Alaska Outdoors

Glacier center updates: free days, hours change

Glacier center updates: Free days, hours change The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center will host its annual autumn family fun day on Saturday, Sept. 23 from… Continue reading

Sam Buck catches some air at Eaglecrest in this 2013 file photo.

Eaglecrest family fun day

Discover Eaglecrest Day, a family fun day at Juneau’s only ski area, takes place Saturday, Sept. 16, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Mountain staff will treat… Continue reading

Sam Buck catches some air at Eaglecrest in this 2013 file photo.
Harold McKinley Jr., left, and Thomas Sanders pick blueberries on Goldbelt property near Echo Cove for a new program called Goldbelt Wild on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

A traditional gig: Native corp. pays berry pickers

A rock quarry surrounded by second growth and alder trees: the land in front of berry pickers Thomas Sanders and Harold McKinley Jr. didn’t look… Continue reading

Harold McKinley Jr., left, and Thomas Sanders pick blueberries on Goldbelt property near Echo Cove for a new program called Goldbelt Wild on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Finding a tussock in a partially drained lake, removed by a muskox who used the area as a sanctuary to cool down from the summer heat. (Photo by Heidi Steltzer/Polaris Project/Woods Hole Research Institute)

‘Science is my life’

One year after completing her degree in natural sciences at University of Alaska Anchorage, Jasmine Gil stands at a crossroads. What comes next? The signpost… Continue reading

Finding a tussock in a partially drained lake, removed by a muskox who used the area as a sanctuary to cool down from the summer heat. (Photo by Heidi Steltzer/Polaris Project/Woods Hole Research Institute)
A spotted tussock moth caterpillar in Juneau shows its long white plumes and a few dorsal spots. (Courtesy Photo | Bob Armstrong)

With change of seasons, what is there to see?

The Boy Scout/Crow Point trail is one that some of us walk several times a year. We get to know every rise and turn pretty… Continue reading

A spotted tussock moth caterpillar in Juneau shows its long white plumes and a few dorsal spots. (Courtesy Photo | Bob Armstrong)
UAS and UAF researchers Nina Lundstrom, left, Anne Beadreau, middle, and Doug Duncan sort through marine life caught in a beach seine on Wednesday near Fish Creek. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

As glaciers melt, scientists try to figure out how fish will respond

Glaciers in Southeast and around the world are melting. This much scientists know. About half of the water in the Gulf of Alaska comes from… Continue reading

UAS and UAF researchers Nina Lundstrom, left, Anne Beadreau, middle, and Doug Duncan sort through marine life caught in a beach seine on Wednesday near Fish Creek. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

Sea cucumber could cure cancer

Alaska sea cucumber divers could be helping to cure cancer. Sea cucumber meat and skins have long been considered a delicacy in Asian cuisines; they… Continue reading

How do sharks swallow?

I bet you haven’t thought much about that lately. After all, how would pondering this question ever help get you to the bottom of your… Continue reading

Dr. Will Elliott

The Dangerous Unselfishness of Sustainability

We’re often told to protect what we love. But love has its limitations. Most people have difficulty looking after even their own self-interest very far… Continue reading

Dr. Will Elliott
A yearling cub with a dog salmon. (Janice Gorle)

Wild Shots: Photos of Mother Nature in Southeast Alaska

The Empire Outdoors page is looking for superb images of Alaska’s wildlife, scenery or plant life. Send your photos to: Outdoors Editor, outdoors@juneauempire.com. For all… Continue reading

A yearling cub with a dog salmon. (Janice Gorle)
Strange sprouts on the trunk of a red alder might be adventitious roots. (S.P. Stanway)

Trailside observations and mysteries

One day in mid-August, I wandered along the Eagle River trail, just to where the old Yankee Basin trail branches off up the hill. In… Continue reading

Strange sprouts on the trunk of a red alder might be adventitious roots. (S.P. Stanway)
Bjorn Dihle taking a break from pack-rafting down the north for of the Koyukuk.(Photo courtesy of Bjorn Dihle)

Remembering Bob Marshall

Bob Marshall once spoke to a Kobuk man named Tobuk, who explained to him how the world works. “Tobuk told me about the ‘dooneraks’ who… Continue reading

Bjorn Dihle taking a break from pack-rafting down the north for of the Koyukuk.(Photo courtesy of Bjorn Dihle)
Concert pianist Rachelle McCabe is pictured with environmental advocate Kathleen Dean Moore. (Courtesy Photo)

Unique event pairs musical performance with climate change

In partnership with 350 Juneau, the Con Brio Chamber Series presents “A Call to Life: Variations on a Theme of Extinction,” a dramatic call to… Continue reading

Concert pianist Rachelle McCabe is pictured with environmental advocate Kathleen Dean Moore. (Courtesy Photo)
The fuzzy underside of labrador tea. (Photo by Corinne Conlon)

A few simple labrador tea leaves makes the perfect cup of tea

I often think about how I am connected to Alaska, particularly this spot in Southeast. It is an area that captivates both visually, physically, and… Continue reading

The fuzzy underside of labrador tea. (Photo by Corinne Conlon)
A magnolia tree planted in the memorial garden dedicated to Chief Justice Jay Rabinowitz at the Dimond Courthouse on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Geeking out on a nursery tour of Oregon’s Willamette Valley

Touring wholesale nurseries in Oregon’s Willamette Valley at the annual Nurseryman’s convention is very much like Christmas shopping. The new and exciting plants are being… Continue reading

A magnolia tree planted in the memorial garden dedicated to Chief Justice Jay Rabinowitz at the Dimond Courthouse on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Nature’s ‘Virgin Birth’

Parthenogenesis means “virgin birth” or the production of offspring by one parent (a female) without genetic input from a male: the female’s egg is not… Continue reading

Children use observation and discovery at the beach. (Courtesy photo)

Start the school year with some STEM fun

Young children naturally explore, investigate, wonder and ask questions about the environment around them. Observe a group of young children in the sand or in… Continue reading

Children use observation and discovery at the beach. (Courtesy photo)
A Great Blue Heron flies between ponds at Mendenhall Glacier on Aug. 7. (Photo by Gina Vose)

Wild Shots: Reader-submitted images of Mother Nature in Southeast

The Empire Outdoors page is looking for superb images of Alaska’s wildlife, scenery or plant life. Send your photos to: Outdoors Editor, outdoors@juneauempire.com. For all… Continue reading

A Great Blue Heron flies between ponds at Mendenhall Glacier on Aug. 7. (Photo by Gina Vose)

Injured merlin found on Thane Road released into wild

Late one evening in July, a young man and woman were driving on Thane Road. They noticed something that looked like a bird in the… Continue reading

Walking the Mendenhall Peninsula Trail

The upland part of this trail is full of ups and downs, roots, and (in wet weather) mudholes, and a messy camp mars a nice… Continue reading