Nuka Island Protected, Expanding Alaska’s Kachemak Bay State Park

The surrounding landscape supports a remarkable range of wildlife: seabird colonies, seals, sea otters, whales, black bears, wolves, moose, mountain goats, mink, and fox. Two salmon-bearing streams run adjacent to the protected property, providing critical spawning and rearing habitat for pink salmon and supporting the long-term health of local coastal ecosystems. 

Permanently Protected. Permanently Wild. 

This latest acquisition is the capstone of a multi-year conservation partnership between The Conservation Fund and the Alaska Department of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. Over the past three years, the two organizations have worked together to protect 52 total acres in Kachemak Bay State Park — permanently expanding public access and safeguarding sensitive coastal habitat that might otherwise have slipped away. 

Earlier protections include 23 acres on the southwestern shore of Nuka Island secured in 2024 and 5 acres of beach access along the park’s popular Saddle Trail by Halibut Cove protected in 2023. Together, these efforts have strengthened the ecological integrity of Kachemak Bay State Park and ensured that boaters, paddlers, anglers, and wildlife watchers will have access to this remote stretch of coastline for generations to come. 

That’s how conservation works at its best: identifying what’s irreplaceable, acting before the window closes, and building the partnerships needed to make protection permanent.