Cape Bingham, AK

Cape Bingham in the Tongass National Forest is dramatic and unforgettable. Sea-battered cliffs rise sharply to snow-capped peaks. Sprawling colonies of raucous sea lions, otters and harbor seals share the surrounding waters with migrating whales. Brown bears hunt in the majestic temperate rainforests. And Cape Bingham’s craggy granite barrier islands shelter Southeast Alaska’s inner passage - its quiet coves, deep inlets and productive tidal marshes.

Summary

Though Alaska is a state of great expanse, small places matter. As the critical first project of The Conservation Fund’s Coastal Alaska Initiative, more than 830 acres of rugged Cape Bingham cliffs and 12 miles of pristine coastline now are protected.

Cape Bingham represents the crowning achievement in an extraordinary $5 million Alaska conservation campaign initiated by the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, a remarkable commitment that motivated other donors and enabled The Conservation Fund to leverage the foundation’s charitable investment. Beginning in 1998, the Goldman Fund has fueled protection of almost 10,000 acres of Alaskan wildlife habitat, in such singular areas as the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Kodiak Island, Wood-Tikchik State Park and Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.

Additional support from the Paul G. Allen Forest Protection Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Samuel Skaggs Foundation and Ocean Fund of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., guaranteed the project’s success. After acquiring the Cape Bingham property, The Conservation Fund donated it to the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Tongass National Forest’s West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness Area.