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69-672: Kenai Fjords National Park is a national park of the United States that comprises the Harding Icefield , its outflowing glaciers , and coastal fjords and islands. The park covers an area of 669,984 acres (1,046.9 sq mi; 2,711.3 km) on the Kenai Peninsula in south-central Alaska , west of the town of Seward . The park contains the Harding Icefield, one of the largest ice fields in

138-579: A cooperative relationship with the Alaska SeaLife Center , exchanging interpretive services. The park lies on the southeastern side of the Kenai Peninsula , about 130 miles (210 km) south of Anchorage. The nearest large town is Seward , immediately to the east of the park on Resurrection Bay . The park includes the region's deeply indented glaciated coastline and its interior icefields. The most significant fjords include Aialik Bay , Harris Bay , McCarty Fjord and Nuka Bay . Much of

207-561: A few hardy plants such as dwarf fireweed and yellow dryas . These pioneers are followed by other plants as the moss and lichen break rock down into soil. In particular, Sitka alder is capable of fixing nitrogen , supporting itself and enriching the soil. Willows also appear at this stage. Willows and alders are followed by black cottonwoods , then Sitka spruce . The mature forest features Sitka spruce and mountain hemlocks , with an understory of devil's club , Alaska blueberry , elderberry , baneberry , watermelon berry and lady fern in

276-447: A freeze on land transfers remained in effect. In 1966, Emil Notti called for a statewide meeting inviting numerous leaders around Alaska to gather and create the first meeting of a committee. The historic meeting was held October 18, 1966 - on the 99th anniversary of the transfer of Alaska from Russia. Notti presided over the three-day conference as it discussed matters of land recommendations, claims committees, and political challenges

345-461: A general management plan for the park was finalized, designating Exit Glacier as "front-country," the fjords as "back-country," and the icefield as wilderness. The park was initially administered by a small cadre of permanent and seasonal rangers and technicians who put considerable emphasis on community liaison. Under the provisions of ANILCA the park included 119,000 acres (185.9 sq mi; 481.6 km) of "native selected lands," property that

414-886: A long term by native peoples. The site proved to be particularly challenging to clean up without disturbing the area. List of national parks of the United States The United States has 63 national parks , which are congressionally designated protected areas operated by the National Park Service , an agency of the Department of the Interior . National parks are designated for their natural beauty, unique geological features, diverse ecosystems, and recreational opportunities, typically "because of some outstanding scenic feature or natural phenomena." While legislatively all units of

483-678: A new study entitled Operation Great Land , advocating the development and promotion of the existing Alaska parks. Follow-up action by Hartzog brought the Park Service into discussions over the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). The Kenai Fjords area was not considered to be of the first priority for park designation under the ANCSA. The earliest proposals for a national park at the Kenai Fjords

552-663: A pipeline to carry the oil across Alaska to the port of Valdez . At Valdez, the oil would be loaded onto tankers and shipped to the contiguous states. The plan had been approved, but a permit to construct the pipeline, which would cross lands involved in the land claims dispute, could not be granted until the Native claims were settled. Hearings were held for the first time before the United States House 's Subcommittee on Indian Affairs in July 1968. Among those who attended

621-560: A second time early in 1967, it emerged with a new name, The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN), and a new full-time President, Emil Notti. AFN went on to profoundly change the human rights and economic stability of the Alaska Native population. In 1967, Governor Walter Hickel summoned a group of Indigenous leaders and politicians to work out a settlement that would be satisfactory to Natives. The group met for ten days and asked for $ 20 million in exchange for requested lands. Among

690-399: A very slow rate of growth. Dwarf plants in this region include bog blueberry , partridgefoot , black crowberry and Aleutian mountainheath , all of which are vulnerable to damage from foot traffic. Kenai Fjords features an unusual estuary formed from the mix of glacial fresh water and seawater. The erosive power of the glaciers produces sediment as rock flour coloring the waters around

759-540: Is Gateway Arch National Park , Missouri , at 192.83 acres (0.7804 km ). The total area protected by national parks is approximately 52.4 million acres (212,000 km ), for an average of 833 thousand acres (3,370 km ) but a median of only 220 thousand acres (890 km ). The national parks set a visitation record in 2021, with more than 92 million visitors. Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee has been

