Jennifer Schell
@jenniferschell16.bsky.social
English Professor, Cetacean Enthusiast, Canine Therapy Human. I write about anthropogenic species extinction, Arctic ecosystems, more-than-human organisms, and blue humanities. Ocean obsessed! Fairbanks, AK. Views my own.
Pinned
Greetings from Alaska! I'm an English professor who teaches and writes about the environment and all the critters who live in it, especially whales and mammoths 🐋 🦣. Interests include dogs 🐕, books (obviously!), tea, crochet, and creature features. Love hiking in Alaska and visiting the ocean!
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Franzi Schimmer captured this Grizzly bear in Brooks Falls, Alaska just floating along, tippy-tapping down the river, browsing the salmon.
Prior to hibernation, up to 40% of a bear's body mass is fat, which is less dense than water (~0.9 g/cm^2), so the murder-monster is also a floaty-boaty.
Prior to hibernation, up to 40% of a bear's body mass is fat, which is less dense than water (~0.9 g/cm^2), so the murder-monster is also a floaty-boaty.
February 14, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Franzi Schimmer captured this Grizzly bear in Brooks Falls, Alaska just floating along, tippy-tapping down the river, browsing the salmon.
Prior to hibernation, up to 40% of a bear's body mass is fat, which is less dense than water (~0.9 g/cm^2), so the murder-monster is also a floaty-boaty.
Prior to hibernation, up to 40% of a bear's body mass is fat, which is less dense than water (~0.9 g/cm^2), so the murder-monster is also a floaty-boaty.
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
A legal mandate! Was heartened to see this decision come out the same day I was lecturing on the incentivized extirpation of California grizzlies. Past is prologue but not prescription 🐾
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Mountain lions gain protection under California’s Endangered Species Act
State agencies are now mandated to protect the big cats, which have been increasingly vulnerable due to habitat loss
www.theguardian.com
February 14, 2026 at 8:28 PM
A legal mandate! Was heartened to see this decision come out the same day I was lecturing on the incentivized extirpation of California grizzlies. Past is prologue but not prescription 🐾
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
1972 "Making the Evening Rounds" oil on masonite board by Fred Machetanz (1908-2002). Via Anchorage Museum #alaskahistory #alaska
February 14, 2026 at 9:01 PM
1972 "Making the Evening Rounds" oil on masonite board by Fred Machetanz (1908-2002). Via Anchorage Museum #alaskahistory #alaska
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Updated article on Dahlstrom and Dunleavy's capitulation to the Feds regarding Alaska's voter rolls.
I made an important error in the prior version of this article, which I’ll explain in a thread. It has a new headline and some additions, and I’ve deleted the old skeet to limit the spread of bad info. #akleg
Federal government may seek removal of individual Alaskans from state voter rolls | Alaska Beacon
A memo signed by the head of the Division of Elections in December, says the state must clean its voter roll of people identified by the DOJ.
alaskabeacon.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:45 AM
Updated article on Dahlstrom and Dunleavy's capitulation to the Feds regarding Alaska's voter rolls.
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
A mandatory read for all Alaskans and anyone interested in the fight to save public education in this country. What has happened at Mt Edgecumbe is appalling. Kudos to @matt.akmemo.com for covering this story so well. www.akmemo.com/states-penny...
State's penny-wise handling of Mt. Edgecumbe shows the folly of running schools like a business
It's Friday, Alaska.
In this edition: If we needed an example of why the Dunleavy administration's top-down, run-it-like-a-business approach to everything isn't well-suited for the state's public edu...
www.akmemo.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:28 AM
A mandatory read for all Alaskans and anyone interested in the fight to save public education in this country. What has happened at Mt Edgecumbe is appalling. Kudos to @matt.akmemo.com for covering this story so well. www.akmemo.com/states-penny...
