^UASjCA fOK YoU.K IN P'OK.(V]AtjOMj#^Sl
.{ALEUTIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, ALASKA—The Aleutian Islands Nation-^}
ia.l Wildlife Refuge was established in 1913 to insure protection of the native *3/
/birds and fur bearers, to provide for the propagation of reindeer, and toencour- U
-U
fage"and develop the fisheries. As we now know, the propagation of reindeer is~0
'/often inimical to populations of nesting birds, and to the range itself if "■ tKe*j$
/animals are not carefully managed. That and the Aleut people’s lack of interest!':
vin reindeer has dictated a "go slow" policy in reindeer propagation. Because of
^remoteness and the existence of severe weather conditions, development of the fish*
/ery has proceeded slowly* Even today the inshore fishery of all but the eastern^
‘{end of the Refuge is rarely utilized. The Japanese high seas fishing fleet isi-M
/currently engaged in the development of the off-shore fishery. It is mainly in
: /the field of native bird protection and the management of fur bearers that RefiigeY
{’administration has moved. The redevelopment of a sizeable population of’ our sea/fi
•/otters has been the most significant step in the history of the Refuge. When iri.|>
Jj.1913 the Refuge came into being a sea otter was a rare specimen, but there ..are/fj
{now more than 20,000 of the curious little animals within the Refuge boundaries•
/DESCRIPTION "The Chain", as the Aleutian Archipelago is generally known, lie#^|jj
v>across the North Pacific in a gentle arc with the eastern and western ends about^
r2 degrees farther north (120 nautical miles) than the middle. Geographically the|>
/Aleutians form the dividing line between the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea,AA
:: geo logically they are a part of the "great fault line". All of the islands are.VI]
{.of, volcanic origin; their feet standing some 18,000 feet below the surface of the-fl
Ifiorth Pacific Ocean in the Aleutian Trough, their tops extending nearly 10, 000J/
{feet above the ocean. "The Chain" is believed to have come into being in the Ter-*!;
/tiary time with the volcanic activity that brought it into being continuing to theA
present day.
A 5
:jrh§. Aleutian Island Refuge is composed of all but six of the islands in "the Chain1:*
ie,’ Sanak, Tigalda, Akun, Akutan, Unalaska, and Unmak. An unnamed island in the-f
SSanak Reefs, located at approximately 53° 23* N, 162° 21* W is the eastern extreme?
Uty of the Refuge, It extends 980 miles (nautical) or just over 1100 statute miles}
^westward to Cape Wrangell on Attu Island at 52° *5* N, 172° 27* E. It is the lar-f
;gest. in the National Wildlife Refuge system, both in total acreage (2,720,235 )and .i
■extent.
The islands are generally rugged? and mountainous, especially the larger ones with
irregular shoreline and towring rocky cliffs rising from the sea. With but few
exceptions the larger islands have their highest elevations on the north side and
slope to lower levels on the south. Some of the smaller ones are low and relativly
flat. Vegetative cover is of the barren=ground type, treeless throughout except
where a few ornamental transplants have achieved a limited growth. Grasses, sedges
lichens, and plants of the heather family are the predominant types. In summer .’
th?re appears a profusion of flowers, mostly small but with the exceptions quite
striking such as the monkshood, iris, lupine, and great fireweed. Generally snow
covered in winter the islands are a dead brown in spring and fall but in summerthe
meaning of the term "green as grass" becomes apparent. To catch a glimpse of an
Aleutian island through the fog of summer is to ineed see an "emerald isle".
The Climate is maritime, having an average summer temperature of about 50°F, and
in winter about 33° F. The principal reason for the treelessness of the region is
the low average summer temperature. Along "The Chain" lies the storm track of the
North Pacific; sometimes north, sometimes south of the islands but often right over
them, it is the determining factor in weather trends. With the track north of the
Chain, as in summer, foggy weather with light precipitation and relatively low vel
ocity winds ensure. In winter when the storm track is sometimes a few hundred or
more miles south over the Pacific the Aleutians enjoy truly magnificent weather ;
(Continued on page 8 )