Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge

Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge protects a vast wetland lowland in Alaska around the confluence of the Yukon, Porcupine, and Chandalar rivers. Among the largest refuges in the national system, it gained federal protection because of its ecological importance, especially as a major breeding ground for waterfowl. After a proposal to flood the area with a dam on the Yukon River was rejected, President Jimmy Carter designated it a national monument on December 1, 1978. The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act soon changed it to a wildlife refuge, with altered boundaries and an emphasis on habitat protection and wildlife management for migratory birds and northern mammals.

Birch Creek, Alaska · United States