Science-driven management in Alaska’s Steese National Conservation Area

Science-driven management in Alaska's Steese National Conservation Area

BLM's mission and authorities require us to use the latest scientific research, data and findings to ensure lands and resources in our care are managed for generations to come. This is the next installment in a series of stories and videos spotlighting how the agency uses science to improve decision making.

A half day's drive from Fairbanks, Alaska's Steese National Conservation Area offers stunning scenery, peaceful solitude, and outstanding opportunities for year-round recreation. Designated by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980, summer visitors backpack, hike, camp, fish, pick berries, and hunt under Alaska's 'midnight sun,' with few encounters with others.

Wildlife viewing opportunities abound - raptors, upland birds, moose, fox, and bears are just a few of the mammals that may be spotted while recreating along Birch Creek Wild and Scenic River, the Pinnell Mountain National Recreation Trail, or one of the many travel routes that access the area. You might also spot one of two herds of caribou who rely on the area for its migration corridors, summer calving grounds in high alpine tundra, and winter ranges among black spruce boreal forests. Or perhaps a Dall sheep, an uncommon species in Interior Alaska who call this habitat home year-round.