"Discover the adventures of an Alaskan woman biologist as she relates experiences working across varied landscapes and water bodies, including caribou counts in the Northwest Arctic, king crab index fishing in Lower Cook Inlet, and Chinook salmon investigations on the mighty Yukon River. The book highlights information collected under sometimes harrowing conditions to ensure that conservation measures sustain fish and game for the community's well-being. 'It was not lost on me that people's livelihoods or food supply depended on my ability to accomplish the job.' The book also discusses the obstacles she encountered and the problem-solving steps she used to address them. 'Field research in Alaska is not for the faint of heart for Alaska's wilderness holds a deadly beauty.' For many assignments she was the first woman to undertake the job, which 'sometimes caused the men I worked with to react with resistance.' Her persistence to succeed was motivated by the allure of adventure, the intrigue of nature, and the splendor of Alaska's pristine wilderness."-- Back cover.

"In this book, I share my adventures as one of the early women biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). I portray life as a field biologist working across Alaska's varied landscapes and water bodies, relating observations of the wild animals I encountered and the challenges of studying them. From aerial moose surveys to sonar salmon counts to king crab index fishing, the accounts describe the struggles and triumphs in collecting information needed to ensure that conservation measures sustained the harvest of fish and game for public benefit. It was not lost on me that people's livelihoods or food supply depended on my ability to succeed in my work. I felt great purpose in knowing that my research mattered to the economic and social well-being of the community. My story spans 1977-2001, a time in Alaska's history shaped by oil wealth fluctuations, the federal takeover of subsistence management on federal public land, and the disastrous Exxon Valdez oil spill. I relate my experiences chronologically, partitioned into chapters by job and location. I also offer a glimpse into my personal life as I embraced the pioneer spirit of self-sufficient bush communities by hunting and fishing. As a volunteer emergency medical technician in rural areas, I detail ambulance runs that remain sharp in my memory. And I touch on integrating motherhood into my career."-- Preface, page vii.