Lake Clark National Park ⓘ

For many generations the Dena’ina people have passed down the values and techniques necessary to sustain their culture and way of life. To this day, Dena’ina people continue to lead lives which are tied inextricably to this place. The traditional knowledge passed down by generations of elders comes from a communal understanding of this ecosystem, a commitment to core values and beliefs, and a constant ability to creatively solve problems using only what is available in such a remote place. The phrase Ye’uh qach’dalts’iyi means 'what we live on from the outdoors.' It refers to traditional knowledge about harvesting animals, plants, and fish which has been passed down through time. It also refers to the many other ways Dena’ina people interact with their landscape. In Dena’ina traditions, all things are connected. Ye’uh qach’dalts’iyi encompasses spirituality, language, history, traditions, and the foundation of the Dena’ina people.

Lake Clark's abundance of natural resources are the backbone of life and economy for people in Southwest Alaska.

Today, as in the past, many Alaskans live off the land, relying on fish, wildlife, and other wild resources. Subsistence, and all it entails, is critical to sustaining both the physical and spiritual culture of modern Alaskans.

Lake Clark National Park & Preserve was created in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), which also provided for continued subsistence use of the park by local residents. Today people continue to use the area's rich resources in traditional ways.

ANILCA stipulates that local rural people may continue subsistence practices on federal lands, including the park and preserve. Subsistence Resource Councils made up of local residents advise National Park Service staff on policy development and implementation.

The National Park Service coordinates with other agencies and Regional Advisory Councils from across the state in federal subsistence management. Learn more about subsistence use throughout national parks in Alaska .

Throughout Alaska, management of subsistence use on federal lands (e.g., national parks) is largely handled through the Federal Subsistence Board . Board meetings are an opportunity to interact with people who oversee the program and to suggest proposals for changes to subsistence management.

Archeological, ethnographic, and historic research tell us that people first came to the Lake Clark region around the end of the last ice age. Dena'ina, Yup'ik, and Sugpiaq peoples, Russian explorers, gold prospectors, trappers, aviators, and American pioneers are the forebearers of today's residents.

Residents of communities around the Park and Preserve have hunted, fished, and gathered berries and other materials from the land for many generations. Six Resident Zone Communities are identified for Lake Clark National Park and Preserve:

English is primarily spoken throughout the area now, but there are still Dena'ina and Yup'ik speakers in these rural areas as well. The majority of the residents in these villages are Dena'ina, an Athabascan-speaking people, but there is a mix of various ethnicities throughout the area. While Nondalton and Lime Village are primarily Dena'ina, Newhalen is primarily Yup'ik speaking. Iliamna is home to Dena'ina, Yup'ik, European American and people of other ethnic groups.

Port Alsworth is where the Park Headquarters and Visitor Center are located. It has a large European American base, and a unique history of developing around mining and trapping interests, but has also been home to a core of Dena'ina families from the north. The current land status divisions in and around Lake Clark National Park & Preserve is a complicated quilt of various kinds of land ownership. There are homesteads, Native allotments, lands and subsurface rights claimed by village or regional Native corporations, and navigable waters controlled by the state. Prior to these divisions, and for many years into the distant past, lands that now make up Lake Clark National Park & Preserve were occupied by communities of people who settled primarily on the shores of lakes, along rivers, and at the confluence of rivers and streams.

At Lake Clark, the NPS preserves objects that tell the story of our history in the museum collections, everything from historic photos to crayon drawings to birch bark baskets. The long-term preservation of objects for posterity depends on material types -- what the objects are made of. Different materials like distinct storage conditions and curatorial staff ensures the museum objects are stored according to NPS standards and are kept safe for current and future generations. The Lake Clark National Park and Preserve museum collections consists of more than 200,000 objects-from an impressive herbarium collection to the many journals, letters, and objects of Richard Proenneke.

Collections staff also care for archeological artifacts from extensive surveys, over 2,000 historic photographs, a rich collection of oral history interviews, fossils, archives, preserved small mammals, and other items reflecting the cultural and natural history of this unique place.

Many of these items are fragile and require special conservation. The museum specialists at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve ensure that these irreplaceable pieces of the past will be available to future generations. Contact us if you are interested in doing research or for a tour of the collections.

"RESPECT the land. And RESPECT the water. The land, it’s like part of us. You need to treat it right. You don’t just kill animals. You only kill what you need and show your RESPECT.

You don’t even tease a moose. We have a lot of stories about that: kids teased a moose and the game all went away. [It’s all about] RESPECT. Thousands of caribou used to come here... they stopped because people mistreated them...

