USFWS · National wildlife refuge · Alaska

Becharof National Wildlife Refuge

Becharof National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the Aleutian Range of the Alaska Peninsula of southwestern Alaska. It is adjacent to Katmai National Park and Preserve. This national wildlife refuge, which covers an area of 1,200,000 acres (4,900 km2), was established in 1980 to conserve major brown bears, salmon, migratory birds, caribou, marine birds, and mammals and to comply with treaty obligations. It lies primarily in the east-central part of Lake and Peninsula Borough, but extends eastward into the mainland portion of Kodiak Island Borough. The refuge is administered from offices in King Salmon.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateAlaska
Size1.2 million acres (computed from the boundary polygon)
FWS regionRegion 7
Center point58.0118, -156.1290
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 15)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Becharof National Wildlife Refuge?

1.2 million acres, measured from the published boundary polygon. The agency’s own figure can differ where the boundary includes water or inholdings.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Becharof National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Becharof National Wildlife Refuge in?
How do I get to Becharof National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 58.012, -156.129. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

How dark is the night sky at Becharof National Wildlife Refuge?

NASA’s Black Marble night-lights image reads 15 on a 0 to 255 scale at the center point, about as dark as the ground gets.

Source: NASA Black Marble

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons; a state is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Description: Becharof National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.