Life

In this photo taken Friday, Sept. 25, 2015, Joe Neumann goes pheasant hunting near St. Joseph, Minn. with his dog Bam, an 8-month-old English pointer. (Briana Sanchez/St. Cloud Times via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT

For some, pheasant season starts at preserve

AVON, Minn. (AP) — The 8-month-old English pointer followed the pheasant scent, sometimes ranging in circles, sometimes diving into cover so thick only the tip… Continue reading

In this photo taken Friday, Sept. 25, 2015, Joe Neumann goes pheasant hunting near St. Joseph, Minn. with his dog Bam, an 8-month-old English pointer. (Briana Sanchez/St. Cloud Times via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT
In this photo taken Aug. 28, 2015, Bethany Hughes shows six tattooed footprints on her foot that represent countries she has lived in. Growing up with missionary parents has fostered a wandering spirit in Hughes, who plans to spend five years in an attempt to become the first woman to trek from the southern tip of South America to the northern tip of Alaska all by non-motorized means. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Walking the Americas: Woman preps for 5-year trek

SMITHVILLE, Mo. — The night before Bethany Hughes started on the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650-mile hike from Mexico to Canada, she was so wired… Continue reading

In this photo taken Aug. 28, 2015, Bethany Hughes shows six tattooed footprints on her foot that represent countries she has lived in. Growing up with missionary parents has fostered a wandering spirit in Hughes, who plans to spend five years in an attempt to become the first woman to trek from the southern tip of South America to the northern tip of Alaska all by non-motorized means. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The Yellow-rumped Warbler was one of seven bird species examined in detail as part of this pilot study. (Photo courtesy Doug Lloyd)

Refuge Notebook: A summer of birdsong

The early bird catches the worm they always say, but what if you want to catch the bird? You get up even earlier. Hiking through… Continue reading

The Yellow-rumped Warbler was one of seven bird species examined in detail as part of this pilot study. (Photo courtesy Doug Lloyd)

An Outdoor View: Extreme fishing

At daybreak one morning this week, I was fishing from the bank of the Kenai River for silver salmon. The air temperature was a balmy… Continue reading

A male hooded oriole perches on sign at the Juneau Community Garden on Sept. 22. (Photo by Michael Penn/Juneau Empire)

Teen IDs hooded oriole in Juneau

When 14-year-old Owen Squires first looked through a pair of binoculars and told his mother the bird she’d seen flitting around the Juneau Community Garden’s… Continue reading

A male hooded oriole perches on sign at the Juneau Community Garden on Sept. 22. (Photo by Michael Penn/Juneau Empire)
Second and third grade participants in this summer's Critter Camp learn how salmon transform as they migrate from saltwater to freshwater enroute to their birth stream. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: Refuge intern has best summer by far

I didn’t know what to expect when I accepted the visitor services internship at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. I’m from Oklahoma, also known as… Continue reading

Second and third grade participants in this summer's Critter Camp learn how salmon transform as they migrate from saltwater to freshwater enroute to their birth stream. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

An Outdoor View: The king of Alaska’s rivers, Part 3

Author’s note: This is the third and final part of a story that first appeared in the the December/January 2003 issue of Alaska magazine. It’s… Continue reading

A platform feeder with a high roof can attract Pine Grosbeaks, as well as woodpeckers and White-winged Crossbills, to your backyard this winter. (Photo courtesy Todd Eskelin)

Refuge Notebook: More to a bird feeder than just its contents

As much as we hate to admit it, winter is approaching. For some of us winter means snow dances, aurora photos, and ski waxing clinics.… Continue reading

A platform feeder with a high roof can attract Pine Grosbeaks, as well as woodpeckers and White-winged Crossbills, to your backyard this winter. (Photo courtesy Todd Eskelin)

An Outdoor View: The king of Alaska’s rivers, Part 2

Author’s note: This is the second part of a story that first appeared in the the December/January 2003 issue of Alaska magazine. It’s my take… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS, SEPT. 12-13 - In this photo taken Aug. 11, 2015, Kenzie Hill feeds Largent a bacon strip atop Tatoosh Peak, Wash., with Mount Rainier looming on the horizon. October is national adopt-a-dog month, according to the American Human Society, the perfect time to pick up a new hiking partner. But before you hit the trail it's vital that you prepare your pup. (Craig Hill/(/The News Tribune via AP) )

Tips on getting your four-footed friend ready for hiking

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — My new best friend has sketchy bowel control, is banned for life from national parks and I’ve caught him in bed… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS, SEPT. 12-13 - In this photo taken Aug. 11, 2015, Kenzie Hill feeds Largent a bacon strip atop Tatoosh Peak, Wash., with Mount Rainier looming on the horizon. October is national adopt-a-dog month, according to the American Human Society, the perfect time to pick up a new hiking partner. But before you hit the trail it's vital that you prepare your pup. (Craig Hill/(/The News Tribune via AP) )
ADVANCE FOR SATURDAY SEPT. 19, 2015 AND THEREAFTER In this photo taken Sept. 2, 2015, a fallen tree blocks the main entrance of Noyes Slough to a kayaker in Fairbanks, Alaska. Noyes Slough provides a behind-the-scenes tour of urban Fairbanks, complete with passage under nine bridges, glimpses into backyards and the occasional smell of sewage. It's not for everyone, but recommended for anyone who enjoys seeing the city from a different angle and is willing to tolerate the contamination that comes with navigating a semi-stagnant urban channel. (Sam Friedman/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP)