Animals, you have to take care of them. If you don’t treat them right, they will go away from you. They give themselves to you [willingly], but they watch. They watch how they are treated, and if you don’t treat them right they will go."

Conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, the Bristol Bay Native Association, and the National Park Service, this study documented the fishing strategies of four families within the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve's Resident Zone Communities.

The communities shared information about the environmental and economic circumstances that factor into their subsistence. Also, the significance of salmon to their cultural values, social obligations, and commitments to community and culture.

Dick first visited Upper Twin Lake in 1962 at the invite of his friends Spike and Hope Carrithers of Kodiak, Alaska. Proenneke continued to vacation with them at their cabin on Upper Twin Lake in subsequent years. After an eye injury that threatened to leave him blind in the late 1960s Proenneke wanted to put down roots far from civilization by building his own cabin amid the natural beauty of the Twin Lakes region.

Proenneke arrived at the Carrither's on Upper Twin Lake in 1967 at the age of 51 determined to scout out the best construction site for his own cabin. The ideal location was 200 yards west of the Carrither's guest cabin. Another friend from Kodiak, Herb Wright, had applied for a Small Track Lease on the site in 1960; however, in a sad turn of events, Wright became terminally ill. He encouraged Proenneke to use the site instead. That summer Proenneke harvested spruce trees and in 1968 he began construction on what would become his cabin and wilderness home during the next thirty years. A master craftsman dedicated to living simply on the land, he used local materials, simple tools, and human ingenuity to craft a home and life in keeping with the wilderness. Proenneke chose to live in this isolated wilderness without electricity, running water, telephone, or other modern 'necessities.'

Dick brought a keen sense of curiosity with him to Twin Lakes. Without the distractions of modern life, he was able to hone in on the natural world around him. Dick meticulously recorded his observations of weather, wildlife, and even other human visitors. He came to know the landscape around him intimately, observing the changing seasons, wildlife patterns, and weather variations from year to year.

Despite his remote location and fierce independence, Dick was not a hermit; he maintained friendships and wrote back to anyone who sent him a letter. He saw his correspondence, films, and journals as a way to share a life untethered to the commercial world. His observations have inspired several books and videos.

I had always wanted to be a sailor and I really wanted to go to sea, in fact I longed to be on the boat. So inasmuch as all the canneries except Nakat operated their own ships to Alaska, I decided the best way to start would be to take a trip to Alaska, just get on a ship . . . Here again, I had to fib a little. I suddenly became 19 instead of 16. - Stan Tarrant

The Canneries, Cabins, and Caches of Bristol Bay, Alaska chronicles the world's greatest concentration of salmon and canneries and their influence on Native and non-Native people in southwestern Alaska. This book documents long abandoned canneries, and those still in use, during the hey-day in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with maps, historic photographs, and first hand accounts that give the reader an impression of the unique Bristol Bay way of life.

The Canneries, Cabins, and Caches of Bristol Bay, Alaska also offers a view of life upriver, during the winter, along the length and breadth of the three great salmon rivers in the Bay, The Nushagak, the Kvichak, and the Naknek. Historic photographs document a variety of cabins, houses, caches, and some of the people who built them and relied on them for shelter and storage.

Outstanding characters of the Bristol Bay region from the past 120 years come alive in these pages. Journey back to a simpler time to the great sailboat fishery, and follow some of the men and women who harvested the seemingly inexhaustible supply of salmon in the summer and spent their winters trapping, hunting, and mushing dogs in the isolated paradise of the Bristol Bay country.

Author: John B. Branson, historian for Lake Clark National Park & Preserve 1st edition: 2007 published by the National Park Service (out of print) 2nd edition: 2009 published by the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp.

Dena'ina Ełnena, A Celebration is a story of the Dena'ina Athabascan people. It presents Dena'ina names that their ancestors placed across miles of the surrounding environment. This cultural atlas features traditional stories, essays, maps, photographs, and illustrations that demonstrate cultural ties to the land. It is presented based on the seasonal definitions used by the Dena'ina and rooted in a perspective that has unfolded through the unique use of the Dena'ina language.

The book's content and arrangement were developed through the guidance and recommendations from a local steering committee consisting of members from six of the communities represented here. All the people on the committee continue to live a traditional lifestyle, although not the same as our ancestors. They hunt, fish, camp, and share food gathered from the land. The perspective these committee members bring allowed this book to be presented and understandable to the Dena'ina people and respectful of how the ancestors might like to see their words, stories, and language represented.