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828-585: Is a relatively small and accessible park by Alaskan national park standards, about 88% as big as Yosemite National Park . It is the fifth most-visited park in Alaska, but the 11th of 13 Alaska parks in area, and is the closest national park to Anchorage. The park's headquarters is in Seward. It is the only Alaska national park that did not originally allow subsistence use by Native Americans, but native village corporations continue to have interests in inholdings within

897-412: Is between 750 and 1,000 feet (230 and 300 m) above sea level. The alpine regions support shrubby grown to alders, devil's club, elderberry, lady fern, cow parsnip and other plants. Herbaceous plants can grow in areas with better soils, supporting grasses, Nootka lupine , fireweed and other perennial plants. Higher alpine regions support a dwarf shrub community less than 1 foot (30 cm) high, at

966-717: Is dominated by a glaciated landscape. The park's glaciers have retreated through the twentieth century, exposing new lands to colonization by plant and animal life. The park also features a significant marine environment. Large terrestrial mammal species in the park include timber wolf , porcupine , Canadian lynx , brown bear , black bears , moose and mountain goat . Smaller mammals include coyote , beaver and river otter . Marine mammals include sea otter , harbor seal and Steller sea lion . Cetaceans seen in park waters include orca , fin whale , humpback whale , minke whales , Dall's porpoise and Pacific white-sided dolphin . Birds that nest in this park include bald eagle ,

1035-400: Is extensively glaciated, with 51% of the park covered by ice. The Harding Icefield receives 60 feet (18 m) of snowfall per year. More than thirty glaciers originate in the icefield, which first formed about 23,000 years ago. Icefield coverage has declined, with a 3% reduction in coverage over a 16-year study period. The park's largest glacier is Bear Glacier. The most accessible glacier, and

1104-676: Is only one of three national parks in Alaska that can be reached by road, via the Exit Glacier Nature Center. A network of trails from the Nature Center provide access to the glacier, and the 7.4-mile (11.9 km) Harding Icefield Trail. The park's landscape has been shaped by plate tectonics , with the Pacific Plate subducting beneath the North American Plate . The process has lowered

1173-591: The National Council on Indian Opportunity , headed by Vice President Spiro Agnew , which included eight Native leaders: Frank Belvin (Choctaw), Bergt (Iñupiat), Betty Mae Jumper (Seminole), Earl Old Person (Blackfeet), John C. Rainer (Taos Pueblo), Martin Seneca Jr. (Seneca), Harold Shunk (Yankton-Sioux), and Joseph C. "Lone Eagle" Vasquez (Apache-Sioux). During the state administration of Governor William A. Egan positions were staked out upon which

1242-486: The Peale's subspecies of peregrine falcon , black-billed magpie , and Steller's jay . Marine birds include tufted and horned puffin , common and thick-billed murre , and marbled murrelets . The plant communities at Kenai Fjords are shaped by glacial retreat. New lands exposed in former glacier beds are at first stony, lacking in soil. The first plants to appear in recently glaciated areas are lichens and mosses, with

1311-748: The Tanana Chiefs Conference ; and Don Wright , president of the Alaska Federation of Natives a week later. That meeting held on March 12, marked a turning-point in negotiations with the various parties. The proposed settlement terms faced challenges in both houses but found a strong ally in Senator Henry M. Jackson from Washington state . The most controversial issues that continued to hold up approval were methods for determining land selection by Alaska Natives and financial distribution. With major petroleum dollars on

1380-549: The territories of American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands . The state with the most national parks is California with nine, followed by Alaska with eight, Utah with five, and Colorado with four. The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska: at over 8 million acres (32,375 km ), it is larger than each of the nine smallest states . The next three largest parks are also in Alaska. The smallest park

1449-565: The 1930s and 1940s. The first study, entitled Alaska - Its Resources and Development was centered on the development of tourism, despite a dissent from co-author Bob Marshall , who advocated strict preservation. Another study, funded as part of the Alaska Highway in the 1940s drew similar conclusions to the first study's majority opinion. In 1964 George B. Hartzog Jr. , director of the National Park Service, initiated

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1518-663: The AFN and other stakeholders could largely agree. Native leaders, in addition to Alaska's congressional delegation and the state's newly elected Governor Egan, eventually reached the basis for presenting an agreement to Congress. Bergt attended a March 1971 conference of the National Congress of American Indians in Kansas City, Missouri and was able to persuade Agnew there to meet with national officials, herself, Christiansen, an Alaska State Senator; Al Ketzler , chair of

