KODIAK ISLAND, Alaska — Alders, alders, everywhere. When you follow scientists in the Alaska wilderness, you’ll almost certainly get alder-snagged. In November, near Homer, alders grew considerately on Grewingk Glacier till, with space to maneuver ourselves and our heavy packs. A few days later, on Kodiak Island, the alders were a bit more rude. My […]
(Soldotna) — Extensive planning to capture and transplant Sitka black-tailed deer from the Kodiak Archipelago to the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula came to fruition at the end of September. The goal of the translocation project is to evaluate the success of an introduced deer population, track their expansion and survival in a new area, […]
Gun-Nutek Taatillka nutengq’rtaallia. – My late father always had a gun. The Alutiiq word for gun, nutek, comes from the verb nutegluku, “to shoot it.” The first firearms Alutiiq people encountered were flintlock muskets imported by Russian traders. Stephen Glotov, who wintered in Alitak Bay in 1763, used musket fire to scare Alutiiq warriors attacking his ship. […]