Editor: Karen E. Evanoff, Cultural Anthropologist for Lake Clark National Park and Preserve 1st Edition Publisher: National Park Service, 2010

Alaska Natives have lived in south central Alaska for thousands of years. Historic and current residents are primarily Dena'ina Athabascan, with some Yup'ik speaking peoples along the southern and western shores of Iliamna Lake. Their presence in and around newly established national park areas has meant the need for management practices that can address the complexity of cultural histories and life-ways with sensitivity and intelligence. The National Park Service seeks to develop materials that document past and current cultural heritage and to protect the material and structural remains of those cultures in and near Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

In this work the park's cultural anthropologist Karen Gaul gathered and shares information on a wide range on culturally important topics. The book gives an historical overview of the region, profiles area villages, explains subsistence-based culture and economy, explores family and community ties, examines identity as related to language, and identifies associations and meanings people have from living closely with the lands that are now protected by the park. This ethnohistory is meant to serve as a resource for community residents, park managers, and the greater public. It is a companion to West Cook Inlet: Ethnographic Overview and Assessment for Lake Clark National Park , which was published one year prior to this book.

Author: Karen Gaul, cultural anthropologist for Lake Clark National Park & Preserve 1st Edition Publisher: National Park Service, 2007

This report describes the culture and history of western Cook Inlet in southcentral Alaska. It is a companion to Nanutset ch'u Q'udi Gu (Before Our Time and Now): An Ehtnohistory of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve , which was published one year after this report. The primary goal is to identify the traditional and contemporary associations between the people and communities in and near the coastal and inland regions of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

Primary author Ron Stanek has worked with the Tyonek community and has documented subsistence practices in the region for 30 years. This initial comprehensive background study of types, uses, and users of ethnographic resources reviews existing information and identifies new data needs. The overview reviews and summarizes existing ethnographic data for people and resources; the assessment evaluates them and identifies data gaps. Information is derived primarily from existing archival and published materials and is supplemented with ethnographic interviewing of knowledgeable community consultants.

Authors: Ronald T. Stanek, James A. Fall, and Davin L. Holen 1st Edition Publisher: National Park Service, 2006

Despite having Lake Clark, Lake Clark Pass, and Clark's Point named after him, John W. Clark remained an enigma for over a century, seemingly lost to the annuls of time. Now for the first time, park historian John Branson sheds light on the park's namesake in this biography of a pioneer of nineteenth century western Alaska.

Though his early years remain largely obscure, his adult life offers a fascinating glimpse into nineteenth century Alaska as it emerged from the control of Russia and became part of the United States. Clark was a participant of many important enterprises in western Alaska, beginning by at least the summer of 1866 in St. Michael. He was one of the first permanent Euroamerican residents of Alaska, the first permanent English-speaking resident in the Bristol Bay region, and one of the very first resident "snow-birds" of Alaska.

Author: John Branson, historian for Lake Clark National Park & Preserve Publisher: National Park Service 1st Edition: 2012

"In a rock shelter on a dark night, the flames cast long shadows on the walls. Wood smoke swirls slightly in the soft night breeze, wreathing freshly painted human figures and animals on the wall in flickers and shadows. Only a few people are around the fire, listening to the shaman's chant. He beats a drum as he recites age-old tales of humans and whales, of people and animals. The listeners feel the power; painted figures on the rock face seem to come alive and move with the excitement and danger of the hunt. They spring to their feet, leap and dance, arms and legs outstretched, as the shaman enters a trance and invokes supernatural powers . . ."

Where We Found a Whale is a lavishly illustrated account of thousands of years of hitherto obscure Alaskan history, which places one of America's great national parks in a wider historical context. It tells the story of the diverse human groups who have settled around Lake Clark, in an area that became a frontier between Alutiiq maritime peoples and Dena'ina hunter-gathers.

The story begins with first human settlement many thousands of years ago, followed by appearance of early inland and maritime peoples around the outer Cook Inlet, and describes their increasingly sophisticated adaptations to a rich, but demanding environment. We learn how the Lake Clark region was a constantly shifting frontier between Alutiiq and Dena'ina groups, also of ancient whaling practices, and of the dramatic impact of European exploration and colonization on the region. Much of the story focuses on two unique, yet little known, sites in the park where whaling skippers painted vivid depictions of their hunts many centuries ago: Tuxedni rock shelter and Clam Cove cave.

