Alaska Outdoors

Austin Jones stands next to his  foldable kayak after finishing a 59-day, 1,170-mile trip from Anacortes, Washington, to Juneau on Tuesday.

Paddling the Inside Passage in an ‘origami’ kayak

Below the gangway leading down to Harris Harbor, 25-year-old medical student Austin Jones split open his foldable kayak, revealing among water bottles, camping and survival… Continue reading

Austin Jones stands next to his  foldable kayak after finishing a 59-day, 1,170-mile trip from Anacortes, Washington, to Juneau on Tuesday.

Alaskans Afield offers shotgun, waterfowl hunting classes

Alaskans Afield offers shotgun, waterfowl hunting classesThe Alaska Department of Fish and Game is offering two Alaskans Afield classes this August ­— one focusing on… Continue reading

Learn to fly fish, hunt for upland birds

Learn to fly fish, hunt for upland birdsThe Alaska Department of Fish and Game is offering several summer workshops through Beyond BOW (Becoming an Outdoors-Woman.)… Continue reading

A hawk nabs a mouse for dinner in the shrubbery in Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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

A hawk nabs a mouse for dinner in the shrubbery in Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Johns Hopkins Glacier in Glacier Bay calves on July 11th.

Photos: Glacier Bay glories

The Johns Hopkins Glacier in Glacier Bay calves on July 11.… Continue reading

The Johns Hopkins Glacier in Glacier Bay calves on July 11th.
Mariana Hicks collects a daddy longlegs spider at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Sessions Bug Camp.

Discovering the hidden universe at bug camp

OUTSIDE THE UA MUSEUM OF THE NORTH — “Look, it’s a crab spider eating a moth!” says Declan Griswold, an 8-year-old who points to a… Continue reading

Mariana Hicks collects a daddy longlegs spider at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Sessions Bug Camp.
Yellow fireweed is not common in Juneau.

Off the Trails: Recent finds along the trail

A stroll across Bridget Cove tide flats in early July brought us to a stand of eelgrass. To our surprise, the eelgrass was dotted with… Continue reading

Yellow fireweed is not common in Juneau.
Be sure to pinch off the flower blossoms of your zucchini and yellow squash.

Dirt Girl: Garden check-in continued

A few weeks back I helped out with the Master Gardener tour. In between visitors, I had the chance to ask Sandy Williams a few… Continue reading

Be sure to pinch off the flower blossoms of your zucchini and yellow squash.
Screenshot of the sockeye cam at Steep Creek taken Thursday.

Leave it to beavers: Live cameras offer glimpse into nature

At 4:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, a beaver slept in its den on Steep Creek near the Mendenhall Glacier, its furry face aimed at an… Continue reading

Screenshot of the sockeye cam at Steep Creek taken Thursday.

The miracle of water

THE MIRACLE OF WATERWater is everything. Without it, we don’t survive. Without pumping an entire river’s worth of it from hundreds of miles away, Southern… Continue reading

A cluster of sea balloons, slightly worn.

Off the Trails: Looking at intertidal algae

The tide was moderately low, a minus 3.9 or so, and four of us had the privilege of tagging along with a genial visiting algologist… Continue reading

A cluster of sea balloons, slightly worn.
A building at the site of Cos Jacket, a former village on the Tanana River.

A ghost town on the Tanana River

COS JACKET — On a canoe trip down the lower Tanana River, we’ve scrambled up a sandy bank to explore a place that is less… Continue reading

A building at the site of Cos Jacket, a former village on the Tanana River.

Biomass-fueled greenhouse handbook in works for Alaska schools

The U.S. Forest Service has funded a contract issued by Southeast Conference through its partner, the Alaska Energy Authority, to the Cold Climate Housing Research… Continue reading

ADF&G opens fishing and hunting workshops

Five fishing and hunting workshops put on by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are now open for registration. Two of the workshops, Step… Continue reading

Congress OKs bill labeling GMOs

WASHINGTON — Consumers wanting to know if their foods contain genetically modified ingredients will be able to find out for the first time.Congress sent legislation… Continue reading

Trail Mix Inc. expands statewide with Forest Service agreement

In a unique agreement, a local volunteer organization formally partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to help maintain cabins and trails in Alaska’s two national… Continue reading

A 2002 photo taken during the second leg of the Aleutian Islands survey shows a snailfish. The Alaska Fisheries Science Center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has helped name more than a dozen new species over the last decade.

Surveys off Alaska lead to new types of soft-bodied fish

ANCHORAGE — Federal biologist Jay Orr never knows what’s going to come up in nets lowered to the ocean floor off Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands,… Continue reading

A 2002 photo taken during the second leg of the Aleutian Islands survey shows a snailfish. The Alaska Fisheries Science Center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has helped name more than a dozen new species over the last decade.
Ella Mooney takes over for her mother Jen and protects sockeye salmon from bugs.

How to gill a girl: Salmon fishing in Hydaburg

HOW TO GILL A GIRL: SALMON FISHING IN HYDABURGLike a salmon, I grew up running wild. As a toddler, I chased my brother through the… Continue reading

Ella Mooney takes over for her mother Jen and protects sockeye salmon from bugs.

August king opener likely in Southeast

AUGUST KING OPENER LIKELY IN SOUTHEASTSALMON TAKES CENTER STAGE EACH SUMMER BUT MANY OTHER FISHERIES ALSO ARE IN FULL SWING FROM KETCHIKAN TO KOTZEBUE.For salmon,… Continue reading

Found these busy little Red-breasted Sapsuckers along Boy Scout Beach Trail.

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

Found these busy little Red-breasted Sapsuckers along Boy Scout Beach Trail.