Alaska Outdoors

Everlasting winter on the far side of Mt. Roberts.

Wild Shots

Submit your wild shots: The Empire Outdoors page is looking for superb images of Alaska’s wildlife, scenery or plant life. Send your photos to: Outdoors… Continue reading

Everlasting winter on the far side of Mt. Roberts.

Public gets open mic at first day of fish board meeting

SOLDOTNA — Fishermen and the fisheries-inclined turned out by the dozens Tuesday for an open hearing before the Board of Fisheries to air their concerns… Continue reading

Off the Trails: Microorganisms and human behavior

As I was writing last week’s piece about mind-bending parasites, I came upon many fascinating reports about microorganisms (parasitic or otherwise) in relation to humans.… Continue reading

Researchers collect last whale bones off Anchorage shore

Researchers collect last whale bones off Anchorage shore

ANCHORAGE — Researchers in Alaska will soon have access to the only complete humpback whale skeleton in the state, but they will have to wait… Continue reading

Researchers collect last whale bones off Anchorage shore
Pondering the infinite in Yukon Flats

Pondering the infinite in Yukon Flats

Out here, in a smooth plain stretching over Alaska’s wrinkled face, water and tree and mud dissolve to fuzz at each horizon. No hills or… Continue reading

Pondering the infinite in Yukon Flats
ADVANCE FOR THE WEEKEND OF OCT. 15-16 AND THEREAFTER - In a Sept. 10, 2016 photo, Kathryn Hunter takes in the sunset over Washington Lake northeast of Sun Valley, Idaho, in the White Cloud Mountains.  Washington Lake in the White Clouds, just north of Sun Valley and just south of Stanley,  is a popular hiking location. (Scott McIntosh/Idaho Press Tribune via AP)

For an easy, colorful fall hike, try Idaho’s Washington Lake

STANLEY, Idaho — A couple of years ago, a group of us hiked to Kane Lake in the Pioneer Mountains in early October. It was… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR THE WEEKEND OF OCT. 15-16 AND THEREAFTER - In a Sept. 10, 2016 photo, Kathryn Hunter takes in the sunset over Washington Lake northeast of Sun Valley, Idaho, in the White Cloud Mountains.  Washington Lake in the White Clouds, just north of Sun Valley and just south of Stanley,  is a popular hiking location. (Scott McIntosh/Idaho Press Tribune via AP)
In this April 2014 photo, the grand opening of Cabela's in Anchorage is shown. Cabela's is being bought out by Bass Pro in a $4.5 billion deal announced Monday.

Outdoor giant Bass Pro to acquire rival Cabela’s for $4.5B

OMAHA, Neb. — Outdoor gear giant Bass Pro is snapping up rival Cabela’s in a $4.5 billion deal announced Monday.Bass Pro is paying Cabela’s shareholders… Continue reading

In this April 2014 photo, the grand opening of Cabela's in Anchorage is shown. Cabela's is being bought out by Bass Pro in a $4.5 billion deal announced Monday.

Fish and Game cuts Bering Sea crab quota

The day before the North Pacific Fishery Management Council will review drastically declining snow and tanner crab stocks, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game… Continue reading

Garlic Lovers Potluck upcoming

If you’re a garlic grower and like to cook, here is an event for you: The 3rd annual Garlic Lovers Potluck.On Saturday, Oct. 15 from… Continue reading

Tempting artichokes.

Dirt Girl: End of year dreams

Sometimes I wait until I pull out seed catalogs in February to dream about next year’s garden. Other times I find myself walking around the… Continue reading

Tempting artichokes.
Bob Coats aboard the Eider in the Aleutian Islands sometime in the 1950s.

Alaska Science Forum: Earth’s expanding crust swallowed beneath Aleutians

Sometimes, a great idea arrives ahead of its time. A person squints at a raw landscape, thinks about it in his bunk on a heaving… Continue reading

Bob Coats aboard the Eider in the Aleutian Islands sometime in the 1950s.
In the words of Mary Willson, 'Ick'

Off the Trails: Mind-bending parasites

I suspect that when most of us think about parasites, if we think about them at all, we conjure up a notion of something like… Continue reading

In the words of Mary Willson, 'Ick'
The cross-hatched area is closed to goat hunting, starting Tuesday night.

Goat hunting closure

Effective 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced an early closure of the middle portion of the Takshanuk Mountain Range to… Continue reading

The cross-hatched area is closed to goat hunting, starting Tuesday night.
Mycologist and author Lawrence Millman gives a presentation at Creamer's Field in Fairbanks.

Alaska Science Forum: Fungus Man and the start of it all

Alaskans love fungi. This was evident one Saturday when author and mycologist Lawrence Millman offered a mushroom walk at Creamer’s Field on one of the… Continue reading

Mycologist and author Lawrence Millman gives a presentation at Creamer's Field in Fairbanks.
In this Aug. 3, 2015 photo, chum salmon swim beneath the surface of Salmon Creek.

After ruling, next step in salmon management unclear

State and federal managers don’t yet know what to expect after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2011 decision by the North… Continue reading

In this Aug. 3, 2015 photo, chum salmon swim beneath the surface of Salmon Creek.

It’s time to talk crab season projections

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet in Anchorage from Oct. 5-11 to overview crab season projections, hear further discussions of halibut management, and… Continue reading

In this file photo from June 2014, Kent Eriksen fishes for king salmon with his grandson, Diego, 5, at the Fish Creek Pond.

Off the Trails: Finding arrowhead at Fish Creek Park

Fish Creek Park, a small City and Borough of Juneau park at the mouth of Fish Creek, is the site of intensive fishing and waterfowl… Continue reading

In this file photo from June 2014, Kent Eriksen fishes for king salmon with his grandson, Diego, 5, at the Fish Creek Pond.

Feds buy $4M of logged lands

JUNEAU — A $4 million deal between the U.S. Forest Service and a Southeast Alaska Native corporation will return 4,500 acres of heavily logged forest… Continue reading

Forest Service purchases land in Cube Cove

Forest Service purchases land in Cube Cove, returning it to wildernessJUNEAU — Sept. 16 marked the completion of the purchase of the first two segments… Continue reading

Glacier Fall Fun Fest

The U.S. Forest Service is hosting Fall Fun Fest at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. The… Continue reading