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The article discusses the success of the U.S. wildlife conservation in Alaska, the history of the state and its wealth of natural and wildlife resources. Topics include how the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia, the many species of wildlife that reside in Alaska including the Bald Eagle, harbor seals and the Alaskan bull moose, and the international agreement the U.S. made with other countries to protect the Pribilof seals.

This article describes the environmental problem being caused by melting of the permafrost in Alaska. Alaska is a fragile frontier that is suffering irreparable damage by the effects of pollution generated hundreds of miles away. In her article "Alaska Meltdown," writer Lisa W. Drew points out that more than half of the state's immense surface area, including its water, sits on permafrost, the perennially frozen soil or ice that holds entire ecosystems together. Scientists are discovering, water bodies are simply vanishing and the ramifications for wildlife in the state may be significant. This issue also presents eight of the favorite photographs taken by wildlife photographers and three of them happen to have been taken on Canada's Ellesmere Island.