1587-535: The National Park Service "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Many current national parks had been previously protected as national monuments by the president under the Antiquities Act or as other designations created by Congress before being redesignated by Congress;

1656-665: The National Park System are considered equal with the same mission, national parks are generally larger and more of a destination, and hunting and extractive activities are prohibited. National monuments , on the other hand, are also frequently protected for their historical or archaeological significance. Eight national parks (including six in Alaska ) are paired with a national preserve , areas with different levels of protection that are administered together but considered separate units and whose areas are not included in

1725-437: The United States, and is named for the numerous fjords carved by glaciers moving down the mountains from the ice field. The field is the source of at least 38 glaciers, the largest of which is Bear Glacier. The fjords are glacial valleys that have been submerged below sea level by a combination of rising sea levels and land subsidence . Exit Glacier is a popular destination at the end of the park's only road. The remainder of

1794-405: The act preserved Native land claims until later settlement, section 6 allowed for the state government to claim lands deemed vacant. Section 6 granted the state of Alaska the right to select lands then in the hands of the federal government, with the exception of Native territory. As a result, nearly 104.5 million acres (423,000 km ) from the public domain would eventually be transferred to

1863-406: The act would have in getting through congress. Many respected politicians and businessmen attended the meeting and delegates were astonished at the attention which they received from well-known political figures of the state. The growing presence and political importance of Natives was evidenced when members were able to gain election to seven of the sixty seats in the legislature. When the group met

1932-617: The beginning that a settlement could be achieved   .... My memories of the Congressional action as ANCSA took shape aren't of a battle as much as they are of long hours of tough, hard negotiating, often two steps forward and one step back   .... In 1971, barely one million acres of land in Alaska were in private hands. ANCSA, together with section 6 of Alaska Statehood Act , which the new act allowed to come to fruition, affected ownership to about 148.5 million acres (601,000 km ) of land in Alaska once wholly controlled by

2001-778: The coast and the icefield, but this conflicted with the Seward National Recreation Area and a proposed expansion of the Kenai National Moose Range. Another proposal placed the Aialik Peninsula under US Fish and Wildlife Service jurisdiction. On March 15, 1972, four areas of the Kenai Peninsula were set aside under the ANCSA for federal protected areas. The same day the National Park Service formed an Alaska Task Force to study proposed park lands. The Kenai Fjords region

2070-417: The coniferous forest understory. A similar succession pattern is seen at the park's nunataks , exposed rock outcroppings in the Harding Icefield. Forested portions of the park are dominated by conifers, with deciduous forests confined to areas recently vacated by glaciers. Harsh conditions at higher altitudes limit tree growth above the tree line , creating an alpine ecosystem. The tree line at Kenai Fjords

2139-441: The corporations were managed properly, they could make profits that would enable individuals to stay, rather than having to leave Native villages to find better work. This was intended to help preserve Native culture. Alaska Natives had three years from passage of ANCSA to make land selections of the 44 million acres (180,000 km ) granted under the act. In some cases Native corporations received outside aid in surveying

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2208-576: The disputed lands. Offers went back and forth, with each rejecting the other's proposals. The AFN wanted rights to land, while then-Governor Keith Miller believed Natives did not have legitimate claims to state land in light of the provisions of the Alaska Statehood Act . On July 8, 1970, Nixon delivered a speech reversing the Indian termination policy in favor of allowing tribal self-determination . The following month, he established

2277-684: The elevation of the Kenai Mountains, gradually pulling glacial features down into the sea, which is at the same time rising. The floors of the fjords can be from 600 to 1,000 feet (180 to 300 m) below the present sea level. The motion of the North Pacific Plate has accreted a variety of terranes against the shoreline, so that the coastal region is a mixture of rocks that originated elsewhere, together with local igneous rock . Predominant rock types include shale and graywacke , with greenstone , tuff and chert . Kenai Fjords

2346-566: The federal government. That is larger by 6 million acres (24,000 km ) than the combined areas of Maine , Vermont , New Hampshire , Massachusetts , Rhode Island , Connecticut , New York , New Jersey , Pennsylvania , Delaware , Maryland and Virginia . When the bill passed in 1971, it included provisions that had never before been attempted in previous United States settlements with Native Americans. The newly passed Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act created twelve Native regional economic development corporations. Each corporation

2415-619: The fight, would later remark: ANCSA was my baptism of fire as a Senator from Alaska   .... It didn't occur to me that some Senators had the opportunity to ease into their jobs. Life in the Senate for me was fast-paced from the beginning   .... With my experience working in the Department of the Interior and with the Statehood Act, and my faith in the determination and unity of purpose of Alaska's Native people, I believed from

