Welcome to Tangle Lakes

Alaska’s Tangle Lakes region: People love it for what they can see and do here. Wildlife—especially the Nelchina caribou herd—need it for their seasonal and year-round homes. The Delta Wild and Scenic River, rippling with grayling, runs through it. For 10,000 years, Native Alaskans have hunted, fished, and picked berries here. They continue to do so, and so do many non-Natives. Today, Common uses have expanded to include hiking, paddling, dog mushing, birding, sightseeing, and much more. Click here to see photos.

However, all this is threatened by a completely incompatible use: large-scale industrial mining. In recent years, foreign mineral exploration companies have been active near Tangle Lakes, the Denali Highway, and lands to the North. Activity waned between 2015 and 2017, but a resurgence in the price of nickel could bring renewed exploration. Click here to learn more about the mining claims.

If an economically profitable ore body is found, the resulting mine would scar the scenic landscape, limit public access, imperil archeological treasures, and displace important wildlife. Contaminated water, polluted air, rumbling ore trucks, and noise are huge issues at any major mine site, and Tangle Lakes would be no different. Click here to learn more.

One of the things we can do to protect the Tangle Lakes region is get the state to create a Tangle Lakes State Game Refuge. A refuge would allow hunting and recreational uses to continue, but would place stronger restraints on hardrock mineral exploration and mine development. Any existing claims would not be extinguished. Click here to learn more.

When you visit the Tangles, or think about past visits there, or enjoy pictures of its wildlife, scenery, and activities, resolve to help keep it that way. Click here to find out how.