Chugach National Forest
Lost Lake in Chugach National Forest
Location of Chugach National Forest in Alaska
Location	Alaska, United States
Nearest city	Anchorage, Alaska
Coordinates	60°27′41″N149°07′34″W / 60.4614912°N 149.1259814°W /60.4614912; -149.1259814[1]
Area	6,908,540 acres (27,957.9 km2)[2]
Established	July 23, 1907 (1907-07-23)
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service
Website	Chugach National Forest

TheChugach National Forest is a 6,908,540-acre (27,958 km²)^[2]United States National Forest in south centralAlaska. Covering portions ofPrince William Sound, theKenai Peninsula and theCopper River Delta, it was formed in 1907 from part of a larger forest reserve. The Chugach includes extensive shorelines, glaciers, forests and rivers, much of which is untouched by roads or trails. It hosts numerous bird, mammal and marine species, including extensive shorebird habitat and abald eagle population larger than the contiguous 48 states combined. Human industry in the forest includes extensive tourism and some mining and oil and gas operations.

The area that is now Chugach was settled by theAlutiiq thousands of years ago. It was first visited by Europeans in the mid-1700s and soon settled by Russian fur traders, who trapped the nativesea otters. In 1867, the USpurchased Alaska from Russia andgold was found in 1888. In 1907, the Chugach National Forest was created from a portion of forest reserve, which had been one of the first of its kind, designated in 1892.^[3]

It is located in the mountains surroundingPrince William Sound including the easternKenai Peninsula and the delta of theCopper River.^[4] It is the second-largest (third-largest if theHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is considered as one entity) forest in the U.S. national forest system,^[2] and is the northernmost and westernmost national forest. Approximately 30 percent of the area of the forest is covered by ice. Portions of the Kenai Peninsula make up approximately 21 percent of the forest, and include the southern portion of theIditarod National Historic Trail. Parts of Prince William Sound make up about 48 percent of the forest. This includes 3,500 mi (5,600 km) of shoreline, 22tidewater glaciers, and the Nellie Juan-College Fiord Wilderness Study Area, which covers 2,200,000 acres (8,900 km²). Portions of the Copper River Delta cover approximately 31 percent of the forest, and include the "largest contiguous wetlands complex on North America's Pacific coast". Despite its huge size, there are only 90 mi (140 km) of Forest Service roads, although there are also over 500 mi (800 km) of designated trails.^[4]

The supervisor's office is located inAnchorage. There are localranger district offices located inCordova,Girdwood, andSeward.^[5]

In descending order of land area within the forest, it is located in parts of theValdez-Cordova Census Area,Kenai Peninsula Borough,Anchorage Municipality,Matanuska-Susitna Borough,Kodiak Island Borough, andYakutat City and Borough.^[2]

Green Island is within the Chugach National Forest north ofMontague Island inPrince William Sound,Alaska. There are at least three islands named "Green Island" within Alaska.

Gravina Island is also in the Chugach.

According to theKöppen climate classification system, Chugach National Forest has asubarctic climate (KöppenDfc).Cannery Creek is a weather station in the Chugach National Forest, located along the shore of the Unakwik Inlet.^[6][7]

The Chugach is atemperate rain forest in thePacific temperate rain forest region. Here the forest occupies only a very narrow strip between the ocean and the icy alpine zone. The dominant trees are limited toSitka spruce,western hemlock andmountain hemlock. This zone is known as the "sub-polar rainforest".^[10]

The Kenai Peninsula section of the forest is home to over 200 colonies ofseabirds, as well as between 3,000 and 5,000bald eagles. Approximately the same number of eagles live in the Chugach National Forest as live in the entire contiguous United States. The Copper River Delta portion of the forest is the largest contiguous portion of theWestern Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network and is "considered one of the most essential shorebird habitats in the world".^[4] The Delta provides habitat for over 20 million birds annually, and during the summer, one quarter of the world'strumpeter swans anddusky Canada geese call the Delta home. Mammals that inhabit this forest includecoyote,timber wolf,moose,caribou,marten,Sitka black-tailed deer,mountain goat,black bears andgrizzly bears.Dall sheep are also found; the Chugach is the only national forest where these animals can be seen.Humpback whales,sea lions andotters are found in the Chugach's waters.^[3] The waters around the forest also host all five species ofPacific salmon found in North America:chinook salmon,sockeye salmon,coho salmon,chum salmon andpink salmon.^[4]

There is very littlelogging done in the Chugach, and less than 2 percent of the forest is considered suitable for commercial logging operations; this is unusual among national forests. Instead, the forest infuses money into local communities through tourism, recreation, mining and commercial fishing. There are over 7 million annual visitors to the Chugach National Forest, including kayakers, boaters, hikers, skiers, birders and anglers. None of the area is designated asnational wilderness, although much of it qualifies under federal law. Mining, includingcoal andhard rock operations, and oil and gas development are found in the forest.^[11] In 2003, theDepartment of the Interior announced that 3,000 acres (12 km²) of forest was no longer open to mining, adding that area to almost 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) that had been previously placed off limits. The affected land borders theKenai National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness, and the department cited protecting theRussian River and upperRussian Lake Recreation Corridor as the reason for the change.^[12]

• 
  Alpine Lakes in the Chugach forest
• 
  Skiers crossPortage Lake
• 
  Spencer Glacier, in the Chugach Forest
• 
  Alpine trees in the Chugach forest
• 
  Portage Lake in winter
• 
  Byron Peak

• List of national forests of the United States
• Tongass National Forest

Wikimedia Commons has media related toChugach National Forest.

• U.S. Forest Service site: Chugach National Forest
• A History of the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska
• The Rainforests of Home, an Atlas of People and Place (inforain.org) atarchive.today (archived December 9, 2012)
• Temperate Rainforests of the North Pacific Coast

• Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area
• National forests of Alaska
• Protected areas of Anchorage, Alaska
• Protected areas of Chugach Census Area, Alaska
• Protected areas of Copper River Census Area, Alaska
• Protected areas of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska
• Protected areas of Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska
• Protected areas of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
• Protected areas of Yakutat, Alaska

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