2484-552: The figures below. The 431 units of the National Park System can be broadly referred to as national parks, but most have other formal designations. A bill creating the first national park, Yellowstone , was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, followed by Mackinac National Park in 1875 (decommissioned in 1895), and then Rock Creek Park (later merged into National Capital Parks ), Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. The Organic Act of 1916 created

2553-409: The fjords and tidewater glaciers . Seward is a destination for cruise ships. Bus tours from Seward visit Exit Glacier and boat tours visit other parts of the park The park maintains public-use cabins and shelters in coastal areas and at the edge of the Harding Icefield. Some of these are on native corporation lands, with a portion of the use fee going to the native community. The park has established

2622-536: The freeze which had been placed on land patents to allow oil exploration was lifted. In 1968, the Atlantic-Richfield Company discovered oil at Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic coast, catapulting the issue of land ownership into headlines. In order to lessen the difficulty of drilling at such a remote location and transporting the oil to the lower 48 states , the oil companies proposed building

2691-444: The hearings were officials and legislators, as well as Laura Bergt , Roger Connor, Thoda Forslund, Cliff Groh, Barry Jackson, Flore Lekanof, Notti, and Morris Thompson. In 1969, President Nixon appointed Hickel as Secretary of the Interior . The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) protested against Hickel's nomination, but he was eventually confirmed. He worked with the AFN, negotiating with Native leaders and state government over

2760-638: The icefield and two island groups. Legislation stalled in Congress during the Watergate scandal , and was not pursued again until the Carter administration. Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus proposed a 410,000-acre (640.6 sq mi; 1,659.2 km) Kenai Fjords National Park. Alaskan opposition to ANILCA prompted President Jimmy Carter to proclaim Kenai Fjords National Monument under

2829-524: The icefield, a narrow fringe of forested land between the mountains and the sea, and the deeply indented coastline. The park is inhabited by a variety of terrestrial and marine mammals, including brown and black bears , moose , sea otters , harbor seals , humpback and killer whales . Kenai Fjords National Park was established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). It

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2898-531: The interior is covered by the Harding Icefield . The park's highest point is an unnamed peak of 6,450 feet (1,970 m) in the Kenai Mountains . The park is bordered on the west by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and on the south by Kachemak Bay State Park . The park can be reached from Seward, 130 mi (210 km) south of Anchorage at the southern terminus of the Seward Highway . It

2967-560: The land by transferring titles to twelve Alaska Native regional corporations and over 200 local village corporations. A thirteenth regional corporation was later created for Alaska Natives who no longer resided in Alaska . The act is codified in chapter 33 of title 43 of the US Code . When Alaska became a state in 1959, section 4 of the Alaska Statehood Act provided that any existing Alaska Native land claims would be unaffected by statehood and held in status quo. Yet while section 4 of

3036-666: The land claims it has made under ANCSA. The state is entitled to a total of 104.5 million acres (423,000 km ) under the terms of the Statehood Act. Originally the state had 25 years after passage of the Alaska Statehood Act to file claims under section 6 of the act with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Amendments to ANCSA extended that deadline until 1994, with the expectation that BLM would complete processing of land transfers subject to overlapping Native claims by 2009. Nonetheless, some Native and state selections under ANCSA remained unresolved as late as December 2014. There

3105-952: The land. For instance, Doyon, Limited (one of the 13 regional corporations ) was helped by the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska . The Institute determined which land contained resources such as minerals and coal. NASA similarly provided satellite imagery to aid in Native corporations finding areas most suited for vegetation and their traditional subsistence culture. The imagery showed locations of caribou and moose, as well as forests with marketable timber. In total about 7 million acres (28,000 km ) were analyzed for Doyon. Natives were able to choose tens of thousands of acres of land rich with timber while Doyon used mineral analysis to attract businesses. The state of Alaska to date has been granted approximately 85% or 90 million acres (360,000 km ) of

3174-428: The law, often recognizing existing leadership. Alaskan officials were originally divided on the bill, though by 1970, with Interior Secretary Walter Hickel , Governor William Egan , Representative Nick Begich & Senators Ted Stevens & Mike Gravel all backing the bill, the opposition died down. Stevens was particularly strongminded, and was key in the bill's passage. Stevens, a freshman Senator for most of

