Reporting from the Arctic: Birds, Wolves, Grizzlies, and More

I'm in the Arctic! More specifically, I'm in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range at Toolik Field Station, a base for scientists investigating cutting-edge issues of polar environmental change. Along with eight other journalists, I'm taking part in a science journalism program run by the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole. To get here, I flew into Fairbanks and then took a 12-hour van ride to mile marker 284.5 on the 414-mile long Dalton Highway, which parallels the Alyeska pipeline.

So far, I've seen some beautiful wildlife, including a long-tailed jaeger, dall sheep, and moose. No grizzlies or wolves yet, though several folks here have spotted a wolf near camp. On the way here, we stopped in at the Coldfoot Interagency Visitors Center, where one of the volunteers filled me in on the grizzly she spotted the day before. Take a look at the video above to hear about her experience. More soon on melting permafrost, wildlife, climate change...