West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness

Location
Located in the Tongass National Forest, the 264,747-acre Wilderness occupies the western portion of Chichagof and Yakobi Islands in the extreme northwest portion of the Alexander Archipelago of southeast Alaska.

Access
The wilderness is accessible by boat or flat plane with numerous sheltered bays along the islands' west coast that provide safe anchorages.

Description
The most dramatic feature of the wilderness is the 65-mile-long rugged Pacific coastline, characterized by exposed, windswept offshore islands and rugged, blocky highlands. Behind the barrier islands, rocks and reefs of the outer coast lie in quiet waters of a scenic inside passage, honeycombed with bays, inlets, and lagoons as well as tidal meadows and estuaries. Slopes support old-growth rainforests and windswept shrub forests. Rising abruptly from the ocean to 3,600 feet are peaks of the mountainous backbone of the area, an isolated satellite of the great coastal range granite rock batholith.

Western hemlock and Sitka spruce forests cover about 1/3 of the area. Lodgepole pine and Alaska cedar grow in scattered locations, but seldom attain large size. Portions of the outer coast, particularly the offshore islands, support distinctive savanna glades under open spruce cover. Scattered alpine, muskeg, and estuarine plant communities can be found.

The area supports a wide variety of wildlife. Big game species include Sitka black-tailed deer and Alaskan brown bear. Numerous furbearers are abundant as are migrant waterfowl and marine animals. Sea otters have been successfully established at Surge and Khaz Bays. Large sea lion rookeries are found at White Sister Islands, Cape Cross, and Cape Bingham. Seals inhabit most of the coastline.

Facilities
There are heavily used Forest Service recreation cabins at Goulding Lake and White Sulfur Springs, a geothermal spring. A third Forest Service cabin is located at Suloia Lake.

For More Information
Contact the Sitka Ranger District - Tongass National Forest