Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
July 2010

Bats in Alaska

A dozen people stood hushed in the Southeast Alaska twilight, listening for bats. As the bat detector emitted a burst of clicks, one citizen scientist whispered, “I see it. Between those trees.”

The midnight gathering was part of BioBlitz, which brought scientists and citizen volunteers together to catalogue life in Fish Creek Valley on Douglas Island near Juneau. State wildlife biologist Karen Blejwas headed the bat team, and before the late-night field session she provided an overview ...   Bats in Alaska ArticleContinued

BioBlitz nets hundreds of species, participants

Cedar Miles peered through a binocular microscope at a dish of writhing aquatic invertebrates.

“Yow, I think he just ate him,” he muttered, captivated by the pondwater drama playing out under the microscope. He looked over at a guidebook and naturalist Bob Armstrong helped him identify a mayfly larvae. A participant in BioBlitz, 9-year-old Miles was surrounded by scientists, all working together to catalogue hundreds of plants, animals, mushrooms, insects and other life.

The 24-hour ...   BioBlitz ArticleContinued

Access to Sportfishing via Boat

Alaska is one of the most popular sport fishing destinations in the United States. With more shoreline than the entire Lower 48; more than 9,000 officially named rivers, creeks and streams; and more than 3 million lakes, sport fishing opportunities abound. The problem is, how do you get to those far-flung waters from here? Though Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas, it provides only about 4,900 miles of paved roadways. As a result, the vast majority of sport fisheries must be accessed ...   Fishing Access ArticleContinued