"

Alaska Paddling Resources Get a Boost

Alaska’s Wild and Scenic Rivers Now Digitally Mapped

Beaver Creek in Alaska. Photo by Bob Wick.

The River Management Society has announced the addition of thirteen segments of Alaska’s National Wild and Scenic rivers, those administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to the nation’s most authoritative interactive map and database, the National Rivers Project (NRP). The inclusion of these 640 boatable miles completes the GIS-based mapping for all federal Wild and Scenic Rivers in the State, joining those administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service.

"BLM Alaska manages six Wild and Scenic Rivers running through 952 miles of the state as a valuable part of the Bureau’s National Conservation Lands,” said Zach Million, BLM Alaska’s Program Lead for Recreation, Travel Management & National Conservation Lands. “We’re excited to work with the River Management Society to help the public overcome some of the logistic and trip-planning challenges that can arise when visiting our state with so many rivers and so few roads.”

This Alaskan addition includes segments of Birch Creek, Beaver Creek, Unalakleet River, Delta River, Tangle River and Gulkana River, and seven segments of the Fortymile River system. Using the NRP’s interactive map, paddlers can now easily plan trips ranging from one to two days on the Fortymile to paddling what may be the longest road-to-road float in North America, from the Beaver Creek Wild and Scenic section at Nome Creek to the Yukon River Bridge. The more accessible segments include the Delta and Tangle Rivers, accessed by the Richardson and Denali Highways. For those seeking more remote adventures, several rivers are accessible only by air.

“The River Management Society is proud to support recreational paddlers and other Alaskan adventurers through our partnership with the BLM,” said James Major, NRP Coordinator. “We hope that access to our interactive map, which includes information about all Wild and Scenic Rivers in the State will make it easier for people to see the many great options they have for exploring these incredible federally protected Alaskan rivers.”

Detailed information about these rivers, as well as BLM Alaska’s other National Conservation Lands is available at https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/alaska. For more information about the NRP or these sections, please visit nationalriversproject.com and check out the Explorer Map to conduct geospatial search or River Directory to see river trips organized by state or by one of the national river administering agency).