The songs and calls of birds on the lakes and waterways of Southcentral are a familiar and comforting soundtrack to summer, including the familiar loon. Just how well these species are fairing is said to be an excellent indicator of the air and water quality and nearby open space.
And that’s exactly why Maxine Franklin, a longtime parks employee, volunteer and loon enthusiast got a little worried when she noticed over the summer of 2023 that she hadn’t seen many loon chicks at Nancy Lake State Recreation Area where she was working. She flagged her concern to Tamara Zeller, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, and revitalized an effort to monitor the loon population there.
In this episode of Outdoor Explorer you’ll learn all about loons in Southcentral, hear what the monitoring team is up to and go on a loon adventure with us at Nancy Lake.
HOST: Amy Bushatz
GUESTS:
Tamara Zeller, U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist
Maxine Franklin, former state park employee and volunteer
LINKS:
Hear the different loon calls
U.S. Fish and Wildlife loon website
Lovealoon.org
Amy Bushatz is an experienced journalist based in Palmer, Alaska. Originally from Santa Cruz, California, she and her family moved to Palmer sight-unseen from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to pursue a consistent, outdoor-focused lifestyle after her husband left active duty Army service.
Since moving to Palmer, Amy has built a lifestyle and expertise around spending time outdoors as she connects with outdoor-minded Alaskans while writing and podcasting about local news and outdoor issues. An ultrarunner and ridge running enthusiast, Amy can often be found exploring public lands around the Valley, road running on local bike paths, snowboarding at Skeetawk, cross-country skiing in Hatcher Pass, ice skating (poorly) on Mat-Su lakes, paddleboarding or kayaking with her family, and camping out of her ugly van.
You can hear Humans Outside, her podcast about building an outdoor-centric lifestyle wherever you get your podcasts, read her reporting at the Anchorage Daily News, or follow her valley-based nonprofit news project Mat-Su Sentinel at MatSuSentinel.com.
