Anan Creek observatory top Wrangell attraction

Anan Wildlife Observatory is apparently the place to be in Wrangell, according to a recent survey. A study commissioned in June and released earlier this month by the Wrangell Convention and Visitors Bureau found Anan to be the city's most popular visitor destination.

Travelers migrate to the area each year from early July to late August to view Anan's bears, which themselves have arrived to take advantage of what is Southeast Alaska's largest pink salmon spawning event.

According to United States Forest Service records of the site, between 2,400 and 2,800 visitors make it to Anan each summer, with a high of 2,873 in 2013. Of these, the majority visit through guided tours, provided by a variety of outfitters largely based in nearby Wrangell and Ketchikan. The share of the observatory's visitors using guided outfits has grown over the past decade, from scarcely half in 2004 to 72 percent in 2014.

By the CVB's reckoning, the site has a considerable impact on Wrangell's local economy as well, with Anan visitors bringing in an estimated $1.5 million to the community last summer alone. As a share of Wrangell's visitor industry that season, Anan made up more than a third of all tourism-related spending. Making some assumptions, the study also estimated Anan received 1,708 Wrangell-based visitors, about two-thirds of those coming to the observatory during its peak season.

"If the Forest Service wasn't making attempts to manage it as intensively as they were it probably wouldn't be successful," commented Brenda Schwartz-Yeager, a professional guide with Alaska Charters & Adventures, based in Wrangell.

She remembers Anan's falls from her youth, and over the course of 27 years of guiding has seen it develop into the present observatory. Before the 1990s, visits to the area were unregulated. As its reputation for bear-viewing grew and as Wrangell began developing its outfitting and guiding capabilities, concerns for safety and preservation of the site led the USFS to draw up and adopt a formal management plan.

Starting in 2002, a maximum of 60 people were allowed at the site on any one day, and in 2004 management was revised to the present strategy.

From July 5 to Aug. 25, 60 permits are issued for each day, with 36 provided to commercial guides. Twenty more have been available for individual acquisition, a process which this year was moved to the http://www.Recreation.gov website. The rollout of the new system in May proved to be problematic, however, causing delays and frustrating would-be visitors for a couple of weeks.

Speaking for the USFS in Wrangell, Dee Galla said next season the aim will be to have online passes ready by February, on a first-come, first-serve basis.

As part of the current management plan, four further permits have been retained for local use, available for in-person pickup at the Wrangell Ranger District office's front desk. Galla explained this was meant to address issues of residents not being able to visit the observatory, as well as providing an option for travelers who want to visit the site on the fly.

Not counted in the total permit capacity, up to four passes per day are available for people renting the cabin at Anan, which are sold at the trailhead. Leftover and no-show passes are also occasionally available at the trailhead in the afternoon, though a person purchasing one cannot be traveling with a commercial permit holder.

Safety is the primary concern for the USFS at Anan, as there is a good chance of interaction between the site's numerous bears and visitors. Last year a total of 562 visiting groups used the trail; of these, 241 encountered bears along the trail, and only 12 groups had to modify their behavior.

"It's a very narrow corridor," Galla explained of the trail. For that reason, visitors are asked not to stop until they are inside the observatory, and guides do their best to vocally ward off any would-be bears during the trek.

"We do try to keep people moving along," Galla said.

"Where we've been focusing has been improving safety features," Wrangell District Ranger Bob Dalrymple explained. This has included observatory deck additions and requiring staff to carry radios on site. Trail resurfacing was completed late this spring and slide damage to a section of boardwalk repaired in June.

Outfitters largely seem pleased with management of Anan so far.

"I think they're doing a fine job. The folks are doing the best they can with what they have," said John Taylor, of Summit Charters.

Speaking for Alaska Waters, Brooke Leslie said there was still a need for trail maintenance at the site, and the outfitter would like to see the daily limitation increased. However, she agreed management of Anan has been done responsibly.

"From the updated website to observatory maintenance, the USFS does what it can, within the allocated budget, to help create the best bear viewing experience for bears and people alike," she explained.