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is dedicated to preserving history and passing along an appreciation of our shared history to the public and to the next generation. The Park has responsibilities that include stewardship of historic buildings, museum collections, archaeological sites, cultural landscapes, oral and written histories, and ethnographic resources. Archeologists, historic architects, curators, ethnographers, and historians work with the community to preserve these resources because they are important components of our shared national and personal identity.

Qizhjeh Vena, meaning ‘a place where people gathered lake’ in Dena’ina, is the original name of Lake Clark. The Athabascan people known as Dena’ina have lived in the Lake Clark region for thousands of years. The land and water supports, shapes and sustains their culture. Original place names like this help you see the land differently. They tell the story of the Dena’ina people–early events, changes with the influx of Russians, Europeans and Americans, and how they use this place in their way of life. Today, the Dena’ina people still rely heavily on the land for food and inspiration just as their ancestors did. In Alaska this is called ‘subsistence’.

Find out more about modern subsistence use in Lake Clark, or browse the information below to learn more about the people, places, and stories that make this such a unique part of the world.

Lake Clark's first people are of Alaska Native descent and came to this region a millennia ago. In more recent times, Russian explorers and missionaries arrived in the 18th century, quickly followed by prospectors, trappers, and entrepreneurs from Western Europe, Canada and the United States. Despite this relatively rapid exposure to the wider world, the native communities of the region retain their traditions and languages. Today's Lake Clark is a mix of various ethnicities, founded upon a collaborative history.

The park contains numerous sites with with special meanings, including places that are on the National Register of Historic Places. From ancestral trails to historic cabins and modern communities, explore the many special places in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

Whether they are historic --told down through generations of Alaskans-- or more recent and recorded, in the wilderness of Lake Clark stories often feature the conflict of person versus nature. We invite you to find inspiration and imagination by reading some of Lake Clark's most notable stories.

From oral history recording to historic journal editing to archeological surveys and musem collections, Lake Clark's team helps preserve America's history. Physical objects can tell as much of a story as a book or storyteller. The park's collections team preserves objects and specimens from a diverse range of subjects. These items tell the story Lake Clark's people, cultures, and history. Explore the park's natural and cultural museum collection.

A full compliment of subarctic fish, wildlife,and plant species make their homes in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve's various ecosystems. Salmon pass through tidal estuaries on their way to spawning grounds in mountain lakes and streams, chased by hungry seals and brown bears. Dall sheep share treacherous mountain slopes with delicate alpine wildflowers. Once-endangered peregrine falcons occupy eyries on cliffs where they can easily hunt migrating and nesting waterfowl. Follow the links below to explore the plants and animals of the park and preserve.

795 vascular plant species grow in Lake Clark alongside many other species of lichens, fungi, mosses, and liverworts.

Lynx and eagles and bears; oh my! Lake Clark's intact ecosystems support a full complement of sub-arctic fish and wildlife species.

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a place where natural processes dominate. Four of the five biotic communities found in Alaska - coastal, lakes/rivers/wetlands, tundra, and boreal forest - exist in the park. Two active volcanoes - Mount Iliamna and Mount Redoubt - tower above the landscape. Glaciers wind their way down into valleys where the Alaska and Aleutian ranges join. Follow the links below to explore the ecology of the park and preserve.

Discover environmental issues that can impact the park, including air, light, or water pollution, non-native species, & geologic processes.

Explore Lake Clark's volcanoes, mountains, glaciers, forests, fossils, and other natural features and ecosystems.

A bear splashes into a stream and emerges with a spawning salmon ... tundra swans glide elegantly across a boggy pond ... a porcupine curls up and shows his quills to a curious hiker ... a sharp-shinned hawk dives on a redback vole ... wolves howl into the winter night. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve teems with wildlife. Among the reasons congress set aside Lake Clark as a national park and preserve was to protect habitat for wilderness dependent populations of fish and wildlife. The area's intact ecosystems support a full complement of sub-arctic wildlife species, none of which are endangered or invasive species.

Thirty-seven species of terrestrial mammals are believed to be present in the Lake Clark region and five different marine mammal species use haul-out sites or feeding areas along the coast. To learn more, look through the following links:

Salmon, rainbow trout, and arctic grayling are among the twenty-five species of freshwater and anadromous fish spend part or all of their lives in the park and preserve’s waterways. Anadromous fish are born in fresh water, spend most of their lives in the ocean, and return to fresh water to spawn. To learn more, look through the following links:

The state of Alaska offers the following wildlife viewing ethics guidelines . Pledge to uphold them and keep the wildlife wild!

