The U.S. Forest Service again this year is making available permits for unguided visits to the Anan Wildlife Observatory, limited to four per day.
The permits must be requested in person at the Wrangell Ranger District office, up to one week in advance.
Permits, at $10 each, are required for visiting Anan from July 5 through Aug. 25, when the popular bear-viewing site is limited to 60 visitors a day on guided tours. The four unguided visitor permits are in addition to the 60.
“These (four) permits are for people arriving with their own means of transportation and visiting without any hired guide service,” the Forest Service said last week. “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 (except for family members).”
The unguided permits will be allocated for each of the seven capacity-controlled weeks, starting with the week of July 5. Applicants for that first week can come into the office and fill out the form as soon as June 27.
Each week’s requests will be collected at 4:30 p.m. every Monday and awarded on Tuesdays. “If several requests are for the same day, a lottery for awarding reservation space will be held on Tuesdays at 9 a.m.,” the Forest Service explained. “If there is any space left, requests will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis through the front desk,” from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
The program of separate unguided permits started up several years ago, but was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Forest Service office was closed to the public. It restarted last year.
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