I was privileged today to visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC). It is a sanctuary dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education, research and quality animal care. This nonprofit organization rehabilitates injured or orphaned animals and returns them to the wild.
Animals at the AWCC include a wolverine, lynx, brown bears, porcupines, wood bison, black bears, a grizzly bear, fox, coyotes, wolves, moose, elk, Sitka black-tail deer, muskox, caribou, reindeer, bald eagle, and great horned owl. Most of the animals are cared for in large, natural habitats, including enclosures designed for the display of multiple species.
The AWCC has taken part in a program to reintroduce the native wood bison back into Alaska after a 100-year absence. The wood bison is the largest land mammal in North America and is a keystone grazing herbivore from the region.
In 2008, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center embarked on plans to develop an Alaskan bear conservation science and education facility and interpretive center.
The center is a truly amazing place. Its programs will hopefully negate past, present, and future detrimental affects on wildlife and the environment.
Environmental Science and Its Application to Health 