Permits for visiting Anan to be available in town soon

Very soon visitors will be able to start picking up daily permits for the Anan Wildlife Observatory.

The United States

Forest Service makes four of these available for every day of the season to accommodate

for last-minute planning and local visitation to the mainland site. The permits need to be requested for in person at the Wrangell Ranger District,

up to one week in advance. Requests are made by filling out a form at the office’s front desk. With the exception of family members, individuals listed on the form must also be physically present at the time of request.

Weekly requests will be collected by Monday at 4:30 p.m., awarded Tuesdays by noon. So for example, for the week of July 12 to 18 requests will be accepted from the 5th to the 10th, with permits awarded that Tuesday, July 11.

If several requests are for the same day, a lottery for awarding reservation space will be held those Tuesdays at 9 a.m. If any space is left, requests will be accommodated on a first come, first serve basis through the front desk during regular business hours, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Requests for the four permits will begin to be accepted starting June 29, for permits to visit Anan beginning July 5. The season where permits are required to visit the site will last from there through August 25.

Since February 1, prospective visitors were already able to book permits through the USFS reservation system, made either online or by phone. As visitation to the popular observatory is limited, a share of permits – amounting to four a day – are held aside to be called for in person.

Information on the observatory, including site restrictions and a list of authorized guiding services can be found at the Tongass National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/R10/Tongass/AnanObsrv

Work at the site improving its trailhead and facilities has largely been completed, having begun in March. Ranger Bob Dalrymple explained final inspections were completed by the start of the month, ahead of a planned finish date of June 15.

Work included a widened welcome area with gravel padding to accommodate visitors disembarking from Anan Bay. Improvements to Anan’s commodes were the most significant change this season, with the privy at the observatory itself actually moved over to its enclosure. Previously visitors had to travel a ways outside of the structure for respite, occasionally coming into contact with the site’s famed bears in the process.

“It’s now incorporated into the deck,” said Dalrymple.

Some minor work remains to be done, including some drainage improvements along the trail itself. During the course of rearranging the

observatory’s deck and latrine, some weakened or worn materials became apparent to contractors. Some board replacement and structural reinforcement will be undertaken right away, before the bears and tourists begin to show up in full force.