Togiak Wilderness, Wilderness area in southwestern Alaska, US.
Togiak Wilderness covers 2,274,066 acres in the northern half of Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, in Alaska's Dillingham and Bethel Census Areas. It takes in steep-sloped parts of the Ahklun Mountains and the Wood River Range, and portions of the Kanektok, Goodnews and Togiak drainages. The refuge around it, shaped by glacial ice, earthquakes and volcanoes, is the fourth-largest National Wildlife Refuge in the United States.
Togiak National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which also designated the 2,274,066-acre Togiak Wilderness in its northern half. The refuge borders Wood-Tikchik State Park to the southeast. Its land was shaped by glacial ice, earthquakes and volcanoes.
The refuge's salmon runs are a primary subsistence source for local residents and also support commercial and recreational fisheries. More than 150,000 caribou from the Nushagak Peninsula and Mulchatna herds use refuge lands, sharing them with the communities that hunt and fish here.
Togiak Wilderness has no roads or trails; access is by air taxi or boat, typically from Dillingham, and the Kanektok, Goodnews and Togiak rivers are the main float routes. The refuge's 600 miles of coastline lie to the south. Weather in the Ahklun Mountains changes quickly, so parties carry rain gear and plan extra days for delays.
The refuge's 600 miles (970 km) of coastline support seals, sea lions, walrus and whales at various times of year. Its waters produce over 3 million salmon of five species, a primary subsistence source for local people.
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