Becharof National Wildlife Refuge
Becharof National Wildlife Refuge | |
---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Location | Alaska Peninsula, Alaska, United States |
Nearest city | King Salmon, Alaska |
Area | 1,200,000 acres (4,860 km2) |
Established | December 2, 1980 |
Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Website | Becharof NWR |
Becharof National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the Aleutian Range of the Alaska Peninsula of southwestern Alaska. It is adjacent to Katmai National Park and Preserve. This national wildlife refuge, which covers an area of 1,200,000 acres (4,900 km2), was established in 1980 to conserve major brown bears, salmon, migratory birds, caribou, marine birds, and mammals and to comply with treaty obligations.[1] It lies primarily in the east-central part of Lake and Peninsula Borough, but extends eastward into the mainland portion of Kodiak Island Borough. The refuge is administered from offices in King Salmon.
History
Jimmy Carter created Becharof National Monument by presidential proclamation on December 1, 1978. The refuge was established on December 2, 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act (ANILCA).[2] In 1983, the Fish and Wildlife Service undertook the responsibility to manage the Becharof Refuge, along with the Ugashik and Chignik units of the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge.[2]
In 1989 the park areas was heavily affected by the
Landscape and wildlife
The Becharof National Wildlife Refuge covers an area of 1,200,000 acres (4,900 km2).[2] It lies on a mountainous coastline containing the Ugashik-Peulik volcano and steep cliffs and the park contains a range of geographical features from mountains, broad valleys and fjords, to tundra and glacially formed lakes.[2] Within the park lies the extensive Becharof Lake which at 300,000 acres (1,200 km2), 35 miles (56 km) long, 15 miles (24 km) wide and 600 feet (180 m) deep at deepest, it is second largest lake in Alaska and the largest in the entire National Wildlife Refuge System.[2] The lake is fed by a number of rivers and streams, and contains some of the largest salmon populations in the world. The lake has the world's second largest run of sockeye salmon and estimates reveal that Becharof Lake and its tributaries provide the Bristol Bay fishery alone with six million adult salmon per year.[2] Wildlife is abundant in the park and the high levels of salmon are enough to feed the largest concentrations of brown bears in Alaska. Wolf packs, two species of fox, wolverine, river otter, beaver, caribou, seals, sea lions, sea otters and whales as well as various seabirds such as eagles found along the shore.[2][4]
The
References
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
- ^ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Archivedfrom the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
- ^ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Archived from the originalon 2008-08-28. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
- ^ "Becharof National Wildlife Refuge". State Parks.com. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
External links
- Becharof NWR official website
- The short film Becharof National Wildlife Refuge (2009) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.