Bering Sea Wilderness
The Bering Sea Wilderness encompasses St. Matthew Island, Hall Island, and Pinnacle Island and is part of the larger Bering Sea unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. One of the largest seabird concentrations in the North Pacific (3.5 million birds) can be found here in summer, dominated by auklets, common eiders, old-squaws, gulls, murres, and puffins. On Saint Matthew, you'll find one of the few colonies of northern fulmars on Earth, and almost the entire world's population of McKay's buntings nest here. Northern sea lions and seals haul out at several places, and walruses climb ashore at one spot on Saint Matthew. Reindeer, once introduced here, have disappeared.
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| State | Alaska |
| Size | 81,340 acres |
| Designated | 1970, by Congress |
| Center point | 60.45° N, 172.84° W |
| Night sky | Very dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 28) |
Boundary map
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.
Where to camp
No federal campground is within ten miles of the boundary in the Campsite Atlas index. Camping inside a wilderness is usually allowed away from trails and water, with no facilities; the managing agency page has the permit and group-size rules.
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Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Bering Sea Wilderness?
81,340 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages Bering Sea Wilderness?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is Bering Sea Wilderness in?
Alaska.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was Bering Sea Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 1970.
Source: Wilderness Connect
How do I get to Bering Sea Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 60.448° N, 172.843° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Sources
- Boundary, name, acreage, designation year, states and description: Wilderness Connect.
- Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
- Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, points inside the boundary.
- 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.