Tim Lydon

Author bio

Tim Lydon writes on conservation and public lands issues. He has worked on America’s public lands for three decades, both as a guide and for land management agencies, and he is a founding member of the Prince William Sound Stewardship Foundation. His writing has most recently appeared in The Revelator, High Country News, Yes! Magazine, Terrain, and elsewhere.

Tim Lydon’s Contributions:

Calling in the Seabirds

A tiny Hawaiian island is finally free of invasive rats. Now scientists are trying to coax back lost seabird colonies.

Apr 10, 2023 | 750 words, about 3 minutes

Two older white fisherman unload crabs from a white bin while standing towards the bow of a boat with the ocean in the background

Choosing Winners and Losers in Alaska’s Crab Fishery

A quota system implemented in 2005 has meant economic and social trade-offs.

May 2, 2022 | 950 words, about 4 minutes

Three people make their way across a destroyed bridge with a large car upside across it

With Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, Arctic Science Crumbles

Russian scientists are being barred from international collaborations, including at-sea surveys and scientific conferences.

Mar 28, 2022 | 850 words, about 4 minutes

Crystal Kaakeeyáa Worl, an artist in Juneau, Alaska, who specializes in public artworks and runs a design shop with her brother, poses with her mural of human rights activist Elizabeth Peratrovich

Coastal Job: Creator of Indigenous Public Artwork

Crystal Kaakeeyáa Worl brings her Tlingit-Athabascan artistic sensibilities to the urban spaces of southeast Alaska.

Jan 28, 2022 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

A large brown grizzly laying in the grass

Bears in Alaska’s Hallo Bay Are Changing What They Eat

It’s out with fish and in with berries and leafy greens—but scientists aren’t entirely sure why.

Jan 6, 2022 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

Inupiaq looking out over the Chukchi Sea

In a First, Alaska’s Arctic Waters Appear Poised for Dangerous Algal Blooms

Climate change is bringing potentially deadly dinoflagellate blooms to the Far North, posing a new risk to food security.

Dec 2, 2021 | 650 words, about 3 minutes

Taku glacier and Hole in the Wall Glacier

The Mighty Taku Glacier Takes a Bow

After advancing for over a century, a massive glacier near Juneau, Alaska, is poised for accelerated retreat and the birth of a new fjord.

Jun 28, 2021 | 1,200 words, about 6 minutes

Time for the Tlingit Potato

Genetically distinct from its European counterparts, this coastal Alaska potato predates modern taste for russets and Yukon Golds.

Dec 28, 2020 | 1,200 words, about 6 minutes

Alaska State Ferry leaving Homer in Kachemak Bay in Southcentral, Alaska

COVID-19 Is Taxing Alaska’s Beleaguered Ferry System

Between the pandemic, an aging fleet, and political flux, Alaska’s far-reaching ferry system has fallen on hard times.

Jul 29, 2020 | 900 words, about 4 minutes

An Unorthodox Tsunami Warning Has Put This Alaska City on Edge

An uncertain forecast of a potentially devastating tsunami is causing confusion and worry.

Jul 23, 2020 | 950 words, about 4 minutes

map showing temperature variation in Alaska

Feeling the Heat in Winter

This year in Alaska, an abnormal rise in temperature has, like in much of the north, disrupted isolated communities, upset subsistence hunting patterns, and even led to some deaths.

May 29, 2019 | 950 words, about 4 minutes

aerial photo of the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Wounded Wilderness: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 30 Years Later

On the surface, Prince William Sound appears to have recovered. But you don’t have to dig too deep—into the soil or into memories—to find the spill’s lingering effects.

Mar 22, 2019 | 1,100 words, about 5 minutes

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