Noatak National Preserve

Noatak National Preserve is a United States national preserve in northwestern Alaska, established to protect the Noatak River Basin, which lies just north of the Arctic Circle and is considered the last remaining complete river system in the United States that has not been altered by human activity. It was first proclaimed a national monument on December 1, 1978, under the Antiquities Act, and was redesignated a national preserve in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The preserve covers 6,569,904 acres and forms part of a roughly 5,765,427 acre wilderness area considered the fourth largest in the United States, spanning a transition zone between boreal forest and tundra that supports caribou herds exceeding 230,000 animals. Unlike the national parks it borders, sport hunting is permitted within the preserve. It is managed by the National Park Service.