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By establishing Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve (GAAR)
in Alaska's Brooks Range, Congress has reserved a vast and essentially
untouched area of superlative natural beauty and exceptional scientific
value - a maze of glaciated valleys and gaunt, rugged mountains covered
with boreal forest and arctic tundra vegetation, cut by wild rivers, and
inhabited by far-ranging populations of caribou, Dall sheep, wolves, and
bears (barren-ground grizzlies and black bears). Congress recognized that
a special value of the Park and Preserve is its wild and undeveloped character,
and the opportunities it affords for solitude, wilderness travel, and
adventure. Gates of the Arctic encompasses several congressionally recognized
elements, including the national park, national preserve, wilderness,
six Wild Rivers and two National Natural Landmarks. The National Park
Service is entrusted to manage this area to protect its physical resources
and to maintain the intangible qualities of the wilderness and the opportunity
it provides for people to learn and renew its values.
Operating Hours &
Seasons
The Park and Preserve
are open year round.
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