Practicing the Art of “Botaneering” — I see Hunter wave his arms in the air and shout, “I found it!” Leah and I carefully traverse the slick, steep, rocky slope to join him. A perfect, tiny fern pokes through the grass at the base of a cliff. We grin at one another as it dawns on…

Alaska-Japan Sister Site Relationship is for the Birds — How decades of research, Alaska-Japan and USFWS-BLM collaborations, and Indigenous Alaska support brought together important sites and attention to the declining arcticola Dunlin. On Feb.8, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management Alaska and the government of Saga City, Japan formalized a sister site relationship between Qupałuk (KU-pah-luck), Alaska and Higashiyoka-higata…

The incredible migration ecology of Snowy Owls — A wayward Snowy Owl that has made its home in the suburbs of Los Angeles since at least mid-December is captivating locals and people from across Southern California and beyond. The owl appears to be doing well, despite being 3,000 miles from its typical Arctic breeding habitat. Local biologists are…

Celebrating traditional Indigenous language ties to the land and season of winter across Alaska’s wildlife refuges. As winter settles in across Alaska, the landscape shifts from vibrant reds and golds of autumn to a more subtle light: pastel pinks of a sun low on the horizon and moonlit blue on…

The handcrafted wooden raft — recently outfitted with a brand-new camouflage canopy and livestream video camera — quietly drifts around its anchor on Connors Lake in Anchorage, Alaska. Waterbirds dabble on the shallow waters, while people play with their dogs on the shoreline and jets fly overhead from the nearby…

Mammals in flight over Alaska Moose wondering through wetlands. The giant brown bears of Kodiak Island coming down from their winter hibernation spots. Of all the large iconic mammals that have come to represent Alaska over time, what about some of the smallest mammals found in North America and the only ones that are capable…

Alaska feels the pinch for the first time — They’re described as one of the biggest threats to Alaska’s marine environment, and you’ve probably never heard of them. This year, they were found in the state for the first time. Ever. Say hello to the invasive green crab. Invasive green crabs (aka European green crabs, Carcinus maenas) are shore…

Partners rally to restore entire watershed in Southeast Alaska — A weight is being lifted from Southeast Alaska’s Good River in Gustavus, Alaska — both literally and figuratively. With beginnings in Glacier Bay National Park and an end in Icy Strait, the Good River is like many Southeast Alaska rivers — a nursery for fish, cold, and relatively short (by…

Little Tonsina bridge nation’s first Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded fish passage project to break ground — Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” Alaska’s rivers are no exception. One day they’re a trickle, the next a torrent. Rivers carve up landscapes and jump their banks. They are…