Park Service Gets it Wrong on Drone Law
When I worked as a canoe guide in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) about 20 years ago, I came to realize that the concept of “wilderness” was a subjective one. Everyone experiences wilderness and wildness in different ways, and their perspective of what constitutes wilderness is often connected to noise level. For example, certain border lakes in the BWCAW allow for the operation of 25 hp or less motors (while almost all of the 2,000 or so lakes prohibit any motorized craft). For some people, even that was too much; but for others, 25hp or less meant no…
The Oily Facts on Prop 1
By Peter Blanas Alaskans understand that oil is the economic cornerstone of our state. Alaskans are right to be concerned, that we have a healthy and productive oil and support industry. It’s also understood that the extraction of oil in the Arctic, is very difficult and expensive, and should come with a good return on investment. We want the industry to earn a healthy profit, along with Alaska, the resource owner. First, a look backward: Oil began flowing down the pipeline from the North Slope in 1977. Daily production peaked in 1988, at just over 2 million barrels a day,…
Bird of the Week – Northern Pintail
If last week’s bird is obvious for its bill, the Northern Pintail is famous for the drake’s namesake tail. Apart from the impressive tail, the white stripe extends up into the chocolate brown neck and the bill is silver and black. Altogether a handsome bird. Like the Northern Shoveler, the Pintail is a dabbler, foraging in the top of the water column. As often as not, what you see are duck butts. For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
The Weekend Off – The News You Missed
Alaska The New York Times – Past Road’s End, Democrats Dig for Native Votes “NAPASKIAK, Alaska — No roads go this deep into the tundra, especially not for Democrats. Not that politics weigh too heavily on the mind when people are consumed with more basic needs, like catching enough fish to eat or scraping together the $6 a gallon it costs to fill up their boat with gas.” Alaska Dispatch – For Senate candidates, no escape from “trackers” on the trail “The Chamber of Commerce, and other groups involved in Alaska politics, are on the alert for “trackers” — the entry-level political…
Bird of the Week – Northern Shoveler
The Northern Shoveler’s bill gets all the attention, distracting you from noticing that the drake and the hen are both very handsome ducks. Shovelers are dabblers, birds that feed in the top of the water column without diving entirely underwater. The Shoveler’s bill is well-adapted to that role. The Shoveler hen is much less flamboyant, with cryptic coloration that makes her hard for predators to find when she is on eggs. Some ornithologists speculate that the male hangs around as a distraction for predators until the eggs are hatched. But that is quite a bill, isn’t it? For more bird…
My Militia Weekend
Friday, June 20, 2014 17:00 hours Anchorage, Alaska The Holiday Station Superstore Paper towels! I knew I forgot something. The sales clerk tried to talk me into the “Buy Two, Get 50 Cents Off” Duck Dynasty lighters at the checkout, but I already had my ice breaker – a 1918 German Luger from World War I that my dad brought home from the war that followed. My strategy reminded me of when I went to France as a teenager and my host family kept wanting to barbecue everything all the time. Americans like barbecues, so we barbecue! You want to…
Bird of the Week – Harlequin Duck
For the WC, only the Wood Duck is more spectacularly colorful than the a Harlequin Duck drake in breeding plumage. And, unlike Harlies, Woodies don’t occur in Alaska. Not only are Harlequin drakes handsome; they seem to pose in striking nice positions. So far as WC knows, Harlequin drakes only have one critic: Harlequin hens. Readers are invited to offer their own caption to the photo. Harlequin Ducks migrate inland to breed and then return to their true home, near-shore salt waters in coastal Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
Don Young Makes a Fool of Himself Again
Alaska’s lone Congressman Don Young – who, when not making racist remarks to reporters or getting caught up in scandals, is usually busy doing nothing in Congress. I’m pretty sure at this point the Democrats on the national scene have decided to just let him keep the seat because he’s a fantastic fundraiser for them. Most of the time it’s one of the lefty blogs that catches him being… well, Don Young. This time it was the relatively right of center Daily Caller. Here’s the title of the piece that they wrote this week. Congressman Yucks It Up On House…
The Weekend Off – The News You Missed
Alaska Anchorage Daily News – John Devens, mayor of Valdez at time of oil spill, dies at 74 “On the eve of March 24, 1989, John Devens was living what was, for him, a near-perfect life. He was serving as the mayor of Valdez and as the president of a community college he’d expanded. He had also gained a license to operate a charter boat, and was running a small audiology practice on the side.” Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – ‘Alaska Agreement’ good theory, flawed practice: The campaign funding reform issue shouldn’t be tackled piecemeal “Called the “Alaska Agreement,” the pledge’s…
Sen. Kelly Gets His Way – Pregnancy Tests in Bars
Yes, Alaska Senator Pete Kelly is getting his way. As the Anchorage Daily News reported back in March, Pete Kelly of Fairbanks wanted to distribute pregnancy tests in bar bathrooms. In case you forgot watch the video below for a reminder – The pregnancy test questions start at about 1 min into the video. Q. The idea is to make pregnancy tests available for free? A. You grab one. Literally, you can go into the bathroom at the bar and test. So if you’re drinking, you’re out at the big birthday celebration and you’re like, ‘Gee, I wonder if I …?’…