Refuge Establishment

Congress established Nowitna Refuge in 1980 when it enacted the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). According to ANILCA the purposes for which the refuge was established and shall be managed include:

(i) to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity including, but not limited to, trumpeter swans, white-fronted geese, canvasbacks and other waterfowl and migratroy birds, moose, caribou, martens, wolverines and other furbearers, salmon, sheefish, and northern pike;

(ii) to fulfill the international treaty obligations of the United States with respect to fish and wildlife and their habitats;

(iii) to provide in a manner consistent with the purposes set forth in subparagraphs (i) and (ii), the opportunity for continued subsistence uses by local residents;

(iv) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable and in a manner consistent with the purposes set forth in paragraph (i), water quality and necessary water quantity within the refuge.

Headquarters for the Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge has been located in Galena, Alaska, since the refuge was established. In 1990, staffs of the Koyukuk and Nowitna Refuges were joined to create the Koyukuk/Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which also includes the Northern Unit of the Innoko Refuge, locally called Kaiyuh Flats.

Last updated: July 22, 2008