Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
This fabulous refuge contains 1.92 million acres of
wildlife preserve that is situated on the Kenai Peninsula that had
been created in 1941 as the Kenai Moose Range, changing its name and
scope in 1980 to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. This
magnificent land contains various types of terrain that includes
alpine areas, muskeg, taiga forests and many wetlands, as well as
protection of moose, caribou, wolves, mountain goats, brown and
black bears and dall sheep; along with thousands of native and
migratory birds. There are a few campgrounds, with a couple already
developed, boat launches and thousands of miles of outstanding
trails. Other wildlife that lives on the refuge include; Alaskan
marmot, coyote, red fox, lynx, wolverine, beaver, marten, pygmy
shrew, red squirrel, river otter, mink, little brown bat, porcupine,
ermine and snowshoe hare. The beautiful caribou has been missing
from the refuge for almost half a century, but in the 1960s, they
were reintroduced into the refuge and began to thrive, numbering
today at about 500. The Kenai NWR is one of the very few refuges in
the nation that support Dall sheep, numbering the 900 to 1300 range,
while sharing the mountainous ranges with mountain goats that number
in the 500 to 700 range. Another species that had disappeared
altogether on the refuge was the wolf that had disappeared entirely
by 1915, but then in the late 1960s, they began to return to the
area by themselves. The lynx is the only North American cat that
lives in the state, and can be seen only rarely if at all. This
refuge is a spectacular place to visit, with huge hordes of salmon
and trout thriving in the streams and rivers that run through the
refuge. The beautiful scenery is enough to bring folks here for a
visit that they will never forget, since there aren't any areas in
the lower 48 states that contains such vivid and luxurious natural
habitats.
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