McNeil Falls

Last updated October 05, 2019

McNeil Falls is a waterfall on the McNeil River near Katmai National Park, Alaska. The river is famous for its large concentrations of brown bears and salmon. The salmon arrive mostly in July, having spent their lives in Kamishak Bay, and when they ascend the river to spawn it is an attraction to the largest concentration of brown bears anywhere on earth. Up to 144 brown bears have been identified at the river during a single summer with as many as 72 bears congregating in one place at a time.^[1] The river's entire 35 mile (55 km) length lies within the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, created in 1967 by the State of Alaska to protect the numerous Alaska brown bears who frequented the area. It also lies entirely within the Kenai Peninsula Borough boundaries. The McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Refuge is part of a 3.8-million-acre (1,500,000 ha) piece of land that is protected from hunting; the rest of this is Katmai National Park.

The McNeil River is a river on the eastern drainage of the Alaska Peninsula near its base and conjunction with the Alaska mainland. The McNeil emerges from glaciers and alpine lakes in the mountains of the Aleutian Range. The river's destination is the Cook Inlet in Alaska's southwest. The McNeil is the prime habitat of numerous animals, but it is famous for its salmon and brown bears. This wealth of wildlife was one of the reasons for the Alaska State Legislature's decision to designate the McNeil River a wildlife sanctuary in 1967. In 1993, this protected area was enlarged to preserve an area that has the highest concentration of brown bears anywhere in the world. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, up to 144 brown bears have been sighted on the river in a single summer with 74 bears congregating in one place at a time Its entire length of 35 miles (55 km) lies within the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, created in 1967 by the State of Alaska to protect the numerous Alaska brown bears who frequented the area. It also lies entirely within the Kenai Peninsula Borough boundaries. The McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Refuge is part of a 3.8-million-acre (1,500,000 ha) piece of land that is protected from hunting; the rest of this is Katmai National Park.

The grizzly bear, also known as the North American brown bear, is a large population of the brown bear inhabiting North America.

The chum salmon is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. It is a Pacific salmon, and may also be known as dog salmon or keta salmon, and is often marketed under the name silverbrite salmon. The name chum salmon comes from the Chinook Jargon term tzum, meaning "spotted" or "marked", while keta in the scientific name comes from the Evenki language of Eastern Siberia via Russian.

Mother brown bear with her cubs near the McNeil River. Grizzly1.jpg — Mother brown bear with her cubs near the McNeil River.

More famous for its bear population than for the size of the river or the strength of its salmon runs, McNeil River has been featured on many television and film documentaries. So well-known has the area become as a bear-viewing area that in 1973 the State of Alaska began limiting the number of summer visitors to ten per day during peak visitor months of June, July, and August. The area has also been "wired" for webcam remote viewing for those unable to access the river in person.

Various groups have been formed to support keeping the area pristine and free from bear-hunting activity. And while the bear population often wanders outside the protected zone their numbers have gradually continued to rise over the years. In 2007, a group of conservationists managed to keep the state game refuge north of the sanctuary closed to bear hunting.^[2] Prior to the hunting debate, bears were legally hunted in the state game refuge north of the sanctuary. As a consequence, bear numbers at the falls dropped and the number of different individual bears decreased. Now, with better hunting and viewing regulations, bear numbers at the falls have risen again. The ADFG and the Friends of McNeil River have fought to keep the area closed to hunting and offer yearly ID books to help viewers identify each bear. July is by far the best month to view bears; up to 100 have visited the falls in one day in that month.^[3]

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Hallo Bay is a sandy bay located beneath the peaks of the Aleutian Range within Katmai National Park. The bay is famous for its bear viewing, since large numbers of grizzly bears are attracted to feast on the rich sedges along the tidal flats of the bay. Sometimes they are also observed digging up clams in the mud, and fishing for salmon peaks in July. The food in the bay is so abundant that at times as many as five to six large bears can be seen at one time feeding on sedges, salmon or clams. The bears are usually timid around humans but have learned to trust them over the years due to decades of no hunting and the gentle nature of visitors. However, an incident in 2003 cost bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell his life, not far from Hallo Bay.

References

↑ "See McNeil River Bears". Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
↑ "Victory for Katmai/McNeil River Bears in Alaska". National Parks Conservation Association. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
↑ "About". Friends of McNeil River.

Coordinates: 59°07′01″N154°16′44″W / 59.11694°N 154.27889°W / 59.11694; -154.27889

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

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[See_McNeil_River_Bears-1] "See McNeil River Bears". Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

[2] "Victory for Katmai/McNeil River Bears in Alaska". National Parks Conservation Association. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2007.

[About-3] "About". Friends of McNeil River.