Refuge Purposes

The Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act (ANILCA) established the 3.7 million acre Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge on December 2, 1980. Before that, the lands were part of the federal domain. ANILCA sets forth the following major purposes for which the Alaska Peninsula Refuge was established and shall be managed:

1. to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity including, but not limited to, brown bears, the Alaska Peninsula caribou herd, moose, sea otters and other marine mammals, shorebirds and other migratory birds, raptors, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons, and salmonids and other fish;
2. to fulfill the international treaty obligations of the United States with respect to fish and wildlife and their habitats;
3. to provide, in a manner consistent with the purposes set forth in subparagraphs (i) and (ii), the opportunity for continued subsistence uses by local residents;
4. to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable and in a manner consistent with the purposes set forth in paragraph (i), water quality and necessary water quality and necessary water quantity within the refuge.

In 1983, the Fish and Wildlife Service decided to manage the Ugashik and Chignik units of the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge, the Becharof Refuge, and the Seal Cape area of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge as a complex because they shared resources and because they shared resources and common issues. The administrative headquarters is located in King Salmon, Alaska. Because of distance and weather barriers, the Pavlof Unit of the Alaska Peninsula Refuge is managed by the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, headquartered in Cold Bay Alaska.

Last updated: April 30, 2008
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