See the lists of mammals, fish, birds, and other wildlife species that live in Lake Clark using the search box below.

Concern has been growing about air quality in areas of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, particularly along the coast. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages Tuxedni Wilderness (part of the Alaska Maritime Wildlife Refuge ) adjacent to the parklands, has begun monitoring air quality in cooperation with the National Park Service and the State of Alaska.

Potential air pollution threats to Tuxedni include oil and gas development in Alaska, especially in the Cook Inlet, and long-range transport of air pollutants from other sources, including sources in Asia. Pollutant haze may obscure visibility at the wilderness area part of the time. Although Lake Clark is mostly uninhabited wilderness, it is impacted by human activities around the globe.

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is essentially free of light pollution caused by human activity. Stars and the aurora borealis , however, are much less visible in the summer. Long subarctic summer days mean that the sky is only dark for a few hours at a time. Short winter days offer the longest periods of darkness and the best chance at stargazing.

There are 30 species of non-native vascular plants within Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. Most of the plants are not considered to be highly invasive or problematic. There is an effort to eradicate the common dandelion from Upper Twin Lakes. There are no known species of non-native animals that are free roaming within the unit. Elodea, however, is one species of invasive plant that is adept in choking out native vegetation. Click to learn more about Elodea .

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve protects approximately 4 million acres of undisturbed public land characterized by scenic vistas such as;rugged mountain peaks and spires, glaciers, an ocean coast, deep valleys and lakes, high tundra, wild rivers, and a wide cross-section of flora and fauna. Most visitors to the park and preserve experience scenic vistas by flying in by small airplane and either hiking, boating, fishing, or camping in the area. Scenic vistas are for the most part intact, but are threatened by development activities outside of the park. View photos of some of Lake Clark's endless scenery.

The Lake Clark region is tectonically active. There are two active volcanoes within the park, Mt. Iliamna and Mt. Redoubt, and two others just outside the park, Mt. St. Augustine to the south and Mt. Spurr to the north. In addition to the risk to plants, animals, and people from volcanic eruption, a tectonically active zone can experience earthquakes, land subsidence or uplift, and tsunamis. When subsidence, uplift, or tsunamis occur, erosion can harm archeological and historic sites as well as natural habitats. Learn more about volcanoes in the park .

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is located in a hydrologically complex environment where there are many glaciers and several active volcanoes. The park contains diverse fresh water resources including three Wild and Scenic Rivers, 14 lakes larger than 1000 acres, and another 860 waterbodies from 2.5 to 1000 acres.

The park and preserve was created to "...protect the watershed necessary for the perpetuation of the sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) in Bristol Bay, maintain the scenic beauty and quality of portions of the Alaska Range and Aleutian Range, including active volcanoes, glaciers, wild rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and alpine meadows in their natural state." We must protect water quality because it supports the core mission of the park.

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve's 4 million acres include the north end of the Alaska Peninsula in south-central Alaska. The park straddles the Chigmit Mountains, bridging the Aleutian Range to the southwest and the Alaska Range to the north. Mountainous terrain rises from the coastline of western Cook Inlet, framed by rugged peaks and spires, glaciers, and snow-clad volcanoes. West of the mountains lies a region characterized by braided glacial rivers, cascading streams, waterfalls, turquoise lakes, boreal forest and tundra. Unique environmental features and ecosystems support this untamed wilderness.

The park's lakes, rivers, and streams protect the water quality and significant portions of the headwaters spawning grounds of the world's greatest salmon runs of Bristol Bay. Both the Kvichak and Nushagak Rivers flowing into Bristol Bay find their headwaters in the park and preserve.

Along the Cook Inlet coastline unique and isolated meadows form at the base of towering volcanoes from Lake Clark National Park and Preserve down the coast through Katmai National Park and Preserve. Spring sedges in the meadows provide essential protein for bears emerging from their dens before the summer silver salmon runs begin in the adjacent rivers. Stunning concentrations of coastal brown bears live in these unique environments.

The park's active volcanoes are constantly monitored by the Alaska Volcano Observatory of the United States Geological Survey. Redoubt Volcano most recently erupted in 2009 spewing ash across southcentral Alaska and mudflows down the Drift River.

In the western portion of the park and preserve lies a land of boreal forest and tundra, both circumpolar biomes of northern latitudes. The human boundaries that define the park and preserve are but artificial lines on a map. This is never more apparent than in the boreal forest and tundra ecosystems where wolves, bears, and other wildlife travel enormous distances to eke out a living, where winds blow from every direction, and interconnected surface and groundwater systems flow in complicated and unknown ways.

