Kootznoowoo Wilderness, Admiralty Island National Monument, AK

Dates

Jul 13th - Jul 21st 2012

Service Project

Invasive plant removal & beach cleanup

Free Days

Whale watching, seashore combing, hiking, photography

Accommodations

Tent camping on seashore

Trip Rating

Strenuous : Alaska travel logistics. Boat supported.

Leaders

Lee Cooper

Equipment

Embracing nearly a million acres of old growth rainforest, alpine tundra, and rugged coastline, Admiralty Island National Monument and the Kootznoowoo Wilderness offer unrivaled opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation in Southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest, the largest public forest in America. The native Tlingít people call this island "Kootznoowoo," meaning "Fortress of the Bear." Indeed, Admiralty Island is home to the highest concentration of brown bears in the world; more than all the Lower 48 states combined. Spectacular runs of wild salmon fill the island's creeks each summer, while remote mountain lakes offer the ultimate in wilderness fishing. Admiralty Island also has a rich cultural heritage, which is evident in the traditional native village of Angoon, the island's only permanent settlement.

Our service project is removal of invasive weeds, in particular Black bindweed, along remote shorelines of Admiralty Island brought on by logging operations in the 1950s. After traveling to Juneau and taking the ferry to Angoon on the island, we'll board forest service boats and ride 20 miles across the innercoastal waterway to Whitewater Bay, where we'll set up camp for the week on the shoreline. Volunteers will remove weeds and also help cleanup debris that has washed ashore and bag it all up for removal. Expect rain and bugs -- Alaska is big and famous for both, and you must be prepared.

Check out more photos from our 2010 Admiralty Island project in our gallery.

**Note: Participants on Alaska projects must have paid for their airfare at least two months before the start date and furnish this information to the leaders. We have discovered that folks who do not have firm travel plans by this time often cancel, and these projects are hard to fill at the last minute.