3243-597: The line, pressure mounted to achieve a definitive legislative resolution at the federal level. In 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was signed into law by President Nixon. It abrogated Native claims to aboriginal lands except those that are the subject of the law. In return, Natives retained up to 44 million acres (180,000 km ) of land and were paid $ 963 million. The land and money were to be divided among regional, urban, and village tribal corporations established under

3312-655: The most-visited park since 1944, and had almost 13 million visitors in 2022. In contrast, only about 9,500 people visited the remote Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska in 2022. Download coordinates as: The following table includes the 30 states and two territories that have national parks. Exclusive parks refer to parks entirely within one state or territory. Shared parks refer to parks in multiple states. Territories are set in italics . Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act The settlement established Alaska Native claims to

3381-472: The newest national park is New River Gorge , previously a National River, and the most recent entirely new park is National Park of American Samoa . A few former national parks are no longer designated as such , or have been disbanded. Fourteen national parks are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS), and 21 national parks are named UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BR), with eight national parks in both programs. Thirty states have national parks, as do

3450-417: The next year and continued in 1991. That year Exxon settled with the federal and Alaskan governments, paying about $ 870 million into a restoration fund, some of which was earmarked for Kenai Fjords. Archeological sites were also affected by the oil. A beach site near MacArthur Pass was discovered during cleanup operations. The site showed that contrary to earlier beliefs, portions of the park had been used over

3519-500: The oil. The first oil arrived on April 10. In time, about 20 miles (32 km) of coastline was oiled, amounting to about 4% of the total coastline. Headlands were the most affected areas. The oil did not reach the fjords, repelled by heavy spring water flows from the land. Cleanup was difficult, as the oil became a tarry emulsion that could not be skimmed, and had to be dredged. The first season's work stopped in September. Work resumed

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3588-699: The only portion of the park accessible by road, is Exit Glacier . According to the Köppen climate classification system, Kenai Fjords National Park has a subarctic climate ( Dfc ) with cool summers and year-round precipitation. According to the United States Department of Agriculture , the Plant Hardiness zone at Exit Glacier Visitor Center at 463 ft (141 m) elevation is 4b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of -20.3 °F (-29.1 °C). Kenai Fjords National Park

3657-438: The other task force proposals were an outright grant of 1,000 acres per native village resident; a revenue-sharing program for state land claims and national mineral development projects; secured hunting and fishing rights on public lands; and a Native Commission to administrate state and federal compliance with the provisions of the claims settlement. They proposed receiving 10% of federal mineral lease revenue for ten years, once

3726-405: The park is accessible by boat, airplane, and hiking. Kenai Fjords National Monument was initially designated by President Jimmy Carter on December 1, 1978, using the Antiquities Act , pending final legislation to resolve the allotment of public lands in Alaska. Establishment as a national park followed the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. The park protects

3795-401: The park, and have since established subsistence rights on those properties. At the time of the park's establishment, there were few permanent inhabitants. Archeological surveys have altered the early view that the area was subject to only transient occupation as evidence has accumulated of long-term use. It is believed that coastal subsidence and rising water levels have inundated many sites, as

3864-527: The provisions of the Antiquities Act on December 1, 1978, pending final passage of an Alaskan lands bill. No visitor facilities or full-time local management structure resulted from the monument's proclamation. A single ranger was assigned to Seward as a local liaison. On December 2, 1980, the ANILCA bill was signed into law by Jimmy Carter, converting Kenai Fjords to a national park. The first park improvements focused on improving access to Exit Glacier. In 1982,

3933-445: The provisions of the act were not voted on by indigenous populations. One native described it as a social and political experiment. Critics have also argued that Natives so feared massacre or incarceration that they offered no resistance to the act. Others have argued that the settlement was arguably the most generous afforded by the United States to a Native group. They note that some of the largest and most profitable corporations in

4002-430: The shoreline was the place richest in resources for early peoples. A 1993 Park Service survey documented several village sites dated between 1200 AD and 1920. The survey also found evidence that an earthquake dating to about 1170 AD lowered the shoreline by at least 1.8 metres (5.9 ft), potentially inundating earlier sites. A 2003 follow-up survey indicated that one site was occupied between 950 AD and 1800. Another site

