Alaska Outdoors

Alaskans invited to take part in National Farm to School Month

In recognition of National Farm to School Month in October, the state Division of Agriculture is collaborating with the Department of Education and Early Development’s… Continue reading

Auke Lake Wayside parking lot, boat launch closed to June

The Auke Lake Wayside parking lot and the boat launch are closed for the season beginning today, Oct. 19, according to a release from the… Continue reading

Oil burns on a manmade water basin at Poker Flat Research Range in April 2015.

Alaska Science Forum: Why we spilled crude just to watch it burn

On a clear day last spring, fire sizzled on water at Poker Flat Research Range in the Chatanika River valley.There, scientists were spilling crude oil… Continue reading

Oil burns on a manmade water basin at Poker Flat Research Range in April 2015.
Instructor Dave Zungia, with the U.S. Forest Service, teaches Floyd Dryden Middle School sixth-graders Brittany Johnson and Mackenzie Christensen and their classmates how to use compasses on Wednesday as part of their three-day Outdoors Skills class at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Juneau Hunter Education Shooting Complex. Volunteers assisting in teaching Juneau sixth-graders hailed from the ADF&G, U.S. Coast Guard, Taku River Sportman's Association and the U.S. Forest Service.

Photo: Wilderness navigation in a nutshell

Instructor Dave Zungia, with the U.S. Forest Service, teaches Floyd Dryden Middle School sixth-graders Brittany Johnson and Mackenzie Christensen and their classmates how to use… Continue reading

Instructor Dave Zungia, with the U.S. Forest Service, teaches Floyd Dryden Middle School sixth-graders Brittany Johnson and Mackenzie Christensen and their classmates how to use compasses on Wednesday as part of their three-day Outdoors Skills class at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Juneau Hunter Education Shooting Complex. Volunteers assisting in teaching Juneau sixth-graders hailed from the ADF&G, U.S. Coast Guard, Taku River Sportman's Association and the U.S. Forest Service.

Public invited to talk planetarium talk ‘Astronaut Humor’

Marie Drake Planetarium will host a free presentation and night sky viewing from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Cristina Della Rossa, creator of astronomyhumor.com,… Continue reading

A bald eagle launches from a tree at Point Louisa Oct. 7.

Wild Shots

The Empire Outdoors page is looking for superb images of Alaska’s wildlife, scenery or plant life. Send your photos via email to: Outdoors editor, outdoors@juneauempire.com.… Continue reading

A bald eagle launches from a tree at Point Louisa Oct. 7.

Polls show concern over transboundary mining, desire for action

Salmon Beyond Borders and SkeenaWild, groups from Alaska and British Columbia that have opposed mining in BC and Alaska’s transboundary river watersheds, recently received the… Continue reading

Nils paddles downstream accompanied by Loki, the Zen Master of the Big Salmon River.

The Zen Master of the Big Salmon River

It’s become a tradition: the fall trip to Yukon, Canada, and a week or so spent on some stretch of birch-lined river listening to wolves… Continue reading

Nils paddles downstream accompanied by Loki, the Zen Master of the Big Salmon River.
This is what may be the only photograph of a northern bog lemming, a glacial relict species currently being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The lemming lives in mainland Southeast Alaska, and elsewhere in North America, but is rarely seen.

Northern bog lemmings at cliff’s edge?

Many may not know the northern bog lemming lives in Southeast Alaska —but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering the rarely seen mammal’s… Continue reading

This is what may be the only photograph of a northern bog lemming, a glacial relict species currently being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The lemming lives in mainland Southeast Alaska, and elsewhere in North America, but is rarely seen.
A decorator crab rests on a large sea pen. This crab has included a tiny sea pen in its decorations.

On the Trails: Animals disguised by ‘trash backpacks’

Animals hide themselves from visual searchers in many ways. Some hide in plain sight with camouflage (snowshoe hares, rattlesnakes). Some remove themselves from view in… Continue reading

A decorator crab rests on a large sea pen. This crab has included a tiny sea pen in its decorations.

Early closure to mountain goat hunting season

Biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game in Douglas on Thursday announced an early closure to the mountain goat hunting season from Eagle… Continue reading

Aramark contract renewed for Glacier Bay park

The National Park Service has selected Aramark Sports and Entertainment Services, LLC, to provide lodging, tour boat, food and beverage and other services under a… Continue reading

NPS selects companies to offer exclusive tours

The National Park Service has selected the businesses that will provide exclusive tours in Glacier Bay beginning in the spring. Five-year concession contracts were awarded… Continue reading

Dockside safety exams encouraged before rule change

The U.S. Coast Guard is urging owners and operators of commercial fishing vessel to get a dockside safety exam before those examinations become mandatory for… Continue reading

Willow ptarmigan

One nice day in September, I walked with a few friends in a subalpine meadow of no-longer-blooming wildflowers with small shrub thickets scattered throughout. A… Continue reading

Dirt Girl: Putting the bed to rest

Summer is over and the clouds have closed in like a blizzard of rain. Now is the time to consider harvesting the last of your… Continue reading

Brooks Range pulsations: My own unsolved mystery

In August and September of 2010, during a long solitary trip across the Central and Western Brooks Range, I heard and felt mysterious pulsations. It… Continue reading

A new season of wildlife on Wednesdays

A new season of Wildlife Wednesdays, hosted by the Southeast chapter of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, begins this month.First up on Oct. 7 is a… Continue reading

Composting art contest

The US Composting Council is inviting artists from three age categories — grades 3-7, grades 8-12, and college-adult — to compete in a poster contest… Continue reading

Kantner, Heacox in Juneau for book signing

Two authors whose works frequently focus on Alaska’s outdoors will be in Juneau signing new works within the next few days. First is Seth Kantner,… Continue reading