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Life

An Outdoor View: Of grouse and cutthroat

I can remember a few fall days when I wished I’d stayed in bed, but most of my…

Aldo Leopold was made a Professor of Game Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1933, the first such program in the U.S. He wrote "A Sand County Almanac" in 1949 just before his death. (Photo courtesy oregonwild.org)

Life

Refuge Notebook: Revisiting Aldo Leopold’s ‘A Sand County Almanac’

As part of the 75th birthday celebration for the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, I watched Jim Pfitzer’s portrayal…

Life

An Outdoor View: On keeping motivated

Author’s note: Earlier this week, my doctor said I should lose 15 pounds and get more exercise. This…

In this Oct. 8, 2016 photo, a group of new mushroom hunters scour national forest land near Skykomish, Wash., for chanterelle mushrooms. (Evan Bush/The Seattle Times via AP)

Life

Stalking the wild fungi

SKYKOMISH, Wash. (AP) — The rain is falling without mercy. It’s midmorning, but a gray blanket of low…

This undated photo taken in New Market, Va., shows sun-loving vegetables the ones shown here, which can be cultivated indoors in winter enriched by supplemental lighting. But choose the right plant combinations for your four-season gardening. Some are more demanding than others. Vegetable gardening can be a year-round activity with the right indoor growing conditions. (Dean Fosdick via AP)

Life

Vegetable gardening can be moved indoors for winter harvest

There’s no reason to stop growing vegetables just because cold weather has arrived. Sun-loving edibles can be cultivated…

ADVANCE FOR SUNDAY OCT. 30 - In this Oct. 15, 2016 photo, Chad Schaeffer, his wife Jen Schaeffer, both of Sioux Falls, and Carol Bothe, of Brandon, S.D., talk about a pheasant Chad had just shot after hunting their final piece of cover during the South Dakota pheasant hunting opener near Brookings, S.D. The Argus Leader reports that the number of women obtaining pheasant hunting licenses in South Dakota has almost doubled in the last 10 years, reflecting a shift in culture and the success of hunting education programs. (Joe Ahlquist/The Argus Leader via AP)

Life

A shift in culture as more women take up hunting

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The sound of a gunshot crackled through miles of soon-to-be combined land, bringing one…

Political cartoon by Ding Darling from 1936 titled "Nobody's Constituents." The University of Iowa hosts a data base archive of his cartoons at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/ding/.(Courtesy of the Jay N. 'Ding' Darling Wildlife Society).

Life

Refuge Notebook: Reflecting on the conservation legacy of Ding Darling

This month marks the 140th birthday of J.N. “Ding” Darling. Ding was a political cartoonist and a key…

Life

An Outdoor View: Bragging rights

I’ve seen the term “bragging rights” used many times, and I recently got to wondering about it. You…

In this Oct. 6, 2016 photo, Outdoor School students Maya Herring, left, and Evie Larson enter notes in their field study notebooks during a lesson at Camp Howard in Mount Hood National Forest near Corbett, Ore. The outdoor education is unique to Oregon and is a rite-of-passage for public school students that's meant to instill a respect for nature in each generation - studies show it improves attendance and boosts test scores. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Life

Oregon weighs whether all kids should get outdoor education

MOUNT HOOD NATIONAL FOREST, Ore. — Each year, thousands of Oregon parents hug their kids goodbye and send…

This undated photo shows Seckel pears being harvested in New Paltz, N.Y. Seckel, like other European pears, can be picked mature to finish ripening off the plant. (Lee Reich via AP)

Life

Gardening: Eat fruit at peak flavor

Pick up an apple and hold it to your ear. Can you hear it breathing? Of course you…

At least 17 earthworms crawl out of the soil in response to mustard powder solution. Note the absence of decomposing leaves; only coarser, woody material remains above mineral soil. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

Life

Refuge Notebook: Yes, earthworms are changing the Kenai

Last month when I stepped into the woods after a day’s work on Stormy Lake I saw a…

Life

An Outdoor View: Big fish, big fight

Author’s note: For various reasons, most big halibut are caught by anglers fishing from charter boats. This story…

This June 29, 2016 photo shows a male Saker falcon on a tether in truck parked in a driveway near Langley, Wash. Raptors used for bird abatement are trained to chase, not kill. This Saker falcon, an eastern European variety, is one of several raptor species trained by falconers to chase away birds that can damage fruit crops. Some growers have reported losing more than 40 percent of their harvest to bird pests. (Dean Fosdick via AP)

Life

Falconers hired to discourage other birds from eating crops

Frustrated growers tired of seeing wild birds devastate their fruit crops are turning to raptors to patrol their…

An Upper Russian Lake rainbow trout. (Photo by Dave Atcheson)

Life

Tight Lines: Return to Upper Russian Lake

It had been at least ten years since my last visit to the U.S. Forest Service’s cabin on…

A male ruffed grouse shows its black "ruff" while displaying on a drumming log in central Wisconsin. Ruffed grouse were introduced to the Kenai Peninsula in 1995-97. (Photo by J. Bronsdon)

Life

Refuge Notebook: Ruffed grouse on the Kenai Peninsula

I don’t hunt game birds much anymore, partly because I don’t have a decent bird dog and partly…

Life

An Outdoor View: Success in fishing

Tell people you went fishing, and their usual response will be, “How’d ja do?” What they really want…

This undated photo shows a bi-fold coldframe in New Paltz, N.Y. Seedlings can keep warm and cozy even in cold weather when the bi-fold cover of this coldframe is closed to capture and hold the sun's warmth. (Lee Reich via AP)

Life

Using a coldframe is like moving your garden south

In one weekend, you could effectively move your garden — or at least part of it — a…

Ranger Macey teaches summer campers about the impacts of pollution to waterways on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Life

Refuge Notebook: Working at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is more than a job

The annual rush of tourists and new explorers coincides with summer days when the sun never really disappears.…

Life

An Outdoor View: Why we fish

Author’s note: The Clarion first published this column in 1996. Lots of things have changed since then, but…

This April 15, 2016 photo provided by Dean Fosdick, shows a succulent mix in Fosdick's Langley, Wash., greenhouse. Think of succulents as the new African violets. They thrive indoors or out. Succulents are easy to deal with, are resistant to disease and thrive in the dry humidity common inside homes in winter. (AP Photo/By Dean Fosdick) (Dean Fosdick via AP)

Life

Succulents are good indoor winter houseplants

If you’re shifting to houseplants as cold weather approaches, consider gardening with succulents. Succulents are easy, disease-resistant, and…