Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

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Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Once our ship reached Seward, we disembarked and boarded the ACT Big Bus for a transfer tour from Seward to Anchorage. After hiking to the Exit Glacier, we got back aboard the bus. We headed north to our next stop the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center sits at at the head of Turnagain Arm on 200 acres. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to conservation, research, education, and animal care. The sanctuary provides permanent homes for orphaned or injured wildlife,

The center is in the Municipality of Anchorage on the approximant border of the Kenai Peninsula and the Kenai Mountains to the south and the Chugach Mountains to the north.

The center opened in 1993 as the for-profit Big Game Alaska. It converted to a non-profit sanctuary in 1999. It’s name changed to Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in 2007.

The center participates in a program to reintroduce the wood bison back into Alaska after a century’s absence. Thirteen bison were transferred from Canada in 2003. When we visited, we saw a fairly large herd.

We walked the bridge over the grizzly and black bear enclosures. These enclosures are huge, 21 and 14 acres each.

Seward Posts


Location: Mile 79, Seward Hwy, Girdwood, Alaska
Designation: Wildlife Sanctuary
Date designated/established: 1993
Date of my visit: June 6, 2022

19 thoughts on “Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

  1. Your text doesn’t mention Musk Ox. Was that an oversight or are they incidentals and present in low numbers at the sanctuary? Or were you just trying to pull the Wood Bison wool over our eyes? Stewart

  2. Your post strikes close to home. Our nearby Elk Island Park (Parks Canada) has been relocating wood bison throughout many parts of North America to help restore and rebuild herds. Looks like a great place to visit T. Allan

    1. Hopefully now that the cruises are back, they’re doing OK. Every transfer to and from Anchorage to the port (except the railroad) includes a stop at the center. Two years with no tourists must have hurt.

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