of a snowy winter is wandering around looking for animal tracks. When I counted up the species for which we’ve found… Continue reading

This marten was surprised to see the photographer on the trail and took to the trees. (Photo by Matt Knutson)
A herd of caribou pauses at a section of overflow in the Central Brooks Range. (Photo by Bjorn Dihle)

A ski through the Central Brooks Range

In March of 2012, I stepped off a small plane in Bettles as the wind piled snowdrifts against a wall of spindly black spruce. At… Continue reading

A herd of caribou pauses at a section of overflow in the Central Brooks Range. (Photo by Bjorn Dihle)

On the Trails: Snowy tracks

Snowshoes crunched over deep snow. The sky was cerulean blue and the sun gradually crept around the mountain peaks. These were fine days to be… Continue reading

Veryl Fuller, the University of Alaska’s first scientist to study the aurora, in a portrait from the 1936 university yearbook. (Courtesy Photo | Ned Rozell)

Pioneer scientist determined aurora height

“Professor Fuller Drops Dead in Garden.” So reads the headline in the Farthest-North Collegian newspaper of June 1, 1935. In the story, an unnamed writer… Continue reading

Veryl Fuller, the University of Alaska’s first scientist to study the aurora, in a portrait from the 1936 university yearbook. (Courtesy Photo | Ned Rozell)
UAF Tribal Management Introduction to Board of Game Class, held in partnership with Tanana Chiefs Conference, during Board of Game statewide meeting in Anchorage November 11, 2017. (Courtesy Photo | Carrie Stevens)

Board of Game forum spurs unlikely accord

Dried salmon savored by rural Alaska Natives as part of a subsistence way of life won’t be found among the Spanish tapas, Brazilian steaks, or… Continue reading

UAF Tribal Management Introduction to Board of Game Class, held in partnership with Tanana Chiefs Conference, during Board of Game statewide meeting in Anchorage November 11, 2017. (Courtesy Photo | Carrie Stevens)