Admiralty Island
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- This article is not about the Admiralty Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean.
Known to the Tlingit as "Kootznoowoo", or Fortress of the Bear, Admiralty Island is home to the highest density of brown bears in North America. An estimated 1,600 brown bears inhabit the million-acre island, outnumbering Admiralty's human residents nearly three to one. Angoon, a traditional Tlingit community home to fewer than 500 people, is the only settlement on the island.
Most of Admiralty Island — more than 955,000 acres — is a federally protected Wilderness Area. The Kootznoowoo Wilderness is unique in Southeast Alaska because it encompasses vast stands of old growth temperate rainforest. These forests provide some of the best habitat available to species such as brown bears, bald eagles, and Sitka black-tailed deer.
Admiralty Island also offers unrivaled opportunities for primitive recreation in Southeast Alaska. The U.S. Forest Service maintains several public-use cabins on the island, as well as the Cross Admiralty Canoe Route, which links the island's lakes through a series of portages.
The Pack Creek Brown Bear Viewing Area offers visitors the opportunity to observe brown bears in their natural habitat as they fish for salmon and interact with one another during the summer months. Permits are required for all visitors to Pack Creek which can be attained through the Forest Service.
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