Alaska Wildlife
The Tongass and Chugach National Forests are home to a spectacular array of wildlife that thrive thanks to the wild character of Alaska’s rainforest.
Grizzly bear, Sitka black-tailed deer, black bear, elk, moose and wolf roam the old-growth cedar, hemlock and spruce forests. Mountain goats and sheep patrol the hills and mountains that overlook the rainforest while an incredible array of waterfowl transit its coastlines and estuaries.
The rainforest is a land of abundance. It hosts more than 30,000 grizzly bears, a number unparalleled anywhere in the lower 48 states. With prime nesting sites in the towering trees and plentiful salmon for feeding, the rainforest is also home to the world’s largest population of bald eagles.
Healthy salmon runs are the backbone of the ecosystem and economy in coastal Alaska. In contrast to the rest of the Pacific coast, millions of salmon still return to the rainforest streams each fall. Large trees along rainforest streams provide critical fish habitat. They help maintain steady water temperatures by providing shade; maintain flow rates by controlling runoff; and the woody debris from dead trees helps preserve stream structure and nutrient supplies important for juvenile salmon.
The coastal temperate rainforest in Alaska, with its spectacular wild lands unmarred by roads, clearcuts or human development, provides a rich ecosystem which has already been lost in the rest of the country.
