History
It
Happened Here ...!
So
many facets of Alaska’s history happened on the lands and waters of the Alaska
Maritime Refuge that the Refuge seems like a time-capsule story of the state and
the conservation of island wildlife.
Follow these links to learn more:
Pre
1800s – The first people come to the islands, the Russian voyages
of discovery, the beginnings of the fur trade, first rats and fox introduced to
islands, Steller sea cow goes extinct.
1800s – Whaling, America buys Alaska, growth of the fox fur industry, beginnings
of the refuge.
1900 to 1945 – Wildlife Refuge System is born and more land put in the refuge, wildlife
protection increases through treaties and legislation, World War II rolls over
the refuge, rats and foxes spread to more islands.
1945
to the present – Cold War bases built on refuge, nuclear bombs on
Amchitka, refuge expands and protections increase, Aleutian goose brought back
from near extinction, marine mammals in trouble.
Last updated: September 8, 2008
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