Togiak National Wildlife Refuge
The Togiak National Wildlife Refuge is a 16,604 km ² protected area of the National Wildlife Refuge System in Southwest Alaska. It extends from the Bristol Bay in the south until the Yukon - Kuskokwim Delta in the north. Refuges are part of the Ahklun Mountains to the north, the Nushagak Peninsula, 35 rivers - including Kanektok, Goodnews and Togiak River - as well as nearly 1,000 km of coastline on the Bering Sea. To the east of Wood - Tikchik State Park is adjacent to the Refuge.
With an area of 9,200 km ², almost half of the Refuges is as Wilderness Area, the strictest class of natural protected areas of the United States, reported.
Wildlife
In the area of the protected area 48 mammal species are native, including 17 marine mammals. 150,000 caribou of two large herds, the Nushagak Peninsula and the Mulchatna, roam the land. In addition to wolves, moose, brown and black bears and wolverines, red foxes, marmots, beavers, porcupines and other land mammals live here.
About 200 bird species have been observed in the region of the Refuges, including endangered species such as plush duck head or Steller's eider.
Pacific walruses live on the coast and in the sea off the Refuge. In Cape Peirce in the extreme southwest of the protected area up to 12,000 animals gather. Also, Steller sea lions, seals and sea lions - largha have a habitat.
History
Excavations indicate a continuous settlement of the region around Togiak for over 2000 years. In Security Cove up to 5000 years old traces of human presence were found. The first contact of Alaska Natives in southwestern Alaska with Europeans took place in 1778, when James Cook visited the area.
Before the area was a protected area, it was in the public domain under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management. 1969, a part of today's Togiak National Wildlife Refuge as a National Wildlife Refuge Cape Newenham was placed under protection. In 1980, the 1070 km ² of Cape Newenham NWR under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act extends to today's 19,000 km ² and the name was changed to " Togiak ".