BLM Alaska: Steese National Conservation Area (NCA)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Alaska



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Steese National Conservation Area

Hiker stands above a bluff in the Steese National Conservation Area.
Puzzle Gulch, South Unit Steese NCA

The Steese National Conservation Area (NCA) encompasses 1.2 million acres of public land about 100 miles northeast of Fairbanks. Created by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980, the Steese NCA's special values include Birch Creek National Wild River, crucial caribou calving grounds and home range, and Dall sheep habitat. While various land uses are allowed in the Steese NCA, the area is managed so that its scenic, scientific, cultural and other resources are protected.

The Steese NCA is split into the North and South Units, located on either side of the Steese Highway. The popular Pinnell Mountain National Recreation Trail skirts the edge of the North Unit.

For more information

Bureau of Land Management

Fairbanks District Office

1150 University Avenue

Fairbanks, Alaska 99709-3844

(907) 474-2200 or
1-800-437-7021

Steese National Conservation Area

What Is a National Conservation Area?

It's a designation given by the U.S. Congress to certain lands managed by the BLM. Of the 13 national conservation areas, the Steese NCA is the only one in Alaska. Each national conservation area is managed in accordance with provisions that Congress specified to protect and conserve resource values of national interest.