Alagnak Wild River visitor use project: Alagnak Wild River resident users study
Deur D. 2008. Alagnak Wild River visitor use project: Alagnak Wild River resident users study. Cooperative Agreement CA9088A0008. College of Forestry Resources, University of Washington; National Park Service. Seattle, Washington
This report represents a thematic summary of findings from the Alagnak Wild River Resident Users Study, the final project in a larger series of studies conducted for the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the Alagnak Wild River Visitor Use Project. The National Park service administers the 56 miles of designated Wild River along the Alagnak in collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages fish and wildlife populations along the river. The NPS is charged with managing the river’s natural and cultural resources, as well as preserving the river’s lands and resources for current and future generations. Alagnak River has long served as a home and resource procurement area to Native Alaskan peoples. Though these peoples have relocated to villages nearby in the region, descendents of Alagnak’s former occupants as well as their fellow residents from nearby communities have continued to seasonally occupy Alagnak’s riparian zone and to hunt, fish, gather plant materials and participate in social activities. In recent years, non-resident visitation of Alagnak Wild River has escalated, especially for recreational fishing, but also for recreational hunting, boating, rafting, and other pursuits. In some cases, these non-resident uses of the river have been reported to conflict with Native Alaskan uses of the river. In an effort to best manage the natural and cultural resources of Alagnak Wild River, as well as to judiciously balance the needs of different visiting constituencies, the National Park Service requires additional information regarding the past and present uses of Alagnak River by Native Alaskans, as well as the observations and perspectives of Native Alaskan river users on non-resident visitation and its possible impacts. Using a variety of principally qualitative data sources, the current report seeks to thematically compile information relating to these themes.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Deur, Douglas
- Date of Issue
- 2008-12
- Publisher
- College of Forestry Resources, University of Washington; National Park Service
- Units
- ALAG
- Keywords
- Alagnak Wild River, Alaska, Ethnology, Land Use, native peoples, Traditional Ecological Knowledge