Background Kodiak bears, the largest bears in the world, are a unique subspecies of the brown or grizzly bear, having been isolated from other bears for some 12,000 years. The total population is estimated at 2,800-3,000 independent bears, with the average density estimated at 265 per 1000 square kilometers on Kodiak Island and 142 per 1,000 square kilometers on the northern islands of the archipelago. Population surveys of brown bear populations on Afognak and Shuyak islands have not been conducted. Concern over a reduction in the Kodiak brown bear population in the early decades of the last century prompted sportsmen to petition the federal government to protect the bears and their habitat. KNWR, which occupies about two-thirds of Kodiak Island, Ban Island, Uganik Island, and a small portion of Afognak Island, is not accessible by roadway.
Visitors rely primarily on commercial air taxis, guides, and charter boats for access.
Access to the refuge via private planes, boats, or other means is not restricted at this time. Some areas within the refuge are privately owned, and access and use permission must be secured from the owners. Currently, hunters kill approximately 160 Kodiak bears each year under tightly controlled regulations. In addition, a federally authorized subsistence hunt allows for the taking of one brown bear for each of the six Native communities on the Kodiak Archipelago. While hunting has been the primary human use of Kodiak bears for many years, interest in bear viewing has been increasing.