The park was was in part established to protect a portion of the Bristol Bay watershed for the perpetuation of the sockeye salmon fishery.

Lake Clark's skies are filled with birds. Each spring the forests echo with uncountable songs. Their wing-beats flash in hypnotizing patterns along the seashore as they gather in large flocks during fall and spring migration. The tundra resounds with the calls of species nesting among the swarms of delicious mosquitoes. The winter's quiet is broken by the squawk of a year-round resident. In total 187 species of raptors, waterfowl, seabirds, shorebirds, and songbirds have been documented in the park and preserve.

Waterfowl nest and molt in wetlands throughout the area. Large migratory flocks of ducks, swans, and geese rest and feed in the park and preserve before flying from Nikabuna Lakes to Lake Clark through low mountain passes in the Chulitna River drainage. Sea ducks, primarily white-winged and surf scoters, are the most abundant waterfowl on the coast, numbering over 18,000 in mid-August.

The coast also provides important breeding habitat for mallards, American wigeon, Barrow's golden-eye, and red-throated loons. Migrating dabbling ducks number 3,000-4,000 in spring and fall. Diving ducks, primarily greater and lesser scaup, stage along the coast in spring. They reach peak abundance (16,400 birds) in mid-May. Other ducks include green-winged teal, northern pintail, harlequin, common golden-eye, black scoter, common eider, bufflehead, and long-tailed duck. About 30 pairs of trumpeter swans nest in the park and preserve; most breed in wetlands on the coast. Canada geese occur in Tuxedni Bay and can number about 4,400 during fall migration. Seabird breeding colonies occur along Cook Inlet and concentrate at Tuxedni and Chinitna Bays. Of the seven seabird colonies surveyed from 1994 to 1996, the largest contained 2,700 black-legged kittiwakes. Less numerous seabirds include horned and tufted puffins, double-crested cormorants, pelagic cormorants, glaucous-winged gulls, common murres, and pigeon guillemots. During spring migration, 86,000 to 122,000 shorebirds, primarily western sandpipers and dunlin, use intertidal mud flats in Tuxedni and Chinitna Bays.

Raptors are carnivorous birds. Raptors include birds ranging from bald and golden eagles, northern goshawks, owls, and merlins, but the three common characteristics all raptors share are a hooked beak, eight sharp talons, and keen eyesight. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is special for migrating and nesting raptors. About 50 pairs of bald eagles and 5-10 pairs of golden eagles are known to nest in the park and preserve. Bald eagles are considered a "vital sign" for the park's ecological health because they are an indicator of many environmental conditions that affect other species. Potential threats to eagle breeding populations include oil spills and exposure to environmental contaminants, increasing human visitation, incidental trapping, and potential climate change effects. The National Park Service's Southwest Alaska Network actively studies bald eagles in the area and finds populations to be generally stable . Other nesting birds include two pairs of osprey in the preserve and the once-endangered peregrine falcons nesting in eyries on cliffs along interior lakes and rivers, and at Tuxedni Bay.

Spectacular wilderness adventure is easy to find in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. Here you can dip your paddle, spin a fly rod, stretch your legs, or just watch wildness in motion. Whether it is by land, water or sky, figuring out what you want your adventure to be is the first step on a journey in the park.

Port Alsworth is home to Lake Clark's Field Headquarters and the park's only established trail system.

Bear viewing is one of the park's most popular activities. Watch "A Day on the Lake Clark Coastline" and learn more about best practices.

The park offers outstanding tundra hiking with both base-camping and point to point backpacking trip options.

Find information about fees, passes, permits, reservations, operating hours and seasons, current conditions, weather, and pet policies.

Lake Clark's first public use cabin is open for reservations. The Priest Rock Cabin is 8 miles from Port Alsworth.

Want to experience living like a historic prospector? Try it for yourself by reserving Lake Clark's newest public use cabin.

Sport hunting and trapping are permitted in the national preserve. State of Alaska rules and regulations apply.

Find where to fish and what species live in specific lakes and rivers around the region.

The park's most visited destination is deep in the wild. Here's how to prepare for a safe trip to this remote and scenic location.

Many Alaskans think of rivers as travel corridors whether they are frozen for easy winter travel or flowing in the summer.

There are no bridges in Lake Clark. Although fording wild rivers presents many challenges, it is also part of true wilderness hiking.