Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
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►
- Kenai Fjords National Park
- Exit Glacier
- Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
- Chugach National Forest Alyeska
Location: Mile 79, Seward Hwy, Girdwood, Alaska
Designation: Wildlife Sanctuary
Date designated/established: 1993
Date of my visit: June 6, 2022
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
LOL, they were there. I may not have mentioned them, but they are in my photos 🙂
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
That’s a great thing! Glad I got to visit this one.
I left Anchorage in late 1996 and have a vague memory of Big Game Alaska. That seems like a wonderful place to visit. I love and miss the Turnagain Arm.
It was a really nice stop 🙂
The center’s dual purpose of providing a home for animals unable to survive in the wild, and of educating the public is admirable, and I hope it has sufficient funding.
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.
I think you are right.
It sounds like they’ve expanded since we were there.
🙂
I would really like to get to Alaska one day. Your posts have made it so attractive!
Thanks!
Loving these Alaskan posts
Thanks so much!
This looks an incredible place. And so refreshing to see wild animals having space to live.
Agreed…lots of space, well done habitats. It was a lovely visit