Becharof National Wildlife Refuge

Becharof National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
FWS map of Becharof NWR
Location	Alaska Peninsula, Alaska, United States
Nearest city	King Salmon, Alaska
Area	1,200,000 acres (4,860 km2)
Established	December 2, 1980
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Becharof NWR

Becharof National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the Aleutian Range of the Alaska Peninsula of southwestern Alaska. Becharof National Wildlife Refuge, which covers an area of 1,200,000 acres (4,900 km²), was established in 1980 to conserve major brown bears, salmon, migratory birds, caribou, marine birds, and mammals and to comply with treaty obligations. It lies primarily in the east-central part of Lake and Peninsula Borough, but extends eastward into the mainland portion of Kodiak Island Borough. The refuge is administered from offices in King Salmon.

Jimmy Carter created Becharof National Monument by presidential proclamation on December 1, 1978. The refuge was established on December 2, 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Land Conservation Act (ANILCA). In 1983, the Fish and Wildlife Service undertook the responsibility to manage the Becharof Refuge, along with the Ugashik and Chignik units of the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge.

In 1989 the park areas was heavily affected by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill which devastated the Alaska Peninsula. Puale Bay was the most heavily oiled bay outside of Prince William Sound. In an effort to determine species presence, distribution, habitat use, and migratory patterns, extensive landbird studies were conducted from 1995 through 1998 at various locations around Becharof Lake. Biologists continued the monitoring work in the park 2001 through 2003 using the same methods, paying notable attention to seabird activity, along with caribou and moose populations. The refuge is affiliated with the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to conduct research into the drainage basin east of the Ugashik Lakes on the Alaska Peninsula to monitor moose activity.