High summer is here in middle Alaska. North of Fairbanks, in bright sunshine, alder flycatchers are perched in spruce tops, just arriving from Bolivia and Peru. A few steps away, accompanied by the smell of sulfur, dozens of carrion flies buzz on and above a moose carcass. Permafrost expert Tom Douglas has led me […]
[smartslider3 slider=6] The recent discovery of the most complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in Japan suggests the duck-billed creatures once stomped across the Bering Land Bridge. The dinosaur found in Japan is very similar to Edmontosaurus, fossils of which have been found throughout Alaska. The creatures may have been more adaptable and widespread than […]
It was the first weekend in May, and Alaskans were getting out. Emboldened by words from the governor to get outside, or more likely their desires to escape the house, people were driving south on the Richardson Highway from Fairbanks. At the same time, far greater numbers of beating hearts were headed the opposite […]
Scientists have documented a recent population explosion of beavers on the Baldwin Peninsula near Kotzebue. Using satellite images, the researchers counted an increase from two to 98 beaver dams near Kotzebue between 2002 and 2019. “Our study shows that (beavers) were responsible for two-thirds of the increase in surface-water area in the Kotzebue study […]