An Inupiaq writer welcomes the nourishing glow of a seal oil lamp into her home.
Alaska
Posted inArticles
Biden’s ‘herky-jerky’ first year on Western issues
The new president sacrificed bold executive action to try to win over Congress.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
Bye Ye; Denali Uber; Heard transition
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
Where are Alaska’s snowy owls?
The birds serve as an alarm bell for the repercussions of environmental change.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
An owl army, a tire-less elk and a minor coup attempt
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
Books on the West we think you might like
Some brand new, some from the shelves, some for the kids and some for you.
Posted inArticles
What’s going on with the Tongass?
Newly reinstated protections continue decades of conflict over a 17 million-acre national forest in Alaska.
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
Alaska Native villages band together to keep the Yukon River’s wild salmon afloat
‘As a unified voice, we are unstoppable — and we can manage the river better.’
Posted inArticles
Wildfire smoke pushes migrating birds hundreds of miles out of their way
‘I was glued to my computer for days, trying to figure out what these birds were doing, because it was so clearly, obviously, not normal.’
Posted inArticles
Just how fat are the fat bears?
Katmai National Park and Preserve’s famous bears from Fat Bear Week are helping provide some answers.
Posted inArticles
Trans-Alaska pipeline under threat from thawing permafrost
Structural integrity of the pipeline and potential oil spills are at risk.
Posted inAugust 1, 2021: A Mega-Dairy Comes to the Desert
A quest for Alaska oil sparks a fight over tribal sovereignty
An energy company with a history of environmental violations is conducting exploratory drilling in the Yukon Flats.
Posted inArticles
Alaska bumblebees are thriving
Extreme environments offer them an unexpected paradise, and now researchers are working to get a head count.
Posted inArticles
Still wild: A mining project divides a community
In Haines, Alaska, concern for a fragile ecosystem confronts the prospect of well-paying jobs.
Posted inArticles
Native students fight to wear traditional regalia at graduation
‘They took my sealskin cap, Mom.’
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
Impossible markets; Schroederisms; Western advice
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
Will a Native-led initiative spur an agricultural revolution in rural Alaska?
A grassroots project to build biomass-heated greenhouses aims to alleviate food insecurity in the communities most affected by it.
Posted inArticles
Massive drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope given go ahead
Critics say the lease is at odds with President Biden’s pledge to combat the climate crisis.
Posted inMay 1, 2021: Beauty and Biodiversity in the Borderlands
A rescue mule, bizarre humans and alarming politicians
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.