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A brown bear feeds on a salmon. (Photo by C. Canterbury/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Bears, uniquely built to respond to winter

With the new snow and temperatures dipping into the single digits, you might find yourself hunkering down or…

Fall colors, a dog and game in hand make for great outdoor experiences on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo by Colin Canterbury/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: On point this fall

His eyes were fixated on the white spruce before us. We knew what we sought was in there…

Student Conservation Association trail crews work on adding trail to Burneyճ Trail in the Skilak Lake Recreation Area. (Photo by Lee Dudak/SCA)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Getting a boost from SCA trail crews

This past summer, the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge saw the benefit from four additional trail crews provided by…

A moose darts into the forest on Beaver Loop Road in Kenai, Alaska, during the Kenai River Marathon on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Mating systems of moose and caribou

Driving home the other day, my friend and I came across a big bull caribou chasing several cows…

Frannie Nelson collecting ground validation data for her undergraduate thesis in the Caribou Hills. (Photo by Angelica Smith/FWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Spreading my wings and flying into a new field

In 2019, I became a biology intern at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge for the first time! Here…

Scaly, pale green leaves of a yellow-cedar near Sitka, Alaska. (Photo by M. Goff http://www.sitkanature.org/)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Will yellow cedar move to Kenai Peninsula?

My first job as a field biologist in Alaska was working for the Tongass National Forest. I was…

A visual picture of profound change in the alpine plant community post-2019 Swan Lake Fire. This picture is from 2021, two years after the fire. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

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Refuge Notebook: Swan Lake Fire update: How are plant communities doing?

By HEIDI HELLING

A radio-tagged wolverine moves across the Greater Yellowstone. (Photo by Kris Inman)

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Refuge Notebook: Wolverines show how knowledge leads to conservation

As I contemplated a topic for this week’s Refuge Notebook article, I turned to a few of my…

A Student Conservation Association team builds traditions around a game of Catan in a tent by Funny River. (Photo by US Fish and Wildlife Service)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Settlers of Catan in the backcountry

By SANJA ZELEN

Fireweed blooms along the Skyline Trail on Aug. 13, 2021, on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Alaska ‘Super Bloom’: The beauty of regrowth

By SANJA ZELEN

A mountain hemlock burned in the 2019 Swan Lake Fire, pictured June 29, 2021. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: When hemlocks burn

By MATT BOWSER

A group photo of the campers after a digital scavenger hunt in Get Out and Get Dirty Camp. (Photo provided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

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Refuge Notebook: And just like that, I was in full camp mode

Meredith Baker

Some tanks were breached with explosives and the fuel set on fire, a method of eliminating fuel that was not very successful. (USFWS) Some tanks were breached with explosives and the fuel set on fire, a method of eliminating fuel that was not very successful. (USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: A long-awaited cleanup gets underway on the Aleutians

In the Aleutian Islands, the war brought thousands of soldiers and enormous quantities of equipment and supplies to…

First view of Lower Fuller Lake and the lower point of Round Mountain. Photo from standing on the bridge. (Photo by Nick Longobardi/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: The joy of unexpected rewards on Fuller Lakes Trail

With summer traffic in full force, it took what seemed like an eternity to make it from Fred…

Biologist Daneil Rapp reaches way into a burrow to investigate its contents. (Photo by Sarah Youngren/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: The life of a biologist

It’s summer in Alaska when the daylight hours are long and nearly countless wildlife is reproducing. Nearly countless,…

Volunteer campground hosts meet with Refuge Rangers at Hidden Lake Campground. (Photo by Berkley Bedell/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: How campers make good neighbors

There’s just something about dinner roasted over an open fire (maybe a s’more or two for dessert), birds…

A telephoto lens helps capture this photo of a black bear on the Kenai Peninsula while keeping a safe distance. (Photo by C. Canterbury/Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Sports

Being aware in bear country

I recently got a call from a friend that is a typical call we receive when living in…

After a few days, the chick is getting stronger and showing promise for a potential successful release. (Photo by Marianne Clark)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Do our feathered friends need help?

For many, summer in Alaska is signified by lupine in full bloom and the bugs coming out in…

Map of wildfire history on the Kenai Peninsula. (From Wildland Fire Science)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Living with fire on Kenai Peninsula

Thinking back to my childhood days in Alaska, I don’t recall wildfires being a regular occurrence. I’ve learned…

Range (shown in red) of the northern flying squirrel in Alaska. (Source: Alaska Fish and Game)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Myth or mystery — flying squirrels on the Kenai

The northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) is somewhat of an enigma to the Kenai Peninsula. While it has…