A panoramic view of Black Lake
Photo by The Conservation Fund
For the past 30 years The Conservation Fund has been a leader in land conservation, protecting over 7,000,000 acres across America. Nowhere are these efforts more important than in Alaska, where drilling and mining concerns threaten to scar the pristine landscape.
Here is an update from our friend, Alaska Director Glenn Elison, on some of the Conservation Funds most recent acquisitions:
- The Conservation Fund acquired an 80 acre tract at the mouth of a major spawning tributary that flows into Black Lake in the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge. The tract was one of the highest ranked conservation protection priorities in Southwest Alaska. The area has exceptional wild salmon and brown bear habitat. Black Lake is an important spawning area of the Chignik River system, one of the most robust salmon systems in Alaska.
- In Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, a 160 acre tract was acquired along Larsen Bay. This highly strategic property includes the start of the Karluk River Portage Trail. The Karluk River is internationally famous for its extraordinary runs of wild salmon and steelhead. The protected habitat provides great values for angler and other public access and brown bear habitat.
- On the Mulchatna River, a major tributary of the salmon rich Nushagak River in Southwest Alaska, 143 acres of high value riparian habitat were acquired to bolster the exceptional fisheries which include rainbow trout, dolly Varden and grayling in addition to all five species of Pacific salmon.
- Along Chagvan Bay in the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge 80 acres of excellent fish and wildlife habitat have been permanently protected.
All of the acquired habitat is permanently protected for conservation, provides public access for outstanding recreation, provides important subsistence resources and sustained opportunities for these important cultural activities for rural Alaskans, contributes to the economically vital commercial salmon fishing industry, and perhaps most importantly sustains the keystone role of wild salmon in Southwest Alaska’s ecology.
Orvis is proud to be a sponsor of The Conservation Fund.
An aerial view of the Mulchatna River
Photo by The Conservation Fund