Life

The red stalks and whitish-yellow caps of yellow moosedung moss grow by Headquarters Lake on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on July 28, 2014. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

This moss grows in what?

When you think about where moss grows, where do you think of? Perhaps on a tree or a stump or just directly on the ground.… Continue reading

The red stalks and whitish-yellow caps of yellow moosedung moss grow by Headquarters Lake on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on July 28, 2014. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)
A group of anglers dipnet for sockeye salmon near the mouth of the Kasilof River on Wednesday, June 28, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. The personal-use dipnet fishery on the Kasilof River opened Monday, with fish counts significantly behind last year and behind the 10-year average for the same date. Some fishermen were successful Wednesday, though, both from shore and from boats. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kasilof dipnet opens, fish counts still low

The Kasilof River personal-use dipnet is open, and fishermen are trying out their nets for sockeye with some mixed luck. A few dipnetters dotted the… Continue reading

A group of anglers dipnet for sockeye salmon near the mouth of the Kasilof River on Wednesday, June 28, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. The personal-use dipnet fishery on the Kasilof River opened Monday, with fish counts significantly behind last year and behind the 10-year average for the same date. Some fishermen were successful Wednesday, though, both from shore and from boats. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Coho salmon and Arctic char aggregate while feeding on sockeye salmon eggs. While coho derive much of their summer growth from invertebrates, char may rely entirely on sockeye salmon eggs, fry, and smolt. (Photo by Jonny Armstrong)

Where the coho go: Study shows river systems behave like financial investments—diverse portfolios get better returns

Turns out finance and salmon survival have something in common: the importance of diversification. As a PhD student with the University of Washington’s Alaska Salmon… Continue reading

Coho salmon and Arctic char aggregate while feeding on sockeye salmon eggs. While coho derive much of their summer growth from invertebrates, char may rely entirely on sockeye salmon eggs, fry, and smolt. (Photo by Jonny Armstrong)
A group of anglers dipnet for sockeye salmon near the mouth of the Kasilof River on Wednesday, June 28, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. The personal-use dipnet fishery on the Kasilof River opened Monday, with fish counts significantly behind last year and behind the 10-year average for the same date. Some fishermen were successful Wednesday, though, both from shore and from boats. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kasilof dipnet opens, fish counts still low

The Kasilof River personal-use dipnet is open, and fishermen are trying out their nets for sockeye with some mixed luck. A few dipnetters dotted the… Continue reading

A group of anglers dipnet for sockeye salmon near the mouth of the Kasilof River on Wednesday, June 28, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. The personal-use dipnet fishery on the Kasilof River opened Monday, with fish counts significantly behind last year and behind the 10-year average for the same date. Some fishermen were successful Wednesday, though, both from shore and from boats. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Coho salmon and Arctic char aggregate while feeding on sockeye salmon eggs. While coho derive much of their summer growth from invertebrates, char may rely entirely on sockeye salmon eggs, fry, and smolt. (Photo by Jonny Armstrong)

Where the coho go: Study shows river systems behave like financial investments—diverse portfolios get better returns

Turns out finance and salmon survival have something in common: the importance of diversification. As a PhD student with the University of Washington’s Alaska Salmon… Continue reading

Coho salmon and Arctic char aggregate while feeding on sockeye salmon eggs. While coho derive much of their summer growth from invertebrates, char may rely entirely on sockeye salmon eggs, fry, and smolt. (Photo by Jonny Armstrong)
Goat yoga comes to the Peninsula

Goat yoga comes to the Peninsula

Amber Harrison had few expectations when she laid down her yoga mat at the Palmer Fairgrounds last year. She came all the way to the… Continue reading

Goat yoga comes to the Peninsula
Beluga Slough, in Homer, is one of several estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula are special places

Growing up in Homer was an experience that I am incredibly happy to have had. From playing outside in the summers until midnight or helping… Continue reading

Beluga Slough, in Homer, is one of several estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Beluga Slough, in Homer, is one of several estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula are special places

Growing up in Homer was an experience that I am incredibly happy to have had. From playing outside in the summers until midnight or helping… Continue reading

Beluga Slough, in Homer, is one of several estuaries on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Tsalteshi Sprockets volunteer coach Morgan Aldridge leads a group of youth riders Thursday, June 14, at the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Tsalteshi Sprockets teach youth cycling

The present day cycling scene on the peninsula is undoubtedly strong, as evidenced by the numbers of bikers that flock to the trails and pathways… Continue reading

Tsalteshi Sprockets volunteer coach Morgan Aldridge leads a group of youth riders Thursday, June 14, at the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Tsalteshi Sprockets volunteer coach Morgan Aldridge leads a group of youth riders Thursday, June 14, at the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Tsalteshi Sprockets teach youth cycling

The present day cycling scene on the peninsula is undoubtedly strong, as evidenced by the numbers of bikers that flock to the trails and pathways… Continue reading

