Exploring Alaska's Birds

Scientist and economist George Matz is the author of several articles on ecology and on the economic value of the environment. In addition, he wrote World Heritage Wilderness, Vol. 26, No. 2, of ALASKA GEOGRAPHIC. For the past several years he has been president of the Anchorage chapter of the National Audubon Society.

Rodney Griffiths is a freelance nature photographer who lives in Oxford, England and travels the globe in search of compelling images of birds and other animals. In addition to being published in previous issues of ALASKA GEOGRAPHIC, his work has also appeared in "Birdwatch", "Birdwatching", "Freelance Photographer", and others. The Discovery Channel’s program "Wild About Animals" has featured Griffith’s bald eagle photos.

Elizabeth Manning writes for the Anchorage Daily News, covering wildlife and conservation. In summer of 2000, she traveled to Middleton Island.

Colleen Handel is a biologist with the Alaska Biological Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey in Anchorage. She has researched landbirds and shorebirds for 25 years in Alaska, and since 1998, has studied the phenomenon of deformed beaks in chickadee populations here.