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Sharing some exciting news- some brightness- my book Alaska Native Resilience: Voices from World War II published by @uwapress.uw.edu has received the Caroline Bancroft History Prize from the Denver Public Library Special Collections and Archives! Arigaa! Thank you for engaging in AK Native history!
February 14, 2026 at 2:43 AM
Sharing some exciting news- some brightness- my book Alaska Native Resilience: Voices from World War II published by @uwapress.uw.edu has received the Caroline Bancroft History Prize from the Denver Public Library Special Collections and Archives! Arigaa! Thank you for engaging in AK Native history!
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
=Huge= thanks to @yukonberingia.bsky.social and @firesmartcanada.bsky.social for a banner evening.
(And, wow, that short-faced bear skull . . .)
(And, wow, that short-faced bear skull . . .)
Whitehorse FD firefighters showed up even while on duty to hear about Fire Weather at last night's jam-packed @johnvaillant.bsky.social event! (They stood at the back in case they got called to a fire while the talk was ongoing... 🔥)
February 13, 2026 at 7:12 PM
=Huge= thanks to @yukonberingia.bsky.social and @firesmartcanada.bsky.social for a banner evening.
(And, wow, that short-faced bear skull . . .)
(And, wow, that short-faced bear skull . . .)
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
A Valentine’s story in the tundra: How two whimbrels reunite each year in Arctic Alaska to mate, writes Daniel Ruthrauff in a commentary for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/02/12/a...
A Valentine's story in the tundra: How two whimbrels reunite each year in Arctic Alaska to mate | Alaska Beacon
Hudsonian Whimbrels are famously faithful, often mating for life and returning each May and June to the same stretch of Arctic tundra to breed.
alaskabeacon.com
February 12, 2026 at 10:04 PM
A Valentine’s story in the tundra: How two whimbrels reunite each year in Arctic Alaska to mate, writes Daniel Ruthrauff in a commentary for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/02/12/a...
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Whitehorse FD firefighters showed up even while on duty to hear about Fire Weather at last night's jam-packed @johnvaillant.bsky.social event! (They stood at the back in case they got called to a fire while the talk was ongoing... 🔥)
February 13, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Whitehorse FD firefighters showed up even while on duty to hear about Fire Weather at last night's jam-packed @johnvaillant.bsky.social event! (They stood at the back in case they got called to a fire while the talk was ongoing... 🔥)
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
shorturl.at/eLaUz The increase in blazes, from permafrost thaw & tundra "shrubification," creates a new wildfire regime that will intensify as global temperatures continue to rise. Global warming creates dry land & moisture in atmosphere boosts risk of lightning, main source of ignition in Alaska.
Permafrost thaw and 'shrubification' have tipped Alaska's North Slope into a wildfire regime not seen for 3,000 years
An analysis of peatland soil samples and satellite images has found that wildfires on Alaska's North Slope are more frequent and severe now than they were at any point over the past 3,000 years.
shorturl.at
February 12, 2026 at 4:29 PM
shorturl.at/eLaUz The increase in blazes, from permafrost thaw & tundra "shrubification," creates a new wildfire regime that will intensify as global temperatures continue to rise. Global warming creates dry land & moisture in atmosphere boosts risk of lightning, main source of ignition in Alaska.
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
TODAY at 12 p.m. ET! Ross Gay and @nezhukumatathil.bsky.social will be chatting about love and intimacy alongside Mary Evelyn Tucker at this free online event! You can still register to get the link to join right here. See you there. 💚
orionmagazine.org/event-worksh...
orionmagazine.org/event-worksh...
February 12, 2026 at 1:20 PM
TODAY at 12 p.m. ET! Ross Gay and @nezhukumatathil.bsky.social will be chatting about love and intimacy alongside Mary Evelyn Tucker at this free online event! You can still register to get the link to join right here. See you there. 💚
orionmagazine.org/event-worksh...
orionmagazine.org/event-worksh...
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Have I mentioned lately how much I love beadwork? 😍 I wrote about the significance of Athabascan beadwork and sewing for in Travel Alaska. www.travelalaska.com/explore-alas...
