2015 was another great year to be hiking, boating and in general being in Southeast Alaska (well\u2026 aren\u2019t they all?) But as we looked through the articles of the past year, we couldn\u2019t help but notice quite a few articles about unusual events \u2014 songbirds identified for the first time in the state, or a strangely warm Gulf of Alaska, for instance. Here are some of the highlights from 2015\u2019s Outdoors section.<\/p>\n
\nFeb. 5<\/p>\n
The tailings dam at Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia failed in August of 2014, releasing billions of gallons of toxic water and tailings into the Quesnel Lake watershed, devastating the fishing run for First Nation peoples in the area, and galvanizing Southeast Alaskans\u2019 opposition to British Columbian mines in transboundary watersheds. Early in 2015, an independent panel came out with a report that called for an end to \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d and updates to 100-year-old tailings dam technology. According to current statistics, two B.C. mine dams will fail every 10 years, the report said, and best practices should not be trumped by economic considerations.<\/p>\n
BC governmental representatives have since said they are following the panel\u2019s recommendations. In August, they traveled to Juneau to hear concerns and talk about what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-02-05\/mount-polley-report-two-dams-expected-fail-every-10-years-southeast-alaskans-say<\/p>\n
\nMarch 13<\/p>\n
Carver Wayne Price and the U.S. Forest Service have been working to repair Yax t\u00e9 totem, the totem pole located at Auke Recreation Area. It\u2019s suffered from bullet holes, woodpeckers and rot over the last 20 years. In the process of renovating it, Price found a time capsule message from the last carver to work on the pole.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-03-13\/yax-t%C3%A9-totem-begins-life-anew<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-03-13\/decades-old-time-capsule-found-inside-local-totem<\/p>\n
\nMay 1 <\/p>\n
The steelhead in Yakutat\u2019s Situk River aren\u2019t breaking news, but they sure are fun to chase.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-05-01\/catching-chromers-yakutat<\/p>\n
\nJuly 17 <\/p>\n
The Gulf of Alaska is changing, with unusual species showing up, much warmer than normal temperatures, and unusual toxic algae blooms \u2014 something that worries scientists near and far.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-07-17\/sea-changes-warm-gulf-leads-unusual-happenings-worried-scientists<\/p>\n
\nAugust 7 <\/p>\n
A short but sweet story: this year at Eaglecrest Ski Area, Juneau\u2019s mountain bikers got their first dedicated mountain bike trail, courtesy of volunteers, donations and a working relationship between the Juneau Mountain Bike Alliance and Eaglecrest.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-08-07\/juneaus-first-dedicated-mountain-bike-trail-underway<\/p>\n
\nAugust<\/p>\n
In August, B.C. Minister of Mines and Energy Bill Bennett and a team of fellow B.C. representatives came to Juneau (and later Ketchikan), to talk with tribes, local residents, Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott and others concerned about transboundary mines \u2013 British Columbian mines in transboundary watersheds. Those talks resulted in the mutual decision to develop and sign a nonbinding statement of cooperation better outlining the way Alaskan and B.C. officials work together, and establishing new protocols. Bennett also promised to take action to clean up the Tulsequah Chief, which has been leaching acid mine drainage into a tributary of the Taku River for decades. On Dec. 11, Salmon Beyond Borders and tribal representatives submitted their final comments on the first iteration of the province\u2019s and Alaska\u2019s statement of cooperation, and say that while the statement isn\u2019t a bad move, they still want Alaska to ask for the involvement of the International Joint Commission, or IJC, which regulates disputes under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, asking why Alaska wouldn\u2019t use \u201cthe best tool in the toolbox.\u201d<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/local\/2015-08-26\/bc-mines-minister-talks-transboundary-mines-tulsequah-chief-cleanup<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/state\/2015-08-27\/bc-alaska-draft-mou-mine-processes<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/local\/2015-08-28\/qa-bill-bennett<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/state\/2015-08-27\/after-bennett-visit-groups-are-cautiously-optimistic-progress<\/p>\n
\nSept. 3<\/p>\n
The Taku Glacier is the only glacier on the Juneau Icefield to be advancing. According to the Juneau Icefield Research Program\u2019s measurements over the last few years, however, the overall advance of the 9-kilometer-wide glacier snout has stagnated. That may only be temporary \u2014 or it may be a harbinger of the icebergs soon to float past Juneau\u2019s downtown docks.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-09-04\/taku-glaciers-advance-stagnates<\/p>\n
\nSept. 25<\/p>\n
In less than a week\u2019s time, two southern songbirds were seen for the first time ever in Alaska. Fourteen-year-old Owen Squires identified a hooded oriole, more common in Mexico than Alaska, in the Juneau Community Garden. Then park rangers identified a yellow-throated warbler in Glacier Bay. The reason? Well, it could be climate change, habitat destruction, more people paying attention or bird dyslexia. Basically, no one\u2019s sure.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-09-25\/14-year-old-ids-hooded-oriole-juneau<\/p>\n
\nOct. 16<\/p>\n
Palm trees in Southeast Alaska? It sounds far-fetched, but 50 million years ago they were here (along with an ancient, three-toed ancestor of the horse). Southeast scientists\u2019 research into the fossil record shows it.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/juneauempire.com\/outdoors\/2015-10-16<\/p>\n
\nDec. 4 <\/p>\n
Auke Bay was the wildest it\u2019s been in decades in early December, with hundreds of common murres, marbled murrelets, loons, sea lions, seals, and even two humpback whales \u2014 all there for the gathering of herring and pollock.<\/p>\n