About Becharof National Wildlife Refuge
Established in 1980, Becharof is located in the Aleutian Range of the Alaska Peninsula in southwestern Alaska and adjacent to Katmai National Park and Preserve.Within its boundaries sits the largest lake in the National Wildlife Refuge System and the 14th largest in the U.S. At ~300,000 acres, Becharof Lake nurtures one of Bristol Bay's largest salmon runs. Dolly Varden char and Arctic Grayling grow to impressive sizes on a salmon-rich diet, along with brown bears, cormorants, terns, and bald eagles. Several places around the lake are popular angling sites. The drainages feeding into the lake provide habitat for moose, caribou, nesting waterfowl and songbirds, small mammals, and other species in a rich matrix of vegetation types. The Becharof Wilderness extends from the northeast shore of Becharof Lake south to the Pacific Ocean and makes up roughly one-third of the Becharof National Wildlife Refuge. The Pacific Ocean boundary is lined with swathes of sandy beach, rocky coastline, and steep cliffs. Uplifted layers of fossil-bearing rock tilt into the sea. In summer, the cliffs are packed with thousands of murres and kittiwakes, their calls reverberating over the surf. The boundary on the north follows the knife-edged peaks of the Kejulik Mountains that separate the Refuge from Katmai National Park. These uplands shed meltwater from the winter snows into the Kejulik River and its valley, spurring vigorous growth of brush that provides shelter and food for moose. Extending almost to Whale Mountain to the west, the boundary line follows the shore of Becharof Lake, out to the end of the Severson Peninsula that divides Island Arm from the open water. Sockeye salmon mass in the streams well into the fall, drawing char and grayling, bears and cormorants. The flat tundra by the lake bears tiny wind-compressed blossoms in summer, and scattered berries later in the year. The southern boundary line crosses the Arm and the Aleutian Range, back to the coast at Cape Unalishagvak.
