Refuge Notebook

A “listening session” was held and recorded in Cooper Landing this week as part of an organized effort to record community residents’ observations of change on the Kenai Peninsula. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge notebook: Voices of the Kenai

By JOHN MORTON I’ve had the privilege recently to hear what other residents think about changes they have witnessed in their lifetimes here on the… Continue reading

 

Refuge Notebook: To feed or not to feed the birds

By TODD ESKELIN As the snow continues to pile up, I have had some unwanted guests at my bird feeder. A cow moose and her… Continue reading

 

Refuge notebook: Building new trail builds community

By ERIN McKITTRICK From Lunch Mountain, on Kachemak Bay State Park’s Tutka Backdoor Trail, Mount Iliamna appears perfectly framed between the fjord’s forested slopes. We… Continue reading

 

77 years of conservation in our neighborhood

By LEAH ESKELIN What happened in 1941? So many events are tied to that year, some small and others enormous in their lasting impacts. The… Continue reading

Machines are learning about wildlife

By DAWN ROBIN MAGNESS Over the weekend, I was curious about where Golden-crowned Kinglets spend winters. I pulled out my cellphone and instantly found range… Continue reading

Refuge Notebook: Kenai blackfish came from Bethel

By MATT BOWSER Since learning that Alaska blackfish had been found in two small streams in the city of Kenai, I have wondered how they… Continue reading

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: 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: 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

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

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: 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

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

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

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

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)
When Herring gull nestlings peck at the red dot on their parentճ bill, the parents regurgitate food. Is this an instinctive or learned behavior? (Photo credit by Todd Eskelin/Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge notebook: Why seagulls have a red dot on their bill

By JOHN MORTON There are lots of “seagulls” flying around the Kenai Peninsula. At the mouth of the Kenai River alone, more than 30,000 Herring… Continue reading

When Herring gull nestlings peck at the red dot on their parentճ bill, the parents regurgitate food. Is this an instinctive or learned behavior? (Photo credit by Todd Eskelin/Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Christa Kennedy and Izzie Giacomangeli double-buck a downed tree in July 2018 on Surprise Creek Trail within the Andrew Simons Wilderness Unit. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Traditional hand tools maintain trails in Kenai Wilderness

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is 1.92 million acres. What many people don’t realize is that 1.3 million acres of this was designated as Kenai… Continue reading

Christa Kennedy and Izzie Giacomangeli double-buck a downed tree in July 2018 on Surprise Creek Trail within the Andrew Simons Wilderness Unit. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

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