Out of the Office: What are men to rocks and mountains?

Out of the Office: What are men to rocks and mountains?

I’ve met a lot of addicts since moving to Alaska. Not the kind you think, though. My friends are constantly searching for their next fix… Continue reading

Out of the Office: What are men to rocks and mountains?
Refuge notebook: Species-packing into Biosphere 2

Refuge notebook: Species-packing into Biosphere 2

By TONY BURGESS In 1991, Biosphere 2 was launched in Oracle, Arizona. It is a 3-acre structure built to enclose seven biomes or habitats: rain… Continue reading

Refuge notebook: Species-packing into Biosphere 2
Freezer Food Series trades darkness for daylight

Freezer Food Series trades darkness for daylight

The Freezer Food Series has come out of the darkness and into the light. Last year’s maiden voyage of the running, biking and skiing races… Continue reading

Freezer Food Series trades darkness for daylight
Tangled up in Blue: Hectic serenity of winter

Tangled up in Blue: Hectic serenity of winter

It’s been a hectic winter for me so far, which is something for which I wasn’t prepared. In fact, I’m writing this column a full… Continue reading

Tangled up in Blue: Hectic serenity of winter
Refuge Notebook: Wildfire apprentice catches the fire bug

Refuge Notebook: Wildfire apprentice catches the fire bug

By ALLIE CUNNINGHAM Let’s go back to the beginning. On a day in late August 2016, I found myself on a steep slope in Lolo… Continue reading

Refuge Notebook: Wildfire apprentice catches the fire bug
Refuge Notebook: Elodea partnership recognized

Refuge Notebook: Elodea partnership recognized

By JOHN MORTON In August, at the 2018 Industry Appreciation Day in Kenai, the elodea partnership on the Kenai Peninsula was acknowledged for Outstanding Fish… Continue reading

Refuge Notebook: Elodea partnership recognized
Laurie Lamm takes an exercise break on her lunch hour along the Airport Dike Trail on Thursday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

As the daylight dips, how not to bottom out

I keep this graph in my office. On the Y-axis (the vertical one, if you don’t remember high school science and math) the hours of… Continue reading

Laurie Lamm takes an exercise break on her lunch hour along the Airport Dike Trail on Thursday. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Newly designed stickers by local artist Pat Race wait for voters during early voting at the State Office Building on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Tangled up in blue: Forced analogies

If I had a choice, every afternoon would be like this afternoon. I’m sitting on a bench on my front lawn and the sun is… Continue reading

Newly designed stickers by local artist Pat Race wait for voters during early voting at the State Office Building on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Anna’s Hummingbird banded in Homer

Anna’s Hummingbird banded in Homer

Oct. 17, 2018, will be one for the record books. The day began like many others, dealing with an injured bald eagle that needed transport… Continue reading

Anna’s Hummingbird banded in Homer
Outdoor living: I don’t think we’re in Alaska anymore

Outdoor living: I don’t think we’re in Alaska anymore

If you are new to Alaska, this is not normal. If you are new to this place that sits above the 60th parallel (most of… Continue reading

Outdoor living: I don’t think we’re in Alaska anymore
Refuge notebook: Alaska blackfish on the Kenai

Refuge notebook: Alaska blackfish on the Kenai

By MATT BOWSER Recently, I stopped by a shallow, scuzzy pond by Candlelight Drive in Kenai to look for Alaska blackfish. I had heard that… Continue reading

Refuge notebook: Alaska blackfish on the Kenai
The Asbury Park Convention Hall is seen here during a run taken by the author on Thursday, Oct. 18. In 1933, the cruise liner S.S. Morro Castle narrowly missed the convention center when the flaming ship beached on the coast of Asbury Park. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Tangled up in Blue: Too many questions

“What are you going to write about for your column this week?” I’m spending two weeks visiting my parents in New Jersey and my mom… Continue reading

The Asbury Park Convention Hall is seen here during a run taken by the author on Thursday, Oct. 18. In 1933, the cruise liner S.S. Morro Castle narrowly missed the convention center when the flaming ship beached on the coast of Asbury Park. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)
Refuge notebook: The impermanence of permafrost

Refuge notebook: The impermanence of permafrost

By JOHN MORTON Ohio experienced a record-high temperature of 89 degrees last week as I was driving from Cleveland to Vermont. Strangely enough, I was… Continue reading

Refuge notebook: The impermanence of permafrost
Passion and risk

Passion and risk

Sept. 29 and 30 were not good days for me. On Sept. 29, I covered the 72-24 victory of the Soldotna football team over Kenai… Continue reading

Passion and risk
Where two cottonwood mix

Where two cottonwood mix

By DAWN ROBIN MAGNESS The natural landscapes of the Kenai Peninsula host about 60 percent of Alaska tree species, but when it comes to Populus,… Continue reading

Where two cottonwood mix
Will Jenks, Christa Kennedy and Scott Johnson on fire assignment at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge last month. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: A tale of two refuges

By SCOTT JOHNSON Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Sept. 14, 2018, edition of the Clarion. This past August,… Continue reading

Will Jenks, Christa Kennedy and Scott Johnson on fire assignment at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge last month. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Refuge notebook: The next generation of conservation pilots

Refuge notebook: The next generation of conservation pilots

If you were out at the Marsh Lake trail head in the Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area, perhaps you noticed several groups of people looking into… Continue reading

Refuge notebook: The next generation of conservation pilots
Tangled up in Blue: Finding an average

Tangled up in Blue: Finding an average

By KAT SORENSEN While running the Kenai River Half Marathon last Sunday, here are some of the things I thought about: fall colors, sunglasses, whether… Continue reading

Tangled up in Blue: Finding an average
Tsalteshi gains support for new grants

Tsalteshi gains support for new grants

The Tsalteshi Trails Association is hoping to add 4 miles to the trail system and has applied for a two-year Recreational Trails Program grant to… Continue reading

Tsalteshi gains support for new grants
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge intern Kyra Clark rakes masses of the invasive waterweed elodea from the Soldotna-area Sport Lake on Tuesday, May 16. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Refuge notebook: Elodea plant species sees intriguing explosion

Editor’s note: This story has been republished to the web. It was originally published on July 27, 2018. By JOHN MORTON Kenai National Wildlife Refuge… Continue reading

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge intern Kyra Clark rakes masses of the invasive waterweed elodea from the Soldotna-area Sport Lake on Tuesday, May 16. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)