Kasegaluk Lagoon

HAUL-OUT HEAVEN The lagoon hosts critical haul-out areas for seals and walrus.

SPECIES
Migratory birds, beluga whales, polar bears, seals, walrus.

THREATS Future fossil fuel infrastructure; climate change.

BIRD PARTY!

Supports highest abundance and diversity of bird life of all Arctic Alaska coastal lagoons.

TRANSLATE
In Inupiaq “kasegaluk” means “spotted seal place.”

RESERVE MAP >

SIZE
Approximately 97,000 acres.

DID YOU KNOW?
Beluga whales molt!

In the far west of Arctic Alaska lies Kasegaluk Lagoon, one of the largest, undiminished coastal lagoon systems in the world, spanning approximately 125 miles of the Chukchi Sea coast. This sheltered, shallow lagoon is important habitat for calving and molting beluga whales. Hundreds of spotted seals and walrus haul out along the barrier islands, also a frequent denning destination for polar bears.

Kasegaluk Lagoon also supports the highest abundance of diversity of bird life of all of Arctic Alaska’s coastal lagoons. As many as half of the world's Pacific black brant descend in late August or early September before beginning their journey to wintering grounds in Baja Mexico. Both sexes are identical in plumage – dark with white necklaces – except that the male's white necklace is larger than the female's. Spectacled eiders nest on the mainland, while Pacific loons seek out inland lakes, nest on tiny ponds and fish in the lagoon itself. The loons are awkward on land and require 30-50 meters of open water to take flight!

VISIT MORE: Peard Bay | Colville River | Kasegaluk Lagoon| Teshepuk Lake | Utukok River Uplands

THREATS

One of the largest threats to the Kasegaluk Lagoon Special Area is potential energy development in the Arctic Ocean — there is currently no prohibition against developing an infrastructure corridor, such as a pipeline, to transport oil from offshore drilling through Kasegaluk Lagoon and into Alaska’s interior or across northern Alaska to facilities at Prudhoe Bay.

Climate change is also having a profound effect on the region — rising temperatures and the disappearance of sea ice is causing more and more marine mammals like seals and walrus to haul-out on the mainland, resulting in greater vulnerability to predators and hunters. In addition, melting permafrost is removing a critical buffer between coastlines and the impact of ocean waves. As permafrost disappears, coastal erosion could become significant, destroying wildlife habitat and nesting areas, and disrupting the traditional knowledge of local populations relied upon for hunting and subsistence.

Alaska Wilderness League

Kasegaluk Lagoon

PEOPLE AND THE REGION

WILDLIFE

THREATS