As a geologist considering issues of sustainability, I tend to ponder timescales that go far beyond that of a human lifetime. For example, many of… Continue reading
One July day I was moseying along a streambank, looking at the alders. Both red and Sitka alders grew there, but I was focused on… Continue reading
Reader-submitted images of Mother Nature in Southeast The Empire Outdoors page is looking for superb images of Alaska’s wildlife, scenery or plant life. Send your… Continue reading
Reader-submitted images of Mother Nature in Southeast Submit your wild shots: The Empire Outdoors page is looking for superb images of Alaska’s wildlife, scenery or… Continue reading
On one of many dribbly days in July, as I wandered along a beach on North Douglas, I noticed a little plant with white flowers.… Continue reading
We went to Kake to install a landscape around an Elder Housing Project built by Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority (THRHA). We carried our plants,… Continue reading
This is part of a series of monthly columns about STEM in Juneau. One of the best sounds to my ears is listening to students… Continue reading
At University of Alaska Anchorage, two students are on an interdisciplinary quest to unlock the anthropological and archaeological importance of caribou teeth. Yes, caribou teeth.… Continue reading
People sometimes have this idea that living in the bush is serious business, and it can be. But I rarely got that impression growing up… Continue reading
Juneau. It was a cool and clear Bastille Day, July 14, 2017, when we entered the Tracy Arm and Ford’s Terror Wilderness Area on the… Continue reading
I had the opportunity of meeting the small group of youth and young adults as they assembled at the head of a trail leading into… Continue reading
Juneau is a city lacking for flat spaces. Most hiking trails on the road system trace paths up switchbacks, across stair steps of muskeg and… Continue reading
Each year there seems to be a particular plant that captures my imagination. Last year it was rose petals. I spent weeks testing different ideas,… Continue reading
The weekly sport fish report is written by the Alaska Department of Fish &Game and made available to the public on a weekly basis. For… Continue reading
A summertime walk through woods and meadows is almost always good — birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and there’s always nice fresh air. But… Continue reading
There’s a new, probably non-native, invasive species in town, just discovered in late June. It’s a disease-causing fungus (Gemmamyces piceae) that afflicts spruce buds, often… Continue reading
When I told my friend Jo (who blogs at www.alaskafloatsmyboat.com) that I was building an outdoor cooler to refrigerate my perishables she said: “When I… Continue reading
Some plants are so commonplace that we fail to see them, even when we are paying attention. I kept hearing about plantains, but I just… Continue reading
Loons are a boon for bioresearch. Much like the canary in the coalmine, the health of these top aquatic predators can translate to an entire… Continue reading
Lou Marincovich’s book “True North: Hunting Fossils Under the Midnight Sun,” published May 15, sheds light on the life of an adventure-seeking paleontologist who, as… Continue reading