Significance of Athabascan Beadwork & Sewing
Each piece of Athabascan beadwork tells a story through its designs, colors, and materials. Athabascan peoples are diverse across Alaska, and beadwork and sewing styles vary by region, family, and the...
www.travelalaska.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:28 AM
Have I mentioned lately how much I love beadwork? 😍 I wrote about the significance of Athabascan beadwork and sewing for in Travel Alaska. www.travelalaska.com/explore-alas...
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
From rural Alaska to the Super Bowl stage: UAF alumna Rose Crelli performed as a violinist in Bad Bunny’s halftime show, reflecting on the journey that began with seven-hour drives for lessons.
Fairbanks violinist featured in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show - The Alaska Current
University of Alaska Fairbanks alumna Rose Crelli was at the Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco on Sunday as one of the violinists in the super bowl halftime show.
buff.ly
February 12, 2026 at 12:30 AM
From rural Alaska to the Super Bowl stage: UAF alumna Rose Crelli performed as a violinist in Bad Bunny’s halftime show, reflecting on the journey that began with seven-hour drives for lessons.
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Thanks to environmental groups’ efforts to protect and restore habitat in the Carrizo Plain, native species such as the giant kangaroo rat are recovering from near-extinction.
buff.ly/IiHYOfe
buff.ly/IiHYOfe
February 11, 2026 at 11:01 PM
Thanks to environmental groups’ efforts to protect and restore habitat in the Carrizo Plain, native species such as the giant kangaroo rat are recovering from near-extinction.
buff.ly/IiHYOfe
buff.ly/IiHYOfe
Some good news! Looking ahead to old age, my eyeballs will be worn out, but my brain will be excellent 👁🧠
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Reading and writing can lower dementia risk by almost 40%, study finds
Cognitive health in later life is ‘strongly influenced’ by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments, say researchers
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Some good news! Looking ahead to old age, my eyeballs will be worn out, but my brain will be excellent 👁🧠
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Join us Friday, February 27 @ 2 pm EST to discuss Victor LaValle's LONE WOMEN. Here's the Zoom registration link:
gmu.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
#SSAG #GothicLiterature #Horror
gmu.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
#SSAG #GothicLiterature #Horror
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: American Gothic Reading Group: LONE WOMEN. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: American Gothic Reading Group: LONE WOMEN. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
gmu.zoom.us
February 11, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Join us Friday, February 27 @ 2 pm EST to discuss Victor LaValle's LONE WOMEN. Here's the Zoom registration link:
gmu.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
#SSAG #GothicLiterature #Horror
gmu.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
#SSAG #GothicLiterature #Horror
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
The UAF Sun Star is doing great work this year.
Also, maybe naming our office for Title IX investigations ORCA was not the best idea.
www.uafsunstar.com/news/v00dzfn...
Also, maybe naming our office for Title IX investigations ORCA was not the best idea.
www.uafsunstar.com/news/v00dzfn...
Lawsuit against University of Alaska alleges Title IX violation — The Sun Star - UAF's Student Voice
A lawsuit filed in state court against the University of Alaska in January claims the institution mishandled a Title IX discrimination investigation, harming a University of Alaska Fairbanks grad stud...
www.uafsunstar.com
February 11, 2026 at 6:34 PM
The UAF Sun Star is doing great work this year.
Also, maybe naming our office for Title IX investigations ORCA was not the best idea.
www.uafsunstar.com/news/v00dzfn...
Also, maybe naming our office for Title IX investigations ORCA was not the best idea.
www.uafsunstar.com/news/v00dzfn...
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Queen Of The North – Snowy Owl
W. Allan Hancock
c. 2024
W. Allan Hancock
c. 2024
February 11, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Queen Of The North – Snowy Owl
W. Allan Hancock
c. 2024
W. Allan Hancock
c. 2024
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
"As scholars Zoe Todd and Heather Davis argue, the Anthropocene’s origins lie not in the 20th century but in 1610, when colonial genocide measurably altered atmospheric carbon levels." - @aadita.bsky.social
niche-canada.org/2026/01/14/c...
