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April is usually the author’s favorite month for steelhead fishing. If the weather and fish, cooperate. (Jeff Lund / For the Juneau Empire)
April is usually the author’s favorite month for steelhead fishing. If the weather and fish, cooperate. (Jeff Lund / For the Juneau Empire)
Members of the Argus String Quartet play a Brown Bag Concert at the State Office Building on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, during the annual Juneau Jazz Classics Festival. COVID-19 forced the festival online in 2020, but organizers are looking forward to a hybrid festival in May. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire File)
Members of the Argus String Quartet play a Brown Bag Concert at the State Office Building on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, during the annual Juneau Jazz Classics Festival. COVID-19 forced the festival online in 2020, but organizers are looking forward to a hybrid festival in May. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire File)
Vivian Mork Yéilk’ inspects cottonwood buds. (Courtesy Photo / Vivian Mork Yéilk’)

Planet Alaska: Harvesting in the scent of spring

In the Tlingit language the cottonwood is called dúk.

Vivian Mork Yéilk’ inspects cottonwood buds. (Courtesy Photo / Vivian Mork Yéilk’)
The University of Alaska Southeast’s arts and literary journal Tidal Echoes will drop at a digital release party on Friday, April 2, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Tidal Echoes)

Tidal Echoes launch celebrates resiliency in the pandemic

The launch will be digital, but the books is obtainable locally.

The University of Alaska Southeast’s arts and literary journal Tidal Echoes will drop at a digital release party on Friday, April 2, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Tidal Echoes)
Trumpeter swans also appeared in a small patch of open water on Mendenhall Lake, a few days after equinox. (Courtesy Photo / Kerry Howard)

On The Trails: Eagle Beach at equinox time

Wildlife spotted on the water and in the sand.

Trumpeter swans also appeared in a small patch of open water on Mendenhall Lake, a few days after equinox. (Courtesy Photo / Kerry Howard)
Even with their nest covered in snow the eagles are making improvements. (Courtesy Photo / Jos Bakker)

Wild Shots: Photos of Mother Nature in Alaska

Reader-submitted photos of Southeast Alaska.

Even with their nest covered in snow the eagles are making improvements. (Courtesy Photo / Jos Bakker)
The author and Fairbanks resident Harrison Gottschling return to the truck after taking a caribou in the interior over spring break last week. (Jeff Lund / For the Juneau Empire)

I Went to the Woods: Cold weather caribou

I had been cold before, but not this type of cold.

The author and Fairbanks resident Harrison Gottschling return to the truck after taking a caribou in the interior over spring break last week. (Jeff Lund / For the Juneau Empire)
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This photo shows a moon snail nest at Institute Beach in Wrangell. (Vivian Faith Prescott / For the Capital City Weekly)

Planet Alaska: Searching for moon snail nests

Even the moon snail is an ancient fellow traveler on this planet.

This photo shows a moon snail nest at Institute Beach in Wrangell. (Vivian Faith Prescott / For the Capital City Weekly)
Juneau resident Bob Varness is showing how Juneau can be a leader in sustainable maritime transport. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau Climate Change Solutionists)

Juneau’s Climate Change Solutionists: Electrifying marine transportation with Bob Varness

Our maritime lifestyles and dependence on maritime transportation generate significant emissions.

Juneau resident Bob Varness is showing how Juneau can be a leader in sustainable maritime transport. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau Climate Change Solutionists)
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It's Girl Scout Cookie time. Local scouts will sell about 24,500 boxes of Girl Scout cookies in Juneau this cookie-selling season. Cookies are available at pop-up cookie stands at Safeway, Rainbow Foods, The Grind Coffee Company and Nugget Mall. Or, text “cookies” to 59618 to find a nearby cookie sales location or order them online. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)
It's Girl Scout Cookie time. Local scouts will sell about 24,500 boxes of Girl Scout cookies in Juneau this cookie-selling season. Cookies are available at pop-up cookie stands at Safeway, Rainbow Foods, The Grind Coffee Company and Nugget Mall. Or, text “cookies” to 59618 to find a nearby cookie sales location or order them online. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)
Dandelion fluff is among the way plants have invented to distribute seeds. However, other seed plants “bribe” animals into dispersing seeds with a food reward. (Saad Chaudhry / Unsplash)

On The Trails: Bribery for dispersal agents

Seed plants have been quite inventive!

Dandelion fluff is among the way plants have invented to distribute seeds. However, other seed plants “bribe” animals into dispersing seeds with a food reward. (Saad Chaudhry / Unsplash)
Lisa Daugherty of Juneau Composts says composting is an important way for Juneau to address both climate change and a rapidly filling local landfill. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau Climate Change Solutionists)

Juneau Climate Change Solutionists: Composting organic waste with Lisa Daugherty

Composting is on the rise locally —with good reason.

Lisa Daugherty of Juneau Composts says composting is an important way for Juneau to address both climate change and a rapidly filling local landfill. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau Climate Change Solutionists)
(Courtesy Photo / Vivian Mork Yéilk’)

Planet Alaska: Aim for the stars

It’s fitting a Raven works at NASA.

(Courtesy Photo / Vivian Mork Yéilk’)
This photo shows female king eiders. The rare-for-the-area ducks were recently spotted at Point Louisa. (Courtesy Photo / Kerry Howard)
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On The Trails: Tracks and king eiders

Eiders and more.

This photo shows female king eiders. The rare-for-the-area ducks were recently spotted at Point Louisa. (Courtesy Photo / Kerry Howard)
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Erin Ranney with sockeye salmon at her setnet site in the Egegik District. (Courtesy Photo / Erin Ranney)

From Egegik Fish Camp to National Geographic camerawoman: A Conversation with Erin Ranney

Erin Ranney might be best described as a force of nature for nature.

Erin Ranney with sockeye salmon at her setnet site in the Egegik District. (Courtesy Photo / Erin Ranney)
Juneau-Douglas High School head basketball coach Robert Casperson gets his hair cut on stage by senior Treyson Ramos during a school assembly Wednesday, holding up his end of the bargain that he would shave his head if his team won the state championship title. Casperson said he trusted the 2016 team's senior class a lot.

Even in unprecedented times, elements of Region V basketball remain

For some, the Region V tournament is the last time they put on a jersey. For others it’s a catalyst.

Juneau-Douglas High School head basketball coach Robert Casperson gets his hair cut on stage by senior Treyson Ramos during a school assembly Wednesday, holding up his end of the bargain that he would shave his head if his team won the state championship title. Casperson said he trusted the 2016 team's senior class a lot.
A clutch of tree swallow eggs is partly ringed by long, white feathers. Naturalist Bernd Heinrich noted that the tree swallows using his nest boxes had a strong interest in white or light-colored feathers, sometimes collecting them from some distance away. (Courtesy Photo / Jessica Millsaps, Juneau Audubon tree swallow project, under permits from ADFG and USFWS.)

On The Trails: Wary ermine; tree swallow nests

Sights seen overhead and (nearly) underfoot.

A clutch of tree swallow eggs is partly ringed by long, white feathers. Naturalist Bernd Heinrich noted that the tree swallows using his nest boxes had a strong interest in white or light-colored feathers, sometimes collecting them from some distance away. (Courtesy Photo / Jessica Millsaps, Juneau Audubon tree swallow project, under permits from ADFG and USFWS.)