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Cattails line the shore of Clam Lake on July 5, 2022. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: A cattail conundrum

I like cattails. They remind me of Florida, where largemouth bass and red-winged blackbirds lived around the patch…

Bill shows his appreciation for the Kenai sockeye after a successful evening fishing trip with friends, new and old. (Photo provided by USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: A salmon in the freezer and a moose on the porch

There’s a moose on our patio and a bear near our RV steps. Life can be an adventure…

Thereճ a lot of buzz around fireweed. A diversity of pollinators visit the flowers. (Photo by Katrina Liebich/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Fireweed shows Alaska’s summer clock is ticking

Alaska’s short, sweet summer is usually in full swing by the time you really notice it. “Better hurry…

A moose browsing on birch on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo by Colin Canterbury/FWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Moose and pizza: A matter of taste?

Special note from Kris Inman, refuge supervisory wildlife biologist: From time to time, we look back at previous…

YCC Enrollees harvest beetle-killed spruce for a facility enhancement project. (Photo by Nick Longobardi/FWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Youth Conservation Corps: A legacy of hard work and good times

Do you know a local high school student who likes to work hard in the outdoors, doesn’t mind…

A brown bear on the refuge captured on a trail camera, an example that den entrance and emergence varies and you can expect to see bears at any time of the year. (Image by Colin Canterbury/FWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Sharing the landscape as bears wake up this spring

Snow and extreme cold were early this year. The conditions made for fantastic cross-country skiing, and the early…

Filming the introduction to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s biology team's use of science and technology at work at the refuge headquarters in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS)

Sports

Seeing STEM: Science career ambassador in a national spotlight

What do you want to be when you grow up …

Tundra with Izembek Lagoon and Amak Island in the distance taken at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo by B. Wishnek/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Protecting Alaska from invasive species: A common goal near and far

Many regard Alaska for its wild and free landscapes and its importance to fish, wildlife, plants and people.…

A hairy woodpecker on the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Notice the bill is as long as the head? (Photo by Laurie Sheppard, USFWS National Digital Library)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Woodpecker doppelgangers

I was listening to the distinct sound of a woodpecker drumming a few days ago and caught a…

The Kenai National Moose Range’s three LeTourneau crushers off of Mystery Creek Road, March 14, 1978. (Photo provided by USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Forest regeneration efforts benefit moose on wildlife refuge

From time to time, we reshare past Refuge Notebook articles. We selected this article as part of our…

Dog sick fungus, named for its resemblance to canine vomit, is neither vomit nor a fungus. It is a kind of slime mold common in tundra. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Names of living things have much to say

As we at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge seek to know about the living things that call this…

Ed Bangs in 1984 with the first female brown bear radio-collared on the Kenai. (Photo courtesy USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Blessed to live the Alaska dream

Note: In celebration of the Refuge’s 80th year, the Refuge Notebook articles will periodically feature stories from past…

A flowering roundleaf orchid (Galearis rotundifolia). A splash of bright color on a green ground cover. (Photo by Samuel Artaiz/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: A needle in a peatland haystack

Touching down, we could feel the widened skids sink, yet securely, on what was a soggy layer of…