Riley Woodford has written hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles on wildlife, the outdoors, wildlife research and management, and the natural history of Alaska.


His most recent book is Alaska's Inside Passage Wildlife Viewing Guide. He is also the author of The Fairbanks Area Wildlife Viewing Guide, and Small Game Hunting in Alaska.


From the author:
I grew up in Oregon, fishing and camping with my dad and my brother. My dad was an outdoor writer and an avid outdoorsman, and he really encouraged us to explore the natural world. In college I earned a biology degree and teaching certification, and worked in the woods during the summers. I moved to Alaska in the mid-1980s and lived in Juneau and Fairbanks, teaching and producing programs for public radio.


When opportunities opened up in biology, I moved south and worked as a field biologist for several years, focusing on desert tortoises and spotted owls. In the early 1990s I returned to Juneau and took a job as a writer, photographer and editor at a weekly paper. Form there I moved to the Juneau Empire, the daily paper for Alaska's capital city. I spent my free time hiking, hunting, wildlife watching and exploring Southeast Alaska. I also wrote and recorded an album of music, and performed in country, rock and bluegrass bands.


Since 2003 I have served as the "in-house reporter" at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Division of Wildlife Conservation. I work as a writer and editor for "Alaska Wildlife News," the department's online magazine; I produce a weekly radio program on science and wildlife called "Sounds Wild" that is aired on several dozen stations across Alaska I write guides and articles, and work to provide teachers, scientists, hunters and wildlife viewers with news and information about Alaska's wildlife and nature.