The deadline is near for public comment on two state plans dealing with land, timber and forestry issues in the Upper Valley.

The Susitna Matanuska Area Plan – at one time called the Susitna Area Plan— is under revision and public comments are due June 1^st.   (more…)

Earth and Beyond volunteer contributor Robin Song tells about the natural history of our most colorful corvid, the black-billed magpie.

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Denali historian and author Tom Walker and host Sue Deyoe talk about Tom’s new book on the pioneer history of the national park, and the evolution of his own interest in the topic. Their conversation was recorded outdoors in East Talkeetna in early spring, so it’s sound-rich!

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Talkeetna and the Upper Valley broke the record high temperature yesterday.

A record high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit for May 26th was set at the Talkeetna Airport in 2006, although the all time record high for the month of May was 87 degrees set on the 30th in 2003. The high Tuesday at the Talkeetna Airport was recorded as 81 degrees, breaking the record by one degree. (more…)

At their regular meeting last week, the Mat Su Borough School Board rejected the NANA Management Service bid for cleaning schools.  (more…)

The search effort for Dr. Gerald Myers was scaled back Tuesday afternoon.  Search managers have determined that further air operations are unlikely to locate the Denali climber, missing since last Tuesday. (more…)

On Sunday, the Division of Forestry reported over 700 lightning strikes across Alaska.  There are no wildfires currently reported in the Upper Valley. However, the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend brought wildfires to Denali National Park.  The two  fires are burning right along the
wilderness boundary between the Toklat and the East Fork Rivers. The structures
potentially threatened are two patrol cabins. One of the fires is about
two miles west of the East Fork patrol cabin. There’s a crew in there this morning (monday)
setting up pumps. They are doing the same for the Toklat patrol cabin. The
larger of the two is Toklat #1 – 586 acres and the one furthest to the west. The other nearest the East Fork cabin is currently 100 acres.

The wind is blowing from the north right now, pushing the fire away from the cabins.

The air was filled with the sounds of helicopter rotors Monday morning in Talkeetna, as NPS personnel and volunteers continue their search for the missing climber on Denali.

Strong winds and intermittent cloud cover early Sunday morning and afternoon precluded safe search coverage of the more probable zones high on the mountain.  The park’s A-Star B3 was
similarly unable to fly the zones safely on Sunday.  Due to flight duty day
restrictions, no more flights occurred Sunday evening.

Dr. Myers began his summit bid from the 14,200-foot camp the morning of Tuesday, May 19.  He was sighted above Denali Pass later that afternoon.  The aerial search for Myers will continue today as long as weather permits.  Grounds patrols have been searching with spotting scopes for any clues.  Hundreds of high resolution photographs have been taken and are being examined closely for clues to Myers’ disappearance.

Aerial searchers came up with no leads Friday for the climber missing since Tuesday. (more…)