Alaska Outdoors

Acting superintendent named at Katmai National Park

Karen Bradford, a 25-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been selected as the acting superintendent of Katmai National Park and Preserve. Bradford has… Continue reading

DIPAC area closed to king salmon fishing

Starting today, sport fishing for king salmon and snagging will be prohibited within a 200-yard radius of the Wayside Park Fishing Dock (Channel Wayside fishing… Continue reading

Forest Service seeks help to preserve historic ranger boat

The Forest Service is seeking to find an alternative use of the historic M/V Chugach, the last wooden ranger boat in the fleet operating in… Continue reading

Free cake at Skagway park’s 40th birthday

SKAGWAY — Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park will host a celebration of the 40th birthday of the park on June 30. All events are… Continue reading

A pile of colorful sunstars on a recent low tide at Point Louisa.

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 pile of colorful sunstars on a recent low tide at Point Louisa.
Tobias Schwörer, a researcher at the University of Alaska's Institute for Social and Economic Research, produced this map of floatplane bases and destinations for his study of how elodea, an invasive waterweed, could spread through the state. Floatplanes are a significant spreader of the weed, fragments of which can lodge in their rudders and floats.

Controlling elodea with data

Although the invasive water-weed elodea was officially eradicated from the Kenai Peninsula this summer, the statewide threat remains. Floatplanes, which can inadvertently carry colonies of… Continue reading

Tobias Schwörer, a researcher at the University of Alaska's Institute for Social and Economic Research, produced this map of floatplane bases and destinations for his study of how elodea, an invasive waterweed, could spread through the state. Floatplanes are a significant spreader of the weed, fragments of which can lodge in their rudders and floats.

Alaska IPHC board member fined $49K for fishing violation, resigns

Jeff Kauffman resigned as the Alaska resident member of the International Pacific Halibut Commission on June 22, shortly after he and two fellow fishermen agreed… Continue reading

Summer solstice is not often the warmest part of Alaska's summer.

Alaska Science Forum: Summer solstice doesn’t mean maximum warmth

A person might think that since we get our maximum sunlight on the summer solstice (on or about June 21), we should also get our… Continue reading

Summer solstice is not often the warmest part of Alaska's summer.

Spruce aphid: Small bugs, big problem

A larger-than-normal seasonal presence has hampered some Juneau inhabitants this Spring and Summer, impeding members of our locally-rooted population. It isn’t an infestation of tourists… Continue reading

Off the Trails: June tide-pooling and a bear story

A minus 4 1/2-foot tide drew us out to check the intertidal zone. As we strolled across a wide sandy stretch at the water’s edge,… Continue reading

Time for another Quest on the Yukon

WHITEHORSE — The race roster is set for the 18th annual Yukon River Quest, which will begin on Wednesday, June 29, in Whitehorse. This year’s… Continue reading

Report: Temper expectations for sockeye price hike

The message on prices for Alaska’s sockeye fishermen from Juneau economics firm McDowell Group this season is good, but not great.“Despite some positive developments, fishermen… Continue reading

The Tongass National Forest moves to electronic mailing lists

KETCHIKAN — The Ranger Districts for the Tongass National Forest are switching their mailing list from snail mail to email.A Tuesday press release from the… Continue reading

Caribou antlers piled near Anaktuvuk Pass.

Off the Beaten Path: Starvation dreams

Once, while camped in a valley in the Central Brooks Range, I dreamt I heard an old woman crying outside my tent. When I woke… Continue reading

Caribou antlers piled near Anaktuvuk Pass.

Dirt Girl: Decked out in green

Last year I switched growing my greens from the community garden to the back deck of the boat. I had thought that having lettuce at… Continue reading

Off the Trails: Environmental sex determination

In birds, mammals, some plants and many other organisms, biological gender is typically determined genetically. That is, biological sex of an individual is determined at… Continue reading

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende, right, tour Ny-Alesund Village, the northernmost civilian settlement in the world, before visiting Blomstrand Glacier, on Thursday.

Kerry tours Arctic Circle

NY-ALESUND, Norway — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday visited Norway’s extreme north, viewing areas where climate change has melted ice and opened… Continue reading

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende, right, tour Ny-Alesund Village, the northernmost civilian settlement in the world, before visiting Blomstrand Glacier, on Thursday.
Bears are seen near a buried seismometer in a frame from a game camera video. Seismologist Carl Tape installed the camera to confirm that bears were digging up his equipment.

Bears bother lonely science instruments

Interior Alaska is a hungry place — lots of boreal forest and swampy wetlands with big, flat rivers winding through. Wildlife sightings, especially of big… Continue reading

Bears are seen near a buried seismometer in a frame from a game camera video. Seismologist Carl Tape installed the camera to confirm that bears were digging up his equipment.

Help plan Glacier Bay’s future

Help plan Glacier Bay’s futureThe National Park Service invites the public to plan for the future of the “Frontcountry areas” of Glacier Bay National Park… Continue reading

The high bank to the left of the photo above will be lowered and the fill used to raise the streambank and other low spots.  Then willows and other plants and will be used to revegetate the area to protect the creek.  Two weeks later the Forest Service will bring in a crew to top off the trail.

Trail rehabilitation needs volunteers

Trout Unlimited and the US Forest Service have teamed up for another habitat rehabilitation project and need volunteers at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 11 at… Continue reading

The high bank to the left of the photo above will be lowered and the fill used to raise the streambank and other low spots.  Then willows and other plants and will be used to revegetate the area to protect the creek.  Two weeks later the Forest Service will bring in a crew to top off the trail.