Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve ⓘ

The Cultural Resources program at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve documents people in the park now and in the past, and helps preserve places with special history.

Although Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is remote and sparsely populated, people have lived here for thousands of years. Cultural resource professionals help share the stories of people who called the Wrangell Mountains home, then and now.

In Alaska, as in the rest of the United States, the National Park Service recognizes and manages five basic types of cultural resources:

Archeological Sites : Physical evidence of past human occupation or activity (the National Park Service recognizes two basic subcategories; prehistoric and historic archeological sites).

Cultural landscapes : Geographic areas associated with a historic event, activity, or person; or that exhibits other cultural or aesthetic values (this category includes designed, vernacular, and ethnographic landscapes). Cultural landscapes encompass both cultural and natural resources as well as any wildlife or domestic animals that have historic associations with the landscape.

Ethnographic Resources: Sites, structures, objects, landscapes, or natural features of traditional importance to a contemporary cultural group.

Museum Objects : Material things that possess scientific, historical, cultural, or aesthetic values (usually movable by nature or design).

Structures : Constructed works created to serve some human activity (usually immovable by nature or design - buildings, bridges, earthworks, roads, rock cairns, etc. - prehistoric or historic).

Alaska's Digital Archives Visit the Alaska Digital Archives to view historic photos

The National Park Service has a rich history! Go to the National Park Service's Park History Program to learn about the history of the NPS as well as oral histories, maritime history, and resources for research.

Spanning 13.2 million acres, Wrangell–St. Elias National Parkis home to one of the most diverse mammal communities in the continent!

The most common flower in Alaska is the fireweed, occurring in vibrant purple rows along the highways.

A natural light phenomena occurs when atomic solar particles strike and excite atoms in Earth’s atmosphere, which emits photons and color.

Wrangell-St. Elias is a wonderland of geology. Massive peaks, volcanoes, and countless glaciers!

The geological history of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve began over 200 million years ago.

Our natural resource specialists keep track of animal and plant species within the park. They are documented within a database called NPSpecies. If you'd like to view or print out a checklist of species, please follow these directions:

If you'd like to learn more about current and past research in Alaska National Parks, check out Alaska Nature and Science . There are also scientific articles illustrated with photographs of Alaska′s spectacular scenery, wildlife, culture or history, and many describe innovative and traditional approaches to communicating knowledge through experiential learning, arts, humanities and technology.

Community and Copper in a Wild Land -- This book introduces the natural and cultural history of the Kennecott Valley. It provides an overview of the flora, fauna, and cultural history of the region.

With over 20,000 square miles of boreal spruce forest, muskegs, lakes, rivers, ocean shorelines, alder and willow thickets, alpine meadows, icefields, and glacial barrens, Wrangell-St. Elias provides rich habitat for many birds.

Long summer days, wide open spaces, and abundant food lure long-distance migrants through the Copper River Valley and along the rugged coastline each spring. Many stay to nest. Trumpeter swans, Canada geese, and a myriad of other waterfowl and shorebirds begin arriving in late April even before the snow melts. By early May, park forests are alive with birdsong as warblers and thrushes arrive and quickly establish nesting territories and find mates. By August, many birds are already beginning their long return to southern wintering grounds.

Common birds of the park's vast interior include willow and rock ptarmigan; spruce grouse; great horned, boreal, and northern hawk owls; woodpeckers such as the northern flicker and hairy woodpecker; gray jay; common raven; black billed magpie; hermit thrush; American robin; ruby crowned kinglet; yellow rumped and Wilson's warblers; white crowned sparrow and dark eyed junco.

As days shorten and the frigid winter of the Alaskan interior arrives, only the hardiest 34 species remain. Foraging chickadees, redpolls, and pine grosbeaks can be heard on all but the coldest of days.

The coastal areas of Wrangell-St. Elias contain a variety of additional species, including: Kittlitz's, ancient and marbled murrelets; harlequin ducks; black and white-winged scoters; arctic, common, and Caspian terns; parasitic and Pomarine jaegers; numerous gulls; black and pigeon guillemots; black oystercatchers. Icy Bay and the Malaspina Forelands contains an important population of Kittlitz's murrelets , a declining species that has been petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

If you see a bird in the park that is not on our bird checklist, we'd like to know! Download a Wrangell-St. Elias Rare Bird Report Form (pdf format, 88 KB) and send it to us with as much information as you can include. If you have a picture to send with the report form, that is even better.

