Virtually visit a unique island at the edge of the Bering Sea in western Alaska: Kigigak Island, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge.

Yukon Delta Refuge is a vital home to people and wildlife. Each summer, birds from around the world migrate to Yukon Delta's wetlands, coast, and tundra to nest and breed. Kigigak Island is a special place for nesting birds, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitors their health and population at a remote field camp to assess their wellbeing over time.

The Yukon Delta Refuge landscape is the ancestral home of the Yup’ik, Cup’ik, and Deg Xit'an people of Alaska. This is a region rich in culture, where residents depend on resources to support an active subsistence way of life. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is among the most populated rural areas in Alaska, with over 50 Indigenous communities.

Learn more about Yukon Delta Refuge: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/yukon-delta

Video: Lisa Hupp/USFWS
Music: The Time to Run by Dexter Britain

For an audio described and captioned version:    • Audio described version of Kigigak sh...  

https://www.fws.gov

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the oldest federal conservation agency, tracing its lineage back to 1871, and the only agency in the federal government whose primary responsibility is management of fish and wildlife for the American public. The Service helps ensure a healthy environment for people by providing opportunities for Americans to enjoy the outdoors and our shared natural heritage.

We manage the National Wildlife Refuge System with more than 560 National Wildlife Refuges as well as small wetlands and other special management areas encompassing more than 150 million acres. Under the Fisheries program we also operate over 70 National Fish Hatcheries and 65 fishery resource offices. The Ecological Services program has 86 field stations across all 50 states.

The vast majority of fish and wildlife habitat is on non-federal lands. Voluntary habitat protection and restoration programs like the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the Coastal Program and other partnership programs are the primary ways we deliver habitat conservation on public and private lands.

The Service employs approximately 9,000 people at facilities across the U.S. The Service is a decentralized organization with a headquarters office in Washington, D.C., with regional and field offices across the country. Our organizational chart shows structure and also provides information on senior management.