#envhist #anthropocene #colonialism
niche-canada.org/2026/01/14/c...
#envhist #anthropocene #colonialism
Chasing Flames: Roving Methodologies and Narratives Towards Future Pyrosocial Worlds
Aadita Chaudhury's dissertation uses fire, phlogiston, and speculative methods to expose racial capitalism, valuation, and more-than-human knowledge worlds globally.
niche-canada.org
February 11, 2026 at 3:54 PM
"As scholars Zoe Todd and Heather Davis argue, the Anthropocene’s origins lie not in the 20th century but in 1610, when colonial genocide measurably altered atmospheric carbon levels." - @aadita.bsky.social
niche-canada.org/2026/01/14/c...
#envhist #anthropocene #colonialism
niche-canada.org/2026/01/14/c...
#envhist #anthropocene #colonialism
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Reviewing a book is one of the best and most fun service opportunities available! Check out the awesome books available from H-Environment! #envhist #envhum #envtech #conservation #sustainability #envjustice #ecocrit #envphil #plantstudies #animalstudies #nature
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Books Available to review for H-Environment
Books Available for Review for H-Environment Below are the books currently available for review for H-Environment. Interested in reviewing one? Please email me at dmccahey@uci.edu. If we haven’t met,...
docs.google.com
February 11, 2026 at 6:09 AM
Reviewing a book is one of the best and most fun service opportunities available! Check out the awesome books available from H-Environment! #envhist #envhum #envtech #conservation #sustainability #envjustice #ecocrit #envphil #plantstudies #animalstudies #nature
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
"Cats are more independent, which limits emotional bonding"-- just one place where I think this analysis goes very wrong. Cats do not show love in dogs' ways. But to say there is limited emotional bonding tells me... these folks DO NOT KNOW CATS! #cats #animals #anthrozoology #humananimalstudies
Are pets good for kids’ mental health? Type of animal and duration of bond could make all the difference
Out study found that dogs and cats are not the same in this regard.
theconversation.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:08 PM
"Cats are more independent, which limits emotional bonding"-- just one place where I think this analysis goes very wrong. Cats do not show love in dogs' ways. But to say there is limited emotional bonding tells me... these folks DO NOT KNOW CATS! #cats #animals #anthrozoology #humananimalstudies
Reposted by Jennifer Schell
Lots of great info this week at the Climate and Cryosphere Open Science Conference. Everything from cutting edge ice sheet process studies to Indigenous prospectives from Alaska and Aotearoa New Zealand. Nice mix of grad students, early career folks up to venerable veterans. #CliC2026
February 11, 2026 at 2:23 AM
Lots of great info this week at the Climate and Cryosphere Open Science Conference. Everything from cutting edge ice sheet process studies to Indigenous prospectives from Alaska and Aotearoa New Zealand. Nice mix of grad students, early career folks up to venerable veterans. #CliC2026
The "primitive" epithet drives me crazy! Ugh!
The idea that humans sit atop an evolutionary hierarchy dates back to 1866, when a scientist drew the first tree of life with "Man" at the top.
This inaccurate view still shapes how we think of the animal world, despite decades of genomic evidence proving evolution has no hierarchy.
buff.ly/dpXwi1r
This inaccurate view still shapes how we think of the animal world, despite decades of genomic evidence proving evolution has no hierarchy.
buff.ly/dpXwi1r
No animal alive today is ‘primitive’ – why are so many still labeled that way?
All species alive today, from chimpanzees to bacteria, are cousins that each have equally long lineages, rather than ancestors or descendants of one another.
buff.ly
February 10, 2026 at 8:58 PM
The "primitive" epithet drives me crazy! Ugh!