Birds in and around Wrangell-St. Elias National Park have been surveyed as part of the North American Breeding Bird Surveys . Survey routes at Kenny Lake (near Chitina) show 93 species of birds ranging from Rufous Hummingbirds to Sandhill Cranes.

All About Birds : Visit The Cornell Lab of Ornithology to learn all about birds of North America!

The most common flower in Alaska appears to be the fireweed, occurring in vibrant purple rows along the highways. In the Wrangells, there represents 54% of the Alaskan flora (which has approximately 1535 species) and 69% of the Yukon Territory flora. The high diversity of sub-arctic plant communities in Wrangell-St. Elias is due in part to its large size, the three climatic zones it covers (maritime, transitional and interior), the wide variety of landforms, and the extensive and complex topographic relief found within its boundaries. Some regions of the park have a strong coastal influence, particularly in the Chugach-St. Elias and southern Wrangell Mountains. The extent of the Pleistocene glaciation has had a major effect on the distribution and composition of the flora of the park, most of which was glaciated during the last ice age.

A recent inventory of the park's flora indicates that there are 936 vascular plant species. The sedge family has the highest number of species (111) in the park, followed by the grass family (79), the sunflower family (86) and the mustard family (74). There are 13 tree species, 27 willow species and 43 introduced species in the park. The park also has 327 documented non-vascular plants including 31 species of liverwort, 131 species of lichen and 165 species of moss.

Our biologists and ecologists keep track of plant species within the park. They are documented within a database called NPSpecies. If you'd like to view or print out the most updated checklist of plant species, please follow these directions:

Wrangell-St. Elias is home to many species of mammals, and contains one of the largest concentrations of Dall sheep in North America — some 13,000 sheep in excellent habitat. Look for them along rocky ridges and mountainsides. Moose are often seen near willow bogs and lakes. Other species of large mammals include mountain goats, caribou, wolves, and two herds of transplanted bison.

One of the things that makes Alaska so special is that all three species of North American bears flourish here. There is a chance that you may be lucky enough to see a bear. But even if you don't you will never be far from one, because Alaska is bear country!

Grizzly/Brown Bears are found from the islands of southeastern Alaska to the arctic. Brown Bears inhabit most of Alaska's forests as well as coastal areas. Black Bears also inhabit most of Alaska's forests but do not inhabit the Seward Peninsula or north of the Brooks Range. Polar Bears frequent the pack ice and tundra of extreme northern and western Alaska.

Bears are curious, intelligent and potentially dangerous animals, but undue fear of bears can endanger both bears and people. Many bears are killed each year by people who are afraid of them. Respecting bears and learning proper behavior in their territory will help so that if you encounter a bear, neither of you will suffer needlessly from the experience.

Most bears tend to avoid people. In most cases, if you give a bear the opportunity to avoid you, it will. Many bears live in Alaska and many people enjoy the outdoors, but surprisingly few people even see bears. Only a tiny percentage of those few are ever threatened by a bear. A study by the state epidemiology department showed that more people are attacked by dogs than by bears. Most people who see a bear in the wild consider it the highlight of their trip. The presence of these majestic creatures is a reminder of how privileged we are to share some of the country's most amazing wilderness.

Black bears and brown bears (grizzlies) are found throughout the park and preserve. Grizzlies are yellowish-brown to black and some have white-tipped hairs, giving them a grizzled appearance. The bears' height at the shoulders ranges from about 4.5 feet to six or seven feet, and they weigh between 300 and 1,500 pounds. When standing they may measure up to nine feet tall. They have a large hump of muscle above their shoulders which helps them dig up one of their favorite foods...ground squirrels. Other foods vary by the season and include grasses, roots, berries, nuts, insects, salmon, rodents, and sometimes large mammals (moose, caribou, Dall sheep).Brown bears can conceal themselves remarkably well in the low brush along hill sides. Bears are actively hunted throughout Alaska and tend to be shy around people, but they will aggressively defend their young or their food if surprised or approached too closely. They have an excellent sense of smell, good hearing, and are extremely powerful. They are naturally curious, and caution should be taken when in their presence. Before heading into the backcountry, know how to be " bear aware ."