Tsalteshi Sprockets volunteer coach Morgan Aldridge leads a group of youth riders Thursday, June 14, at the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
A pair of sea kayaks prepare to play the waters of Kenai Fjords National Park earlier this summer. (Photo by Kat Sorensen)

Tangled up in blue: A tourist in your own town

There are four negative reviews for Kenai Fjords National Park on TripAdvisor. The first is a reviewer from New Zealand. The title of the one-star… Continue reading

A pair of sea kayaks prepare to play the waters of Kenai Fjords National Park earlier this summer. (Photo by Kat Sorensen)
Translucent agates of many colors are found along Kenai Peninsula beaches with patience and luck. (Photo by Donna Brewer)

The mystery of agates

Almost everyone I know likes to search for agates along our Cook Inlet beaches. Some folks have a better search image than others, keying in… Continue reading

Translucent agates of many colors are found along Kenai Peninsula beaches with patience and luck. (Photo by Donna Brewer)
Thomas and his son Emil, visiting from Austria, try casting a line into Arc Lake on Wednesday, June 13, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. King salmon fishing is restricted on all the streams on the western Kenai Peninsula due to weak returns, but lake fishing and early-run sockeye fishing at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers is still available to anglers hungry to fish. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

With limited king fishing, try the Russian, lake angling

Fishing is somewhat limited on the western Kenai Peninsula streams right now, but there are opportunities on lakes and upstream. The popular sportfishery at the… Continue reading

Thomas and his son Emil, visiting from Austria, try casting a line into Arc Lake on Wednesday, June 13, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. King salmon fishing is restricted on all the streams on the western Kenai Peninsula due to weak returns, but lake fishing and early-run sockeye fishing at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers is still available to anglers hungry to fish. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Christa Kennedy, a seasonal trail maintenance crew member at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, pulls in a motor boat to the south shore of Skilak Lake after a volunteer trail cleanup crew disembarked near the Cottonwood Creek Trail on Saturday, June 2, 2018 on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

A hint of wilderness

The trails crew leaders call part of the Cottonwood Creek Trail “the Enchanted Forest.” I could immediately see why. As soon as I climbed the… Continue reading

Christa Kennedy, a seasonal trail maintenance crew member at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, pulls in a motor boat to the south shore of Skilak Lake after a volunteer trail cleanup crew disembarked near the Cottonwood Creek Trail on Saturday, June 2, 2018 on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Mark Hieronymus poses with a steelhead caught in 2014 on a Southeast Alaska river. (Photo by Tyson Fick)

Hunting for fish in Alaska’s steelhead-bearing rivers and streams

For most people, steelhead — sea-run rainbow trout — are “the fish of 10,000 casts.” To catch them, you stand waist-deep in a spring-melt river,… Continue reading

Mark Hieronymus poses with a steelhead caught in 2014 on a Southeast Alaska river. (Photo by Tyson Fick)
Jesse Rogde holds the 34-inch Kenai River king salmon he caught on Memorial Day on the lower Kenai River. (Photo courtesy Scott Miller)

Salmon fishing opportunities limited on peninsula, Russian River to open

Anglers on the Kenai Peninsula are a little limited on options right now, particularly for salmon. With king salmon failing to show up in lower… Continue reading

Jesse Rogde holds the 34-inch Kenai River king salmon he caught on Memorial Day on the lower Kenai River. (Photo courtesy Scott Miller)
Being bear aware and sustaining a wild lifestyle

Being bear aware and sustaining a wild lifestyle

Most Alaskans treasure the wild lifestyle we lead, living side-by-side with wildlife. I know I do. On any given day, we will see eagles overhead… Continue reading

Being bear aware and sustaining a wild lifestyle
A gentoo penguin feeds its chick a diet of krill. (Photo provided by Sue Mauger)

Polar Connections: Life on and under the ice

I stood on the deck of the USHUAIA in late February as we moved south through the Gerlache Strait on the east side of the… Continue reading

A gentoo penguin feeds its chick a diet of krill. (Photo provided by Sue Mauger)
The writer is seen here at the Alamo in October 2016. (Photo provided by Kat Sorensen)

Tangled up in Blue: Remember the Alamo

One of my favorite photos of myself was taken by a kind, Southern stranger outside of the Alamo. I was on a cross-country road trip… Continue reading

The writer is seen here at the Alamo in October 2016. (Photo provided by Kat Sorensen)
A Google Earth image showing stacked assemblages of plant (green), arthropod (orange) and bird (red) species found on Kenai and Tetlin national wildlife refuges. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

International Day for Biological Diversity

Unbeknownst to most folks, this past Tuesday was the International Day for Biological Diversity. The United Nations declared May 22 as the day to help… Continue reading

A Google Earth image showing stacked assemblages of plant (green), arthropod (orange) and bird (red) species found on Kenai and Tetlin national wildlife refuges. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)