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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Public Meetings and ANILCA 810 Subsistence Hearings for Izembek SEIS

The draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Potential Land Exchange for a Road Between King Cove and Cold Bay is now available. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public comments. For more information and to view public meeting and hearing details, visit Land Exchange Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Information and Documents.

NOTICE: Comment period extended 45 days: Comment period end date has changed from December 30, 2024 to February 13, 2025.

Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge lies between the highly productive waters of the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. The heart of the refuge is Izembek Lagoon, a coastal ecosystem that's home to one of the world's largest eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds. Hundreds of thousands of waterfowl, including virtually the entire population of Pacific black brant, visit the lagoon to feed on eelgrass and rest during migration. From brown bears to Pacific salmon, more than 200 species call this refuge home.

The landscape here is dynamic, with soaring peaks like Pavlof Volcano, the heavily-glaciated Shishaldin Volcano (Unimak Island), Frosty Peak, and the jagged spires of the Aghileen Pinnacles. Topography stretches from sea level to rugged volcanic mountains exceeding 9,000 feet, with coastal marshes and berry-producing, low-growing bush tundra interspersed with numerous lakes, ponds and alder brush-lined stream in between.

Visit Us

Looking over a woman's shoulder as she takes a photo of a map display with her phone.
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A visitor to the Izembek Refuge office takes a photo of the map display.

Travel to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula, is logistically challenging, but definitely worth the effort! The scenery, wildlife, and wilderness experiences that the refuge offers are truly unique - the experience of a lifetime. Most visitors access the refuge from the local community of Cold Bay, either by commercial flight from Anchorage or arriving by ferry with the Alaska Marine Highway System. Visit the refuge headquarters building to explore a mini visitor center with displays and exhibits, pick up information, and chat with staff.

Location and Contact Information

      Tours

      Visit us virtually with this short interpretive film about the refuge: 
      Izembek National Wildlife Refuge: Where Life Abounds

      Cornell Lab of Ornithology, narrated by Kathleen McCoy

      Take a 60 second tour of the world famous Izembek Lagoon:

      Footage by Gerrit Vyn/Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Lisa Hupp/USFWS


       

      Our Library

      View of a curved green coastline under a cloudy blue sky.
      Izembek: wetlands of international importance
      Virtually explore the heart of Izembek Refuge: Izembek Lagoon, a coastal ecosystem that's home to one of the world's largest eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds. In 1986, Izembek Lagoon was one of the first U.S. sites to be named a Wetland of International Importance.
      Library Collection
      29 Items
      a line drawing of a sea otter holding her pup
      Conservation in Color: Alaska's Wildlife
      Download these digital coloring pages created by Alaskan artists to learn more about wildlife and conservation, while creating works of art.
      Library Collection
      18 Items

      Projects and Research

      brown birds
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      Molting Steller's eiders to be banded and released.

      Refuge staff monitor several species to fulfill the refuge's mission. Working cooperatively with the State of Alaska staff assist with aerial surveys throughout the year to monitor the health and productivity of the Southern Alaska Peninsula Caribou Herd. Surveys of brown bear, moose, tundra swans, Pacific black brant, Taverner's and cackling Canada geese, emperor geese, other waterfowl, shorebirds and songbirds monitor population numbers and productivity. Since 1961, refuge staff have captured and banded Steller's eiders (a threatened species) during their molting period on Izembek Lagoon. The data generated by these studies provide wildlife managers with critical population and survival rate information.