Page 22 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

20  INTRODUCING ALASK A

Serene landscape of the Chugach National Forest along the Seward Highway
The Land and Ecology declines in populations of those marine
Alaska’s wilderness landscapes and mammals, which have only recently
diverse wildlife have long provided both begun to return in large num bers. The
resources and inspiration for those Russians were followed by Gold Rush
fortunate enough to experience them. prospectors, who trailed the Interior
The impact of humans reaches back rivers in search of gold. Large-scale
many thousands of years to when the dredging along these water courses left
first Native peoples are said to have mountains of tailings, or mining residue,
arrived via the Bering land bridge. that remain as unsightly scars across
Roaming across the landscape in search the landscape.
of resources, these semi-nomadic hunter- After the discovery of oil on the
gatherers lived largely in harmony with North Slope in the 1970s, the Trans-
the environment. Alaska Pipeline was built amid widespread
When the Russians arrived in the concern that it would alter the ecology
18th century, however, their interest in along its corridor. As a result of extensive
sea otter and seal pelts sparked drastic environmental impact studies, the pipe-
line was designed to allow caribou to
migrate freely beneath it or over it, and
drilling companies were required to follow
strict drilling and cleanup guidelines.
Today, Alaska has the largest
population of bears, moose, wolves, and
bald eagles in the US, and also supports
species, such as musk ox and caribou,
that are found in no other US state. The
prolific wildlife is due not only to Alaska’s
relative remoteness, but also to the fact
that it has more protected or semi-
protected habitat than any other state.
However, Alaska faces several
prominent ecological issues, from the
possibility that an enormous gold mine
will be developed on the Bristol Bay
Watershed to the aerial hunting of
wolves. Global warming also ignites
Caribou on the autumn tundra, Denali National Park

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