Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR) is a 13,832 km² nature reserve that includes around 2500 islands, bays and reefs along the coast of the US state of Alaska . It stretches from Cape Lisburne in the northwest of the Lisburne Peninsula to Forrester Island in the south of the Alaska Panhandle and includes the coast off the Alaska Peninsula , the Kodiak Archipelago , the Pribilof Islands and the Aleutian Islands . The protected area is managed by the World Conservation Union in category IV ( biotope and species protection area ).
history
The Alaska Maritime Refuge has existed in its current form since 1980, when the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act brought eleven existing protected areas together with other regions into one large protected area. The origins go back to the beginning of the 20th century when the National Wildlife Refuge System was established under Theodore Roosevelt .
The Aleutian Islands WWII National Monument is located in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge . Like the National Wildlife Refuge, it is looked after by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service .
Wildlife
Approximately 75% of Alaska's native seabirds live in the AMNWR. An estimated 40 million seabirds, 80% of the North American seabird population, nest in this region. Even sea lions , seals , walruses and sea otters are found in the waters of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
Protected areas included
In 1968 the Simeonof National Wildlife Refuge, now part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, was designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service .
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(in brackets the respective year of foundation)
Classification
The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge is divided into five units , geographical areas:
Gulf of Alaska
- Forrester Island Wilderness ( Forrester Island , Lowrie Island , Wolf Rock )
- Hazy Islands Wilderness ( Hazy Islands )
- Saint Lazaria National Wildlife Refuge ( St. Lazaria Island )
- Middleton Island
- Chiswell Islands
- Tuxedni Wilderness ( Chisik Island , Duck Island)
- Barren Islands ( East Amatuli Island , West Amatuli Island , Ushagat Island and others)
- Trinity Islands ( Sitkinak Island , Tugidak Island and others)
Alaska Peninsula
- Sutwik Island
- Semidi Islands ( Aghik Island , Chowiet Island and others)
- Simeonof Island (part of the Shumagin Islands )
Aleutian Islands
- Much of the Aleutian Islands from Unimak Island in the east to Attu in the west
- Bogoslof Wilderness ( Bogoslof Island )
Bering Sea
- Hagemeister Island
- Pribilof Islands ( St. George Island , St. Paul Island , Otter Island , Walrus Island )
- Bering Sea Wilderness ( St. Matthew Island , Hall Island , Pinnacle Island )
- Besboro Island
- Sledge Island
- King Island
Chukchi Sea
Web links
- US Fish & Wildlife Service: Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (official site; English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (English)
- ↑ National Park Service: Simeonof National Wildlife Refuge , accessed on May 3, 2020 (English)