Kanuti NWR, Fairbanks, Alaska: This 1.4-million-acre refuge straddles the Arctic Circle about 150 miles northwest of Fairbanks. The only access is by bush plane or by boat down the Kanuti River from Dalton Highway. However, a trip to this refuge is well worth the effort. Inhabiting Kanuti’s mosaic of lakes, streams, wetlands, and muskegs; boreal forests; and broad meadows are all manner of birds, waterfowl, mammals, and insects. Here are moose, martens, lynx, wolves, beaver, lemmings, minks, bears (both black and grizzly), and wolverines; willow ptarmigan, snow buntings, redpolls, Arctic warblers, and varied thrushes; loons, tundra and trumpeter swans, Barrow’s and common goldeneyes, shovelers, wigeon, and mallards; plovers, phalaropes, and whimbrels; peregrine falcons, boreal hawk owls, northern harriers, and rough-legged hawks. Summer electrical storms are dramatic and often spark wildfires, which are allowed to burn themselves out unless they threaten the many historic and prehistoric sites or native villages. The best time to visit Kanuti is during the short Arctic summer: mid-June through August. But if you can stand the cold, which can reach 70 below zero, not including wind chill during the winter, you will be rewarded with a fantastic 360-degree view of nature’s ultimate light show—the shimmering red, green, gold, and multi-colored hues of the Aurora Borealis.
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