Availability of Anan Wildlife Observatory permits

Visitors will soon be able to request the last of the daily permits for the Anan Wildlife Observatory this summer. There are four permits per day for the remainder of the summer meant to accommodate last-minute planning, and these permits need to be requested in person at the Wrangell Ranger District up to one week in advance. Requests must be made by filling out a form at the front desk, and individuals listed on the form must be physically present at the time of request (with the exception of family members only). Weekly requests will be collected by Mondays at 4:30 p.m. and awarded on Tuesdays by noon. If several requests are for the same day, a lottery for awarding reservation space will be held on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. If there is any space left, requests will be accommodated on a first come/first serve basis through the front desk during regular business hours (Mon-Fri; 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.).

The request schedule is as follows:

For permits to visit Anna July 5-9, requests will be accepted June 25-July 1. For permits to visit July 10-16, requests will be accepted July 2-8. For permits to visit July 17-23, requests will be accepted July 9-15. For permits to visit July 24-30, requests will be accepted July 16-22. For permits to visit July 31-August 6, requests will be accepted July 23-29. Permits will be rewarded the Tuesday following each acceptance period.

The Wrangell Ranger District will be closed July 4 for the holiday.Permits are required from July 5 through August 25 to visit the observatory. Visitation outside of this time period does not require a permit. Information on the observatory, including site restrictions and a list of authorized guiding services can be found theTongass National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/R10/Tongass/AnanObsrv. For more information, contact the Wrangell Ranger District at (907) 874-2323.

The Anan Wildlife Observatory is located 30 miles southeast of the town of Wrangell. Anan Creek has the largest run of pink salmon in Southeast Alaska, which supports the high density of black and brown bears. The facilities consists of a covered viewing shelter, decks, photo blind, and an outhouse.