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TOGIAK REFUGE IMAGE
Togiak National Wildlife Refuge Photograph by Joel Sartore
A TREASURE OF WILDERNESS
    Alaska came into its own within the refuge system in 1980 with passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which added 54 million acres (22 million hectares) to the system, doubling its size. Although it has only 4 percent of the nation’s refuges, Alaska has 83 percent of the system’s total acreage. The Alaska lands are often thought of as the last pristine environments for wildlife in the United States, where marine mammals, seabird colonies, and migratory caribou herds enjoy immunity from pollution and human interference. Well, yes and no. Here are some glimpses of the blessings of wide open spaces and some challenges to their purity.

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