Life

Glen Trombley, a Kenai River personal use guide, testifies to the Alaska Board of Fisheries during the 2023 Statewide Finfish Meeting on March 10, 2023 at the Egan Civic & Convention Center in Anchorage Alaska. (Screenshot)

Board of Fisheries approves regulation changes

Changes include simplified registration and new invasive species

 

The Alaska Board of Fisheries discusses three emergency petitions directed at Cook Inlet East Side Set Net closures during the 2023 Statewide Finfish Meeting on Monday, March 13, 2023, at the Egan Civic & Convention Center in Anchorage Alaska. (Screenshot)

Fisheries board rejects local anglers’ emergency petitions

Each of the petitions was rejected for failing to meet the board’s definition of an emergency

 

Glen Trombley, a Kenai River personal use guide, testifies to the Alaska Board of Fisheries during the 2023 Statewide Finfish Meeting on March 10, 2023 at the Egan Civic & Convention Center in Anchorage Alaska. (Screenshot)

Locals weigh in on proposals at fisheries board meeting

Several anglers from the Kenai Peninsula testified against Proposals 163-167

 

Susan Smalley (right) testifies before the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. Smalley, who attended the 2022 Pride in the Park event questioned what would and would not be considered inappropriate under the proposed legislation. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna delays action on lewdness, park legislation

The trio of ordinances is the product of months of work by city administrators to review city code

Susan Smalley (right) testifies before the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. Smalley, who attended the 2022 Pride in the Park event questioned what would and would not be considered inappropriate under the proposed legislation. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The east entrance of the Upper Kenai River Trail is photographed on Sunday, June 23, 2019, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai refuge accepting applications for black bear baiting

Baiting areas can be chosen — and permits issued — in the order they are drawn

The east entrance of the Upper Kenai River Trail is photographed on Sunday, June 23, 2019, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
A sign to Kenai National Wildlife Refuge trails is seen Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Fish and Wildlife Service withdraws Kenai Refuge proposal

The service received around 45,000 public comments regarding the proposal

A sign to Kenai National Wildlife Refuge trails is seen Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Snow surrounds playground equipment at the softball greenstrip on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. The structure is being replaced this year. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai to replace greenstrip playground

The park’s existing playground structure was installed in 1995 and has exceeded its usable lifespan

Snow surrounds playground equipment at the softball greenstrip on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. The structure is being replaced this year. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Split spruce for firewood sits on the porch of the Dolly Varden Lake cabin on Feb. 5, 2023, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the office: Opening windows

“Maybe we should open the window,” my cabinmates said. “No,” I replied. It was late November 2021 and we were in the Engineer Lake Cabin.… Continue reading

Split spruce for firewood sits on the porch of the Dolly Varden Lake cabin on Feb. 5, 2023, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
A beaver coasts by in search of the perfect stick for a dam repair. (Photo by C. Canterbury, USFWS)

Refuge Notebook: More research needed to determine beavers’ impact on landscape

Do you ever stare at a map and wonder what that seemingly amazing place looks like in real life? Staring at the contours and colors… Continue reading

A beaver coasts by in search of the perfect stick for a dam repair. (Photo by C. Canterbury, USFWS)
A pair of nearly pristine three-year-old workout shoes are placed in the backseat of Jake Dye’s mostly invincible car in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 8. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the office: ‘Stupid walks’

After more than three weeks of regularly hitting the gym — easily the longest stretch of any kind of exercise I’ve managed since leaving high… Continue reading

A pair of nearly pristine three-year-old workout shoes are placed in the backseat of Jake Dye’s mostly invincible car in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 8. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A recently added port-a-potty is available in the parking lot of Slikok Multi-Use Trails on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Slikok makes sanitation upgrades

A port-a-potty was installed to due to the increased popularity of the trails

A recently added port-a-potty is available in the parking lot of Slikok Multi-Use Trails on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nature-based solutions like conserving peatlands and encouraging beaver in the right places and times are promising tools for ensuring abundant cool waters for fish and people. (Photo by C. Canterbury/USFWS)

Refuge Notebook: Water is life

When you think of Alaska and wildlife, the image of waters teeming with the bright red colors of salmon and brown bears fishing for them… Continue reading

Nature-based solutions like conserving peatlands and encouraging beaver in the right places and times are promising tools for ensuring abundant cool waters for fish and people. (Photo by C. Canterbury/USFWS)
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Hello, Neighbor

Even after living in Alaska for the better part of a decade, it still surprises me to run into my nonhuman neighbors when I step… Continue reading

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People wait for planes at Kenai Municipal Airport on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Of planes and XTRATUFs

I’m not a huge fan of flying. That wasn’t always the case, but, as I’ve gotten older, there is something about the cost, hassle, environmental… Continue reading

People wait for planes at Kenai Municipal Airport on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Kenai/Prince William Sound Superintendent Jack Blackwell fields questions about the Kasilof River Drift Boat Retrieval project at the Gilman River Center on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023 near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Construction of Kasilof boat retrieval to begin this summer

Efforts to build a public takeout facility on the lower Kasilof River began in 2011

Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Kenai/Prince William Sound Superintendent Jack Blackwell fields questions about the Kasilof River Drift Boat Retrieval project at the Gilman River Center on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023 near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
R/V Sikuliaq research crew in the Gulf of Alaska, July 2022. (Photo by Emilie Springer)

From the plankton to the aurora

Northern Gulf of Alaska Summer Research Cruise: R/V Sikuliaq, July 7-27, 2022.

R/V Sikuliaq research crew in the Gulf of Alaska, July 2022. (Photo by Emilie Springer)
Snowshoers talk with Ranger Leah Eskelin during a December snowshoe walk at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo by Catie Shelden)

Refuge Notebook: Take it from the hare, snowshoes are the way to go!

The holidays are behind us, but there is still a whole lot of winter ahead. I love the rush and excitement of the early winter… Continue reading

Snowshoers talk with Ranger Leah Eskelin during a December snowshoe walk at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo by Catie Shelden)
Neldon Gardner speaks while being inducted to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame following the duel wrestling meet on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Look for the good in things’

When I think of Neldon Gardner, who said after the state tournament Dec. 17 that he would be stepping down as head coach of the… Continue reading

Neldon Gardner speaks while being inducted to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame following the duel wrestling meet on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Sunset views of snow-covered Kenai Mountains and the far eastern section of Skilak Lake. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS)

Refuge Notebook: Changing winters bring new conservation challenges

Like most everyone here in Southcentral Alaska, much of my leisure time and a good bit of my otherwise normally encumbered time during the last… Continue reading

Sunset views of snow-covered Kenai Mountains and the far eastern section of Skilak Lake. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS)
A tree decorated by the Kenai Peninsula Outdoor Club is seen on the Moose Loop at Tsalteshi Trails on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Deck the ski trails

Festive skiers have a little longer to bring holiday spirit to Tsalteshi Trails

A tree decorated by the Kenai Peninsula Outdoor Club is seen on the Moose Loop at Tsalteshi Trails on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)