The Canneries, Cabins and Caches of Bristol Bay, Alaska
Branson JB. 2007. The Canneries, Cabins and Caches of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Research/Resources Management Report, NPS Alaska Region. 2007–63
The Bristol Bay watershed is a vast sparsely populated area of largely pristine lands and waters, both fresh and salt, in southwest Alaska. The region is remote, far from cities, and for many it has a kind of enchantment about it that harks back to an earlier more leisurely time in Alaska history. Visiting old Native villages at Kijik or Paugvik, stopping by long abandoned canneries such as Lockanok or a cabin ruin on the Koktuli River or traveling the ancient Telaquana Trail, one gets a sense of the place because these places exude the spirit of those who lived here before. The Bristol Bay area is tough country, a place of active volcanoes, earthquakes, huge tides, swift: cold rivers, torrential rains, floods and 100-mile-per-hour winds. Nature still calls the shots here and, maybe, that is why so few people call it home. A place blessed with rich renewable natural resources, the Bristol Bay country has an equally rich diverse human history that has been sustainable the past 9,000 years because past and present human activities have largely been compatible with the biological underpinnings of the region, the fresh water and fish resources.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Branson, John
- Date of Issue
- 2007-11
- Units
- HIST , LACL
- Keywords
- Alaska, Bristol Bay, Canneries, cannery, Conservation, Development, ehistory, Historical View, History, Industry