Southwest Alaska encompasses a complex swath of undeveloped and largely roadless terrain that includes the immense combined delta of the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers, great interior lakes (e.g., Lake Iliamna, Wood-Tikchik Lakes, and Lake Clark), the Alaska Peninsula, and Bering Sea and Aleutian islands.

Although much of the region is coastal, it also includes tens of thousands of square miles of interior boreal forests, wetlands, uplands, and the immense mountain barrier of the southern Alaska/Aleutian Range.

With a land area of nearly 40 million acres, southwest Alaska would rank 24 of 50 in size if it was a U.S. state. The region boasts six National Wildlife Refuges (in whole or in part), three National Parks, and the country’s largest state park. Combined, these lands alone comprise over 23 million acres. Remaining parcels include large tracts of Native Corporation lands, State lands managed for general public use and some designated critical habitat areas, Federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and private in-holdings.