The Innoko National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge of the United States located in western Alaska. It consists of 3,850,481 acres (15,582&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 1,240,000 acres (5,018&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is designated a wilderness area. It is the fifth-largest national wildlife refuge in the United States. The refuge is administered from offices in Galena.

The refuge was established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The northern part of the refuge, called Kaiyuh Flats, is adjacent to the Yukon River southwest of Galena. It contains 751,000 acres (3,040&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>). The southern part contains approximately 3,099,000 acres (12,540&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land surrounding the Innoko River. The land is swampy and is the nesting area for hundreds of thousands of birds including ospreys, northern hawk-owls, trumpeter swans, bald eagles, common ravens, short-eared owls, and red-tailed hawks. Mammalian species that habitat this refuge are brown and black bears, moose, wolves, Canadian lynx, marten, porcupine, beaver, caribou, river otter, red fox, wolverine, muskrat, and mink.

The refuge has no road access from outside and contains no roads. Air access can be arranged in McGrath.

<gallery>

File:Cloudy Mountains Innoko NWR.jpg|Mountains

File:Meandering River 2 Innoko NWR.jpg|River

File:Innoko Refuge Wetlands.jpg|Wetlands

File:Kaiyuh flats alaska aerial.jpg|Aerial view

</gallery>

References

  • Wood Bison Restoration in Alaska: Status of the Herd Updates Alaska Department of Fish and Game