Site Logo
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…

The 2021 YCC Crew sits on a newly constructed hitching post at Nurses Cabin in July 2021. Left to right are Ryan Crapps, Jacob Begich, Leah Fallon, Melita Efta and Olivia Somers. (Photo by USFWS/Heather Sokul)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: YCC takes charge of building hitching posts at Nurses Cabin

By Christa Kennedy

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 bull caribou grazes in the Alaskan Arctic Refuge. The GNWT is seeking public input into its soon-to-be-released Bathurst Caribou Management Plan.
Photo credit Malkolm Boothroyd/malkolmboothroyd.com

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…

MJ Hendren pictured kayaking at Hidden Lake next to a large rock exposure. (Photo provided)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Geology of the Kenai … it rocks!

One thing that never ceases to amaze me about living in Alaska is how much you can learn…

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

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)

Sports

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

By HEIDI HELLING

Homer’s Frida Renner competes during the varsity girls race of the George Plumley Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, at Palmer High School. (Photo by Jeremiah Bartz/Frontiersman)

Sports

Kenai runners lead area at Plumley Invite

West Valley senior Daniel Abromowicz and Chugiak junior Campbell Peterson won the varsity races during the George Plumley…

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

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

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

When the weather deteriorates in the mountains, I head for those deepest green patches of forest at tree…

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)

Sports

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

As a child, being outdoors was a huge part of my life. Some of my favorite memories are…