The snowshoelike feet of the lynx makes it well suited for traveling over snow. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS)

Refuge Notebook: Snow — good or bad for wildlife? It depends

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas and has been since the big storm that arrived a few weeks ago, dumping between 2 and… Continue reading

The snowshoelike feet of the lynx makes it well suited for traveling over snow. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS)
Jake Dye’s “Mostly Invincible” Toyota 4Runner sits outside The Peninsula Clarion offices in Kenai, Alaska on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, still indomitable. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Really cold

At a certain point below zero degrees, I’m not so sure I can tell the difference anymore. Anything below zero may as well dispense with… Continue reading

Jake Dye’s “Mostly Invincible” Toyota 4Runner sits outside The Peninsula Clarion offices in Kenai, Alaska on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, still indomitable. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Michael Armstrong poses at his desk in February 2015 at the Homer News in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by McKibben Jackinsky)

Out of the Office: So long, and thanks for all the cookies

Like many things in life, I didn’t intend to stay at the Homer News for 23 years and six months. When I first started working… Continue reading

Michael Armstrong poses at his desk in February 2015 at the Homer News in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by McKibben Jackinsky)
Riding out to explore a barrier reef. (Photo by Mark Laker/USFWS)

Refuge Notebook: The benefits of being a naturalist

Looking at the 2-plus feet of snow on my deck, I can’t help thinking about my opportunity to visit Fiji this past summer. Since I… Continue reading

Riding out to explore a barrier reef. (Photo by Mark Laker/USFWS)
Papers are in at the Homer News building on Thursday, Dec. 1 in Homer. (Photo by Charlie Menke / Homer News)

Out of the Office: In the Office

For my last out of the office story, I am going to bring you into the office with a short description of the Homer News… Continue reading

Papers are in at the Homer News building on Thursday, Dec. 1 in Homer. (Photo by Charlie Menke / Homer News)
Forests surrounding the Kenai River. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS)

Refuge Notebook: Expect the unexpected

Climate change is changing conservation. We used to set goals and objectives around returning to historical conditions, a time when people’s impact on land, water… Continue reading

Forests surrounding the Kenai River. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS)
Downtown Seward on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Something about Seward

There’s something magical about Seward. It’s more than the quaintness of a sleepy seaside town and more than the million-dollar views of Resurrection Bay. It’s… Continue reading

Downtown Seward on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A great horned owl sits in a tree. (USFWS/Colin Canterbury)

Refuge Notebook: Finding perfection in the imperfect

The new snow brought our refuge manager outside for a morning walk

A great horned owl sits in a tree. (USFWS/Colin Canterbury)
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Out of the Office: On Andrews’ legacy

I thought it would be appropriate to rerun my column, originally published on June 5, 2001

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Cook Inlet is seen from Clam Gulch State Recreation Area on Feb. 7, 2020, in Clam Gulch, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion file)

Free parking at Alaska State Parks the day after Thanksgiving

The move aims to encourage Alaskans to get outside during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend

Cook Inlet is seen from Clam Gulch State Recreation Area on Feb. 7, 2020, in Clam Gulch, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion file)
Freshwater invertebrates after processing in a kitchen blender. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

Invertebrates recover at Miller Creek

Just over a year ago, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game applied the pesticide rotenone to two lakes and a stream in the remote… Continue reading

Freshwater invertebrates after processing in a kitchen blender. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)
Two roses washed up with the tide on the Homer Spit on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Out of the Office: Finding grace on the beach

Last Monday while walking the Homer Spit beach I came across two red roses and a scattering of petals that had washed up on the… Continue reading

Two roses washed up with the tide on the Homer Spit on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Invasive green crab. (Photo by Ryan Munes, USFWS)

Crabby about invasive green crabs

They’re described as one of the biggest threats to Alaska’s marine environment, and you’ve probably never heard of them. This year, they were found in… Continue reading

Invasive green crab. (Photo by Ryan Munes, USFWS)
The sun rises over the mountains on the Sterling Highway on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, outside of Sterling, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Deep breath, long drive

I’ve made the drive between Soldotna and Anchorage probably hundreds of times, including twice a week for a large part of the last two years… Continue reading

The sun rises over the mountains on the Sterling Highway on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, outside of Sterling, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
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Refuge Notebook: Day two, the day my life changed forever

Picture this; you have just flown over 3,000 miles from Anchorage to Washington, D.C. It’s two o’clock in the morning, and you wait an hour… Continue reading

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Out of the Office: Walking

“Only ideas won by walking have any value,” 20th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote. Given the whole host of dilemmas that can mount… Continue reading

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Signage points the way to the Swan Lake Cabin in the Chugach National Forest on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Users weigh in on plan for public use cabin

As the U.S. Forest Service prepares to expand the quality and quantity of Alaska’s public use cabins, cabin users are asking for a balance of… Continue reading

Signage points the way to the Swan Lake Cabin in the Chugach National Forest on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Snow falls around the Peninsula Clarion building on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: One day at a time

So, it snowed this week. Not, like, a little bit — it snowed a lot. I’d guess about 10 inches around where I live and… Continue reading

Snow falls around the Peninsula Clarion building on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Time on the canoe system is both beautiful and relaxing. (Photo by Matt Bowser)

Refuge Notebook: From the Boundary Waters to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge — No longer a race across the continent

Editor’s note: This is the fourth of a four-part series. “Those who have never seen Superior get an inadequate, even inaccurate, idea by hearing it… Continue reading

Time on the canoe system is both beautiful and relaxing. (Photo by Matt Bowser)
This artwork placed Sept. 11, 2022, on "Breathe," the 2022 Burning Basket in Homer, Alaska, expressed the author's hope that his prostate surgery would remove the cancer from his body. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Out of the Office: Journey to Cancerland

These Out of the Office columns give the writers of the Homer News and Peninsula Clarion an opportunity to tell of exciting adventures in our… Continue reading

This artwork placed Sept. 11, 2022, on "Breathe," the 2022 Burning Basket in Homer, Alaska, expressed the author's hope that his prostate surgery would remove the cancer from his body. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

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