By Elstun Lauesen There is a culture war going on. And the epicenter of that culture war is right here in Alaska. It is outrageous in its brazenness and tragic in its effect. It is political in its tactic and economic in its objective. It is a classic tale of western frontier conquest. I [...]

By Shannyn Moore The war on science is winning. And I’m not talking about those who confuse weather and climate. Nope. I’m frustrated with the continual election of candidates with a faith-based bias when it comes to policy that should rely on science. In a letter this week, Ed Fogels, deputy commissioner of the Alaska [...]

Corey Rossi, director of the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation, who has just resigned in scandal after being snared (as it were) engaging in the illegal hunting of bears. Mudflatters may remember past coverage of Corey Rossi, referred to by others as “the gopher choker.” Rossi began his ignominious political career by being friends with [...]

~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more… Adorable on Steroids Be warned. Do not play this video unless you are able to handle a serious overdose of cuteness. This is a polar bear cub from the Scandanavian Wildlife Park. His mother was unable to nurse him, so little Siku [...]

    By Tele Aadsen This photo was taken in Sitka, but could be almost anywhere in Southeast Alaska. The Tongass National Forest blankets most of our region, a crazy quilt of western red cedar, Sitka spruce, and western hemlock that covers almost 17 million acres. Not only is the Tongass the largest national forest [...]

If you’re planning on wintering over in Anchorage like this beautiful female mallard duck at Cuddy Park in midtown, it definitely pays to have a really good down coat. And stylish never hurt, either.

Yesterday, I was on the Shannyn Moore Show (1020koan.com) for my weekly segment, Thursdays in the Mud. I’d just come from the press conference held by the One Anchorage campaign which will put basic equal rights for the LGBT community on this spring’s Municipal ballot. It proposes the radical notion that gay and transgendered people [...]

In October, three cubs were orphaned after their mother had what was described as an “encounter with a Wasilla resident.” They have been relocated to Detroit, Michigan via Fedex plane.  The trio arrived in the wee hours of Friday morning. “We’re just very excited because the cubs seem to be in good health and they’re [...]

        Happy Black Friday, everyone!  As you can see from the pictures above, one Alaskan business has been preparing long and hard for your shopping pleasure. Nope, it’s not in a mall, it’s not a national chain, and you cannot get anything made in China. So before you open that Swiss Colony [...]

By Wickersham’s Conscience WC’s readers will recall that back in June 2011, WC was critical – well, vitriolic, really – of Governor Parnell’s decision to litigate the endangered species classification of the Cook Inlet Beluga Whales. Because Parnell’s other bad decisions had removed Alaskan officials from the group that develops the recovery plan, Alaska had no [...]

As Thanksgiving approaches, let’s all give a big helping of thanks (and an even bigger ladle of sarcasm gravy) to Sean Parnell for yet again wasting our money. Thanks, governor. Cook Inlet has a problem. It used to have a large, healthy population of beluga whales. The population of about 1,300 animals was large enough, [...]

Apparently someone put something in Don Young’s oatmeal this week. OK, yes… he’s got something in his oatmeal every week, but this week he got an extra helping. Or perhaps he jus needs a bran muffin instead. Or perhaps the propeller beanie he wore to the Resources hearing a few days ago was a liiiitle [...]

“Destroying a wild salmon stream to sell coal to China is about the worst idea in Alaska’s proud history of salmon protection.  We’ve always promoted responsible mines.  But this one is irresponsible,” said Representative Les Gara, of state plans allowing dredging of eleven miles of the Chuitna River’s tributaries to keep moving forward. We couldn’t agree more. [...]

Here is the next installment of Greg Palast’s new book Vulture’s Picnic. He has allowed The Mudflats to bring you Chapter 7 – My Home is Now a Strange Place in its entirety. This is an exclusive excerpt, just for Mudflatters. I find it absolutely riveting. If you need to catch up, here are links [...]

  By Wade Willis The appointment of Corey Rossi to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is a first in Alaska’s history. Since statehood, no governor thought it necessary, or responsible, to let politics trump science. Yet Gov. Parnell appears to have little need for science even though he promised to end this culture [...]