Alaska
Admiralty Island National Monument - History
By Sarah Lane
Oct 19, 2005, 16:58

Admiralty Island National Monument - History

Admiralty Island was designated a national monument by an act of Congress in 1980 in the Alaska National Interest Lands Claims Act. Many groups, such as “Alaska Discovery” were fighting to keep Admiralty Island from being subjected to a pulp-logging contract by raising the public's appreciation of the area. They brought it into the public eye by conducting tours of the land, all the while placing an extreme emphasis on conservation. After several attempts by outsiders to take over the land, a few thousand acres were clear-cut, but more than 97% of the island was spared when Admiralty Island was designated a National Monument. It contains an astounding 955,921 acres.

The actual monument is located between Stephan’s Passage and the Chatham Strait, 15 miles southeast of the Alaskan capital of Juneau. The majority of the wilderness is spruce-hemlock rainforest and home to about 1,500 Alaskan Brown Bears! The most famous place to view the bears is at Pack Creek on the west shore of Seymour Canal.

There are only two national forests in Alaska, and they are the largest in the nation. They are the Tongass & Chugach. The Tongass includes the many forested islands of Southeast Alaska, Admiralty Island, and Juneau. The extreme remoteness and dense coastal forests create a natural fortress around the National Monument. 956,051 acres (approximately 1600 square miles) of Admiralty Island National Monument are designated as the Kootznoowoo Wilderness.

Recreation is, of course, a major attraction with many safe places to anchor. You can enjoy bear viewing, wilderness exploration, hiking, hunting, coastal kayaking, canoeing, photographing, fishing, and beachcombing on your visit. So how do you access this National Monument? You can take a tour, go by kayak, or charter boats or float planes. There is limited foot access from Angoon, but it probably isn’t the most practical way to travel in this region, since very wet rainforest conditions may ensue.

Source: USDA Forest Service, Alaska Journey, Recreation.gov, Alaska Discovery
Our thanks to George Schaaf, Wilderness Ranger, from Admiralty National Monument for helping us find the correct information on this beautiful national monument.