Small mammals found in the park and preserve include lynx, wolverine, beaver, marten, porcupine, fox, coyotes, marmots, river otters, ground squirrels, pikas, and voles.

The coastal areas of the park are habitat for marine mammals, including sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, porpoises, and whales.

The park is home to the boreal forest, which is one of the largest ecosystems in the world. Covering about 13 percent of world, mostly in the northern climates, this ecosystem consists of a mixed spruce, aspen, and balsam poplar forest composition with muskeg and tussocks. The ecosystem is influenced by the geologic processes that created the park.

Powerful geologic forces driving the collision of crustal plates created the dramatic landscape of this park. These powerful forces continue to be countered by the eroding power of flowing rivers and massive glaciers...literally, rivers of ice.

The geological history of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve began over 200 million years ago. Much of the geological evidence lies undiscovered, buried under thick ice fields or blankets of volcanic ash. Rivers here have both exposed and carried away clues to the region's ancient history. Click on the links below for more information: Volcanoes Glaciers Watersheds Forests Permafrost Rivers & Streams

Our wildlife biologists keep track of mammal species within the park. They are documented within a database called NPSpecies. If you'd like to view or print out the most updated checklist of mammal species, please follow these directions:

The US Fish and Wildlife Service lists 10 endangered and threatened species in the state of Alaska. The only federally listed mammals that could occur within Wrangell-St. Elias are marine mammals with jurisdictional responsibilities with National Marine Fisheries (NMF) and National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS).

The eastern distinct population segment of the Steller Sea Lion ( Eumetopias jubatus ), formerly listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, can occur along coastal Wrangell-St. Elias including Icy Bay. Increasing cruise ship activity in Icy Bay suggests that Wrangell-St. Elias will need to maintain awareness of trends in cruise ship activity and the population status of Steller sea lions and other sensitive coastal wildlife.

During the Ice Age, steppe bison, the ancestors of modern bison, migrated into Alaska from Asia, crossing the Bering Land Corridor. Far larger than modern buffalo, with longer horns, these giant herbivores shared the tundra of prehistoric Alaska with wild horses, wooly mammoths, and western camels.

As ice sheets advanced and retreated, the migratory bison dispersed across North America. Temporary advancements of glaciers isolated populations, and bison evolved into two subspecies, wood bison and the smaller plains bison. The giant longhorn steppe bison became extinct.

Wood bison adapted to life in the north, grazing in the boreal meadows and forests of Alaska and Canada. The smaller plains bison thrived further south, and formed the famous buffalo herds of the American Great Plains.

Wood bison disappeared from Alaska several hundred years ago, probably the result of hunting and changing habitat.

In 1928, twenty three plains bison from Montana were introduced at Delta Junction. At the time they were introduced, it was not known that a small population of wood bison existed in Canada. State wildlife biologists are working to reintroduce these northern adapted giants to part of their former range in Alaska, and animals from the Canadian herd have been selected to pioneer this new Alaska herd.

Four herds of plains bison totaling about 900 animals graze in Alaska. The largest herd is near Delta Junction, and smaller herds have been established by translocation from the Delta herd to Farewell, Chitina River, and the Copper River. More info: AK Dept Fish & Game website >

Christmas Bird Count From December 14 through January 5 each year, tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations. Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission: the Christmas Bird Count. This is the longest running Citizen Science survey in the world. The Christmas Bird Count provides critical data on population trends.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve celebrated its 1st Annual Christmas Bird Count in 2011. Bird lovers from the local communities arrived at the park's visitor center to get outside, enjoy the winter's beauty, and track and count as many birds as they could. Armed with binoculars, bird guides, checklists, and an assigned count area they enjoyed a beautiful yet very cold December day. Thanks to everyone's participation it was a great success and a lot of fun. Fourteen observers spent 21.5 hours and covered 68 miles and saw 9 bird species totaling 325 birds throughout the day. The species that were observed were Pine Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, Common Ravens, Black-Capped Chickadees, Black-billed Magpies, Boreal Chickadees, Gray Jays, White-Winged Crossbills, and Hairy Woodpeckers.

There were two feeder observers who spent additional hours watching their feeders. Four species were seen during the count week that were not observed on count day. They included the Hoary Redpoll, White-Crowned Sparrow, Red-Breasted Nuthatch and Downy Woodpecker.

Find out more information about the Christmas Bird Count at the National Audubon Society .