Susitna Flats State Game Refuge
The Susitna Flats State Game Refuge is a
float planes
on one of the numerous lakes on the flats. Other hunters cross the inlet by boat to enjoy their hunt.
Birds
Perhaps the most spectacular feature of the Susitna Flats State Game Refuge — and certainly the prime reason for its refuge status — is the spring and fall concentration of migrating waterfowl and shorebirds. Usually by mid-April,
Northern phalaropes, dowitchers, godwits, whimbrels, snipe, yellowlegs, sandpipers, plovers, and dunlin are among the most abundant of shorebirds. Most of the ducks, geese, and shorebirds move north or west to nest in other areas of the state. About 10,000 ducks — mostly mallards, pintails, and green-winged teal — remain to nest in the coastal fringe of marsh ponds and sedge meadows found in the refuge. Recently, Tule geese
, a subspecies of the greater white-fronted goose, have been discovered to nest and stage on Susitna Flats. In the fall, migrant waterfowl and shorebirds once again arrive in growing numbers to rest and feed on sedge meadows, marshes, and intertidal mud flats.
Mammals
Back from the coast are brushy thickets where
black bears use the refuge, feeding particularly on early spring vegetation near salt marshes and sedge meadows. Beaver, mink, otter, muskrat, coyote, and wolf
can also be found. Trapping is a regular winter activity on the refuge.
Several hundred white
beluga whales concentrate in an area extending from the Little Susitna River to the Beluga River, between late May and June. The beluga gather in these nearshore waters to calve, breed, and feed on the large runs of eulachon
(“hooligan”) fish that return to spawn in the Susitna River.
Fish
The Susitna River and its tributaries support the second largest salmon-producing system within Cook Inlet. In the summer, set net fishing sites dot the shoreline of the refuge.
An impressive 40,000 user-days of sport fishing effort are expended on the
Ship Creek
.
The Theodore and Lewis rivers are popular fly-in fishing streams for
king salmon
from late May through June. Combined, these rivers annually provide approximately 7,000 user-days fishing effort and a harvest of 1,000 king salmon.
See also
- Alaska State Parksthat provide access to the Refuge
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game
References
Refuges and Sanctuaries in Alaska | ||
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| Critical Habitat Areas | ||
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