Chef Andrew Maxwell seems to have it mastered. At the first bite, author Michelle Theall believes she finally met the perfect chocolate chip cookie.
Verena Gill is a NOAA scientist who oversees the recovery of threatened and endangered species in Alaska, including Cook Inlet beluga whales.
My Love for Alaska’s Winter Images and text by Carl Johnson It is 6 a.m., and, while it is still pitch dark, the nearly full moon floats over Cook Inlet on its descent behind the Alaska Range. Its bright light and surrounding stars reveal a hillside’s silhouette with a layer of fog enveloping the Anchorage bowl below. Mt. Susitna looms in the background as the winter tides zoom by in a long exposure at sunset.The blurring of pink and blue tones is a common pastel palate in the winter. This is one of my favorite times of winter—when several days of calm, cold, and clear conditions and persistent ice fog create a landscape that might have inspired the movie Frozen. It is a winter wonderland, where everything is fresh and new, magical and mystical, and utterly beautiful. This, for me as a photographer, is one of the many reasons why…
Bringing Native Values to Work Sophie Minich and Sheri Buretta were both little girls in Alaska when, 51 years ago, on December 18, 1971, President Richard Nixon signed the landmark Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). The act was the first of its kind in the United States’ long history of settlements with Native Americans. ANCSA created 12 Native regional economic development corporations in which the stockholders are the Native people who traditionally lived in these regions. The corporations were formed to provide economic, educational, social service, and cultural benefits to their shareholders. Today, Minich and Buretta lead two of these Native corporations. Buretta is the chairman of the board for Chugach Alaska Corporation. Minich is the president and CEO of Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI). Sheri Buretta Growing up between Tatitlek and Anchorage, Sheri Buretta and her family drove from Anchorage, where she lived, to Valdez, where an uncle…
Citizen council remains vigilant three decades after the Exxon Valdez oil spill Donna Schantz has worked with Prince William Sound Regional Citizen’s Advisory Council since 1999 and served as its executive director since 2016. After the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, PWSRCAC was created to give a voice to those who have the most to lose in the event of another spill. The council includes representatives from communities in the spill region and industries like aquaculture, commercial fishing, and tourism. It is mandated by Congress and funded by the oil industry but has complete independence. The Prince William Sound council is one of two such organizations in the United States. The other represents Alaska’s Cook Inlet. Donna Schantz outside the harbor in Valdez Can you share something that the council has accomplished recently that you are proud of? This is always an interesting question because it’s really hard…
Not everyone likes eulachon, so loaded with oils they are nicknamed candlefish, but this Alaskan family does, and they load up every spring.
Bjorn Olson is a Homer-based filmmaker, photographer, freelance writer, environmental activist, and wilderness adventurer.
Michelle Theall shares a few images from places she’s visited often in Alaska and the story behind each photo.
A husband and wife team write about their divergent lives operating a salmon setnet operation in Bristol Bay.
In Jeffry Hesse’s opinion, the taste of burbot rivals salmon or halibut. It’s lean and picks up flavor easily. Plus, no bones, unlike salmon.