Alaska is unique among the states in retaining nearly all of its native animals and plants in their natural diversity and abundance. Our geographical isolation, relatively recent growth in population, limited development, small agricultural industry, conservative laws governing the introduction and importation of exotic animals, and a little luck, all contribute to this favorable condition.

Alaska has one of the shortest lists of endangered and threatened species of all the states. Many species that are rare, endangered, or have been extirpated elsewhere in the United States are thriving in Alaska. For example, the grizzly (or brown) bear was once common throughout the western United States — as far east as Minnesota and south into Mexico. Today remnant populations persist only in remote areas of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Washington. In contrast, Alaska has a healthy population of approximately 31,000 grizzly bears, widely distributed throughout the state.

The gray (or timber) wolf was once among the most wide-spread mammals in North America. As civilization pushed westward and the wilderness was tamed, competition for game, conflicts with livestock interests, and the commonly held belief that all predators were “varmints,” led to the deliberate extermination of wolves in much of the United States. Today the wolf survives as an endangered species in a handful of states; however, more than 7,500 wolves populate Alaska — from the most remote wilderness region to the suburbs of our largest cities.

Although the bald eagle is well on its way to recovery, this uniquely American bird is still classified as threatened in 48 states. The eagle's decline during the past half century was primarily due to reproductive failure caused by pesticides, such as DDT. Persecution and habitat destruction contributed to shrinking populations. Today, of the estimated 50,000 bald eagles found in the United States, approximately 80 percent soar in Alaska skies. Alaska eaglets have been shipped to New York, Tennessee, North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri, and California to aid recovery efforts in those states. As a result, bald eagles are regaining their place in the American landscape.

While Alaska was a Russian possession, sea otters were aggressively exploited for their superior fur — possibly the finest in the world. When sea otter populations crashed and the fur industry was no longer profitable, the Russian czar sold Alaska to the United States. Today sea otters are still threatened along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington, but this “Old Man of the Sea” has made a dramatic recovery in Alaska and now numbers nearly 150,000.

Caribou once inhabited most of the states along the Canadian border. About two dozen animals, a single small band that ranges into the Idaho panhandle and northeastern Washington from Canada, are all that remain in the contiguous United States. Nearly one million of these northern nomads, distributed among twenty-five separate herds, migrate across Alaska and easily outnumber the state's human population.

When it comes to preserving its plants and animals, Alaska's advantage over the rest of the country — indeed, over most of the world — has been the state's remoteness and isolation. Alaska was still a sparsely populated Russian territory when many wildlife species elsewhere were hunted to extinction or lost due to industrial and agricultural development and a lack of knowledge about habitat requirements, ecological relationships, and scientifically-based wildlife management. Thanks to advances in science, increased awareness, and more enlightened attitudes toward the natural world, Alaskans have avoided many mistakes of the past.

Grizzly bears, wolves, bald eagles, sea otters, caribou, peregrine falcons, marten, lynx, river otters, wolverines, loons, and trumpeter swans all continue to thrive in Alaska but are uncommon or absent in much of North America. With continued careful management and, above all, adequate habitat protection, these and a host of other fish and wildlife species will remain integral and valued parts of Alaska's environment for as long as the rains shall fall and the rivers flow.

For Additional Information
Please contact:
Doug Vincent-Lang
(907) 267-2339

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