4071-1050: The state are the twelve created by ANCSA. Other critics attacked the act as "Native welfare" and such complaints continue to be expressed. The corporation system has been critiqued, as in some cases stockholders have sold land to outside corporations that have leveled forests and extracted minerals. But supporters of the system argue that it has provided economic benefits for indigenous peoples that outweigh these problems. The following thirteen regional corporations were created under ANCSA: Additionally, most regions and some villages have created their own nonprofits providing social services and health care through grant funding and federal compacts. The objectives of these nonprofits are varied, but focus generally on cultural and educational activities. These include scholarships for Native students, sponsorship of cultural and artistic events, preservation efforts for Native languages, and protection of sites with historic or religious importance. ANCSA created about 224 village and urban corporations. Below

4140-410: The state. The state government also attempted to acquire lands under section 6 of the Statehood Act that were subject to Native claims under section 4, and that were currently occupied and used by Alaska Natives. The federal Bureau of Land Management began to process the Alaska government's selections without taking into account the Native claims and without informing the affected Native groups. It

4209-562: The toes of glaciers and carrying minerals into the ecosystem that support phytoplankton , which in turn sustain larger animals. The grounding of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989, produced extensive contamination of the Kenai Fjords coastline. By early April, Park Service personnel established oil containment boom lines across the mouths of salmon streams and conducted preliminary inventories of plants and animals that might be affected by

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4278-416: Was against this backdrop that the original language for a land claims settlement was developed. A 9.2-magnitude earthquake struck the state in 1964. Recovery efforts drew the attention of the federal government. The Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska decided that Natives should receive $ 100 million and 10% of revenue as a royalty. Nothing was done with this proposal, however, and

4347-506: Was associated with a specific region of Alaska and the Natives who had traditionally lived there. This innovative approach to native settlements engaged the tribes in corporate capitalism. The idea originated with the AFN, who believed that the Natives would have to become a part of the capitalist system in order to survive. As stockholders in these corporations, the Natives could earn some income and stay in their traditional villages. If

4416-723: Was designated Study Area 11. Negotiations between the Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and the Chugach Alaska Corporation resulted in a decision by the Department of the Interior to make the Park Service the lead agency for the Kenai Fjords area. In 1973 the Nixon administration proposed the Harding Icefield–Kenai Fjords National Monument as part of the ANILCA legislation. The proposed monument totaled 300,000 acres (468.8 sq mi; 1,214.1 km) in three areas:

4485-750: Was developed by the Port Graham community on Aialik Bay. Seward is a departure point and destination for large cruise ships from Celebrity Cruises , Holland America Line , Royal Caribbean International and others. Passenger traffic through Seward is projected at 68,000 for 2013. Cruise tours originating from Seward provide access to the park via Resurrection Bay . Various companies offer tours, many guided by National Park Rangers . The tours provide views of land and marine wildlife, particularly Steller sea lions , puffins , Dall's porpoises , American black bear , snowshoe hares , mountain goats , and humpback and orca whales , as well as natural sights such as

4554-464: Was largely positive reaction to ANCSA, although not entirely. The act was supported by Natives as well as non-Natives, and likewise enjoyed bipartisan support. Natives were heavily involved in the legislative process, and the final draft of the act used many AFN ideas. Some Natives have argued that ANCSA has hastened cultural genocide of Alaska Natives. Some Natives critiqued ANCSA as an illegitimate treaty since only tribal leaders were involved and

4623-755: Was raised in the 1970s. In 1971 the Seward National Recreation Area was proposed for the area between the head of Resurrection Bay and Turnagain Arm, extending east to Whittier and west to Exit Glacier. This proposal allowed logging and mining in the area. Although the proposal had support in Congress and from the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management , it was overcome by difficulties with native land claims. Internal Park Service documents envisioned an 800,000-acre (1,250.0 sq mi; 3,237.5 km) park protecting

4692-427: Was taken out of federal ownership and conveyed to Alaskan native corporations. Most of the lands claimed were on the coastline. 30,295 acres (47.3 sq mi; 122.6 km) were repurchased by the Park Service in the 1990s, retaining subsistence rights on about 9,000 acres (14.1 sq mi; 36.4 km). This altered the original intent of the park to include subsistence claims, previously unrecognized. A lodge

4761-525: Was used from 1785 to 1820. A third site showed occupancy from 1850 to 1890. Several gold mines from historical times have been documented in the park. Mining activity centered on Nuka Bay. Some sites had been active into the 1980s. Eleven mine sites have been documented and two of the mine sites have been determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places . Early studies of possible new Park Service units in Alaska took place in

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