Our Mission:

"Cooperative Stewardship for the Conservation and Understanding of Natural and Cultural Resources in Northwest Alaska."

Kobuk Valley was established as a national monument by presidential proclamation in 1978 and redesignated a national park by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980. ANILCA §201(6) specifically directs:

“Kobuk Valley National Park shall be managed for the following purposes, among others: To maintain the environmental integrity of the natural features of the Kobuk River Valley, including the Kobuk, Salmon, and other rivers, the boreal forest, and the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, in an undeveloped state, to protect and interpret, in cooperation with Native Alaskans, archaeological sites associated with Native cultures; to protect migration routes for the Arctic caribou herd; to protect habitat for, and population of, fish and wildlife including but not limited to caribou, moose, black and grizzly bears, wolves and waterfowl and to protect the viability of subsistence resources. Subsistence uses by local residents shall be permitted in the park in accordance with the provisions of title VIII.”

Kobuk Valley National Park is one of over 389 National Park Service units that, working with other partners, helps safeguard this nation's natural and cultural heritage.