Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge

Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Chiniak Bay, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge
Location	Alaska, United States
Area	1,990,418 acres (8,054.94 km2)
Established	1941
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
kodiak.fws.gov

The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge in the Kodiak Archipelago in southwestern Alaska, United States.

The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge includes the southwestern two-thirds of Kodiak Island, Uganik Island, the Red Peaks area of Afognak Island and all of Ban Island in the archipelago. It encompasses 1,990,418 acres (8,054.94 km²). The refuge is administered from offices in Kodiak.

The refuge contains seven major rivers and about 100 streams. It is a spawning ground for all six species of Pacific Ocean salmon, trout and several other fish species, as well as a nesting ground for 250 species of bird, many of which feed on salmon. The refuge has only six native species of mammals: Kodiak brown bear, red fox, river otter, ermine, little brown bat and tundra vole. The non-native mammals Sitka deer, mountain goat, Roosevelt elk, snowshoe hare and beaver were introduced to the archipelago between the 1920s and 1950s and are now hunted and trapped.

Scenery, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge

The climate of the refuge is that of southern Alaska, mild and rainy. Many areas in the refuge are densely forested with Sitka Spruce at lower elevations. There are grasslands in drier areas and at higher elevations. The refuge contains several small glaciers.

The refuge has no road access from outside but contains part of a private road used for access to the Terror Lake hydroelectric facility. Public use of this road is prohibited.

See also

• List of largest National Wildlife Refuges

External links

• Official site: Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge
• Official Refuge Visitor Center Site: Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center