As the management plan for Anan has remain unchanged for over a decade, Dalrymple explained two major changes will be coming up. This includes the development of a facility master plan, which would include addressing safety issues and would be ready for review this fall. It also means a revision of the management plan for the next ten years, with work already begun on a draft proposal.

"We just haven't had the resources to finish it," Dalrymple explained. Under the plan, he said there will be an opportunity to change the 60-person daily limit, lowering the number of visitors allowed at any one time while also increasing the daily limit by spreading them over time slots.

Some outfitters are not in favor of a time-slot approach, which would limit scheduling flexibility. Schwartz-Yeager explained this flexibility was important because it allowed them to react to tidal conditions and unpredictable weather.

One of the more controversial facility changes to come is the new float dock, a project which is currently up for bid and may be completed by next spring.

"The whole purpose for the dock is to service float planes," Dalrymple explained. Aircraft face difficulty landing at the beachhead as currently laid out, and the seasonal dock is anticipated to make disembarking easier.

The float will not accommodate boats and other sea craft, however, which currently make landings at the trailhead.

"I think that it should be for all users," Taylor said of the dock.

"I'm really opposed to the float dock," explained Schwartz-Yeager, who has been actively involved in the project's review processes. Primarily, she feels the project would not be the best use of the Forest Service's resources, as the district's recreation budget experienced cuts of more than 50 percent over the past two years.

"We can't even take care of a stove and a rec cabin yet we're going to build a dock," she said. She also felt important questions were being left unanswered, such as how much the dock would cost and how the addition of a second trailhead would affect site management. In particular, Schwartz-Yeager wanted to know whether much signage would have to be put up, and whether float-dock users would receive the same safety talks given visitors at the other trailhead before proceeding.

"What are they going to do about the bears getting on the dock?" she added.

Responding to these questions, Dalrymple said the cost would not be clear until bids on the project were returned. While some signage would be put up regarding use of the dock, they would not be visible from the water and would be made as unobtrusive as possible. As for staffing the new trailhead: "It's going to depend on the use levels, but yes, we'll have somebody manage that dock area.

"We're not designing any features to keep bears off the dock," he continued. "We expect that behavior to continue on the dock. People will have to behave the same ways they do on the trail." If necessary, Dalrymple said some attempt to "haze" the bears would be made, but that it would not include use of bear spray or other deterrents.

If public safety comes first, Anan's bears are a second, and Dalrymple explained any changes to the site are aimed to not dissuade them from coming. What makes Anan Creek such a unique opportunity for viewing them is its salmon, which themselves are also an attraction. Two alternating runs of pink salmon use the river system to spawn each year, creating a steady if uneven supply of fish. Because of the creek's upper and lower falls, salmon tend to bottleneck waiting for their chance to proceed, allowing bears there some ideal spots to catch them.

Speaking at Wrangell's annual Bearfest on July 23, Galla explained Anan is one of the few places on the continent where black and brown bears can both be seen feeding together, due in part to the ample food supplies.

The richness of the creek's yearly salmon runs are due to its ideal spawning conditions. Salmon have certain requirements to spawn successfully, including cold, clean, flowing water, with ample spawning and rearing habitats. In addition to possessing these traits, the waters of Anan also have the right oxygen levels and good turbidity.

Also lecturing at Bearfest, USFS hydrologist Karen Endres explained Anan encompasses a 36,000 acre watershed. Its 113 lakes cover 2,100 of those acres, and the watershed has 66 miles of stream that provide suitable habitat for millions of salmon. The topography of the Anan watershed ranges from 25 to 3,750 feet.

"All of that drives the water through the falls to where you see," Endres said. "I think it's an ideal system for getting them from the stream into the ocean."

Each year the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages the creek system for fish production, uses aerial observation to count salmon. The department has also this year begun measuring Anan's water traits, taking flow rate and temperature readings. While no historical data has been compiled yet, the data being collected today will form the basis for future comparison.