Archive for the ‘ANWR’ Category
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
Hey Folks,
Here’s another image from the summer just gone by. This one was from near our campsite on the Canning River, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). We’d had a nice day paddling, enjoying some sunny weather, found a sweet spot to camp, and then I wandered around into the evening looking for a composition that caught my eye. The unnamed mountain across the river is a ridge leading up to Mt. Salisbury. This is one of my favorite areas in the region, right at the edge of the coastal plain and the Brooks Mountains. Typically these kinds of terrains are interesting; (more…)
Tags: Alaska, ANWR, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Brooks Mountains, Carl Donohue, hiking, Landscape features, photos, Rafting
Posted in ANWR, Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Environmental Issues, Landscape features, Mountains, Rafting, Rivers, Summertime, Travel | 3 Comments »
Sunday, September 7th, 2008
Hey Folks,
Here’s another image of muskox from our trip to the arctic coastal plain this past summer, and a float trip down the Canning River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As you can see from the muskox photo, the mosquitoes were out in the droves this summer in the arctic. Fortunately the winds we experienced kept them down much of the time – but I had headed out to shoot these guys in shorts, a long-sleeved shirt and a ball cap – not really the gear I needed to keep the bugs at bay. After about 15 minutes of nonsense, I left the muskox, went back and donned some more suitable attire, and returned to the fray.
Muskox photos from the coastal plain, arctic Alaska.
Cheers
Carl
Posted in ANWR, Alaska, Muskox, Wildlife | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
Hey Folks,
Here’s a Pectoral sandpiper photo, taken on our recent trip to ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. The shorebirds out on the coastal plain were really a treat – we were so lucky to see a number of cool birds. I’ll try to write a thorough report when I get time. In the meantime, dig this.
Cheers
Carl
PS – I edited this after the great biologist Milo Burcham pointed out the error of my initial post, which said the bird is a buff-breasted sandpiper – Milo, of course, is correct, and I, of course, was wrong – the bird is a pectoral sandpiper. Thanks Milo.
Posted in ANWR, Alaska, Birds, Environmental Issues, News, Summertime, Travel, Wildlife | 5 Comments »
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008
Hey Folks,
Here’s a Pacific Loon image I got late one evening near the Canning River, on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska. This photo took me quite a while, and a lot of walking, to swing. I think it was nearly 2am when I clicked the shutter here. I’d been over near this pond earlier, but not able to get close. I ended up walking around for a long time, finding a few other birds to photograph, and then cam back by the loon pond. This loon and its mate were getting more and more comfortable with this strange tripod-toting creature wandering around, and finally came close enough for me to manage a few photos. I wish the light was a little brighter, and the wind not present, as the rippled effect on the water isn’t as nice as a calmer surface, but one takes what one can in the arctic. At least the wind kept the bugs at bay.
Section 1002, the coastal plain, of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the area hotly debated over with the proposals to drill for oil. I think the wildlife that live there, will be much better off if drilling and gas extraction aren’t allowed; I think we’ll be better off for it, too.
Cheers
Carl
Posted in ANWR, Adventures, Alaska, Birds, Environmental Issues, Rafting, Summertime, Travel, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
Hey Folks,
As I don’t have anything new to post from the Skolai Trip I did last week, I’ll post a few more Muskox. This young calf was hanging around with his mom and the herd one afternoon, and it took quite a while before I got a decent opportunity to shoot a portrait of the calf. Muskox really protect their young well, mostly by hiding the calves behind the adults, and often keeping them in the thicker brush. Finally this calf ran out in the open, stopped and looked back, and I took this photo. You can see the Mosquitoes were plentiful up in the arctic this summer.
Muskox photos.
Cheers
Carl
Posted in ANWR, Alaska, Muskox, Summertime, Travel, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Hey Folks,
Some of you may have read my recent piece on the proposals to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. You can read it here. For those of you who aren’t aware, another hot issue with proposals to drill is the off-shore sites, in the arctic ocean. We were keen to explore this possibility as well, as the testing we did on the coastal plain really showed how magical this arctic oil is. However, howling winds and chilly temperatures proved that off-shore drilling simply isn’t possible. Any deeper than this in the arctic ocean and nothing would be the same afterward. So we said “No”, to off-shore drilling.
Cheers
Carl
Posted in ANWR, Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Environmental Issues, Landscape features, News, Oceans, People, Summertime, Travel | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
Hey Folks,
I just got back from a trip to Skolai Pass, in Wrangell – St. Elias, and we got SLAMMED by the weather. It was so ugly, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the people on the trip. I didn’t even take my camera out of the backpack the whole week. So I don’t have any images from this trip. That’s a first for me. Instead, I’ll post some more images from previous trips, including this one from our highly vaunted ANWR Drilling Trip earlier this month. I’m not going to say that this climbing around was my idea – and far be it for me to snitch, but I think you can tell from the looks of the 2 people with me that it was their responsibility – they literally forced me onto this pipeline for the photo. 
Erika and Bob were great folks, and we had an excellent trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Cheers
Carl
Posted in ANWR, Adventures, Alaska, Backpacking and Hiking, Cool stories, Environmental Issues, News, Summertime, Travel | 3 Comments »
Saturday, July 26th, 2008
Hey Folks,
Here’s a look at the effects of global warming on the arctic shoreline. The coastline here is disappearing, rapidly, due to the melting permafrost underneath. 2 years ago there was a reasonably wide swathe of sand along this shoreline. Now the shoreline has collapsed, and the sandy beach is gone.
Cheers
Carl
Posted in ANWR, Alaska, Environmental Issues, Landscape features, News, Oceans, Summertime, Travel | 3 Comments »
Friday, July 25th, 2008
Hey Folks
Here’s another view of this little pond, this time without my ugly self cluttering up the photo. From the coastal plain in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Looks a whole lot nicer to me without a drilling pad in it.
Cheers
Carl
Posted in ANWR, Adventures, Alaska, Environmental Issues, Lakes, Landscape features, People, Summertime | 7 Comments »