Trip through slough provides different perspective

FAIRBANKS (AP) — Noyes Slough provides a behind-the-scenes tour of urban Fairbanks, complete with passage under nine bridges, glimpses into backyards and the occasional smell… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR SATURDAY SEPT. 19, 2015 AND THEREAFTER In this photo taken Sept. 2, 2015, a fallen tree blocks the main entrance of Noyes Slough to a kayaker in Fairbanks, Alaska. Noyes Slough provides a behind-the-scenes tour of urban Fairbanks, complete with passage under nine bridges, glimpses into backyards and the occasional smell of sewage. It's not for everyone, but recommended for anyone who enjoys seeing the city from a different angle and is willing to tolerate the contamination that comes with navigating a semi-stagnant urban channel. (Sam Friedman/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP)
Densities of Varied Thrush males singing in the breeding season in south-central Alaska. Map part of the Boreal Avian Modelling Project with data hosted on DataBasin (www.databasin.org)

Refuge Notebook: Varied Thrush still around on the Kenai

Fall is in the air. Last week, I took a quick walk through the woods. I watched golden leaves sail to the ground. A Varied… Continue reading

Densities of Varied Thrush males singing in the breeding season in south-central Alaska. Map part of the Boreal Avian Modelling Project with data hosted on DataBasin (www.databasin.org)

An Outdoor View: The king of Alaska’s rivers

Author’s note: The December/January 2003 issue of Alaska magazine contained a photo-essay about the Kenai River, in which I wrote:“The Kenai River is many things… Continue reading

A ptarmigan stands near the park road, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. The park is an adventurer's paradise with few marked trails, inviting backcountry exploration. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Summer season winding to close at Denali park

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE — Summer travel is winding down at Denali National Park and Preserve, ending the season that sees the vast majority… Continue reading

A ptarmigan stands near the park road, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. The park is an adventurer's paradise with few marked trails, inviting backcountry exploration. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Global climate models from Germany (green), Canada (red) and USA (black) scaled to the Kenai predict that post-2030 mean summer temperatures will always be above the threshold for spruce bark beetle outbreaks. Observed temperatures are from the Homer airport since 1932. Lower bar graph shows annual beetle-kill for southern Kenai since aerial surveys began in 1971 (US Forest Service). (Graphic by Ed Berg)

Refuge Notebook: Warm summers prepare for spruce bark beetle return

If you lived in the woods on the Kenai Peninsula in the 1990s, you may not want to read this article. Those were the years… Continue reading

Global climate models from Germany (green), Canada (red) and USA (black) scaled to the Kenai predict that post-2030 mean summer temperatures will always be above the threshold for spruce bark beetle outbreaks. Observed temperatures are from the Homer airport since 1932. Lower bar graph shows annual beetle-kill for southern Kenai since aerial surveys began in 1971 (US Forest Service). (Graphic by Ed Berg)
ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS, SEPT. 5-6 - In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, a dragonfly nymph was one of the macroinvertebrates collected during the Institute for Applied Ecology Willamette River trip near Corvallis, Ore. . (Andy Cripe/The Corvallis Gazette-Times via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Teachers learn to make the outdoors their classroom

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Bonni Villaman and Deanna Wilson, both elementary school teachers, set the tone of the day early by ramming their canoe into a… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS, SEPT. 5-6 - In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, a dragonfly nymph was one of the macroinvertebrates collected during the Institute for Applied Ecology Willamette River trip near Corvallis, Ore. . (Andy Cripe/The Corvallis Gazette-Times via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

An Outdoor View: The money motive

Bill Santos, who lives in Taunton, Mass., called me earlier this week, and the talk soon turned to fishing.For many years, Bill made the long… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND OF AUG. 29-30, 2015. In this August 8, 2015 photo, Christine Simko walks along a trail on the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve near McCarthy, Alaska. Depending on who you ask, the 9-mile round trip from Kennecott Mill Town to Bonanza Mine is either "an easy one" or "unrelenting." Similar sentiments could be applied to the nearby Jumbo Mine trip, which is one mile longer and rises 3,400 feet. (Robin Wood/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP)

Biking and hiking Kennecott’s abandoned mine

FAIRBANKS (AP) — Tires flung mud in our eyes and rain soaked every layer of clothing. The descent made our brake rotors too hot to… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND OF AUG. 29-30, 2015. In this August 8, 2015 photo, Christine Simko walks along a trail on the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve near McCarthy, Alaska. Depending on who you ask, the 9-mile round trip from Kennecott Mill Town to Bonanza Mine is either "an easy one" or "unrelenting." Similar sentiments could be applied to the nearby Jumbo Mine trip, which is one mile longer and rises 3,400 feet. (Robin Wood/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP)
Ranger Jake dissects a salmon at one of his amazing summer camps for local kids at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: The Kenai Crusader – Tales of a Kenai refuge intern

People are screaming and sirens are wailing throughout the city. Children are lost, stumbling lone through the streets. Parents and guardians scramble to sift through… Continue reading

Ranger Jake dissects a salmon at one of his amazing summer camps for local kids at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion In this October 19, 2014 file photo an angler fishes on the Kenai River near its outlet from Skilak Lake. Rainbow trout fishing has been hot in this area and river-wide for weeks.

For a different challenge, try chasing Kenai River rainbows

For weeks, rainbow trout fishing on the Kenai River has been hot. Clear, low water filled with the rotting flesh and stray eggs of spawned… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion In this October 19, 2014 file photo an angler fishes on the Kenai River near its outlet from Skilak Lake. Rainbow trout fishing has been hot in this area and river-wide for weeks.