The Anan Wildlife Observatory is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to safely view black and brown bears, including eye-level spaces to photograph migrating salmon jumping into the mouths of bears. This complete replacement of the former observatory focused on optimizing the visitor experience and providing various options for great views of the bears. Equally important was planning for bear behavior, with an emphasis on allowing the animals to move freely through the site and feed in the creek below. The final design reflects the extensive recreation planning and construction mobilization needed to enhance this remote, world-class, wilderness destination.

Restoring Natural Order
Anan Creek is a remote location 30 miles from Wrangell, Alaska, known for its rich history and abundant salmon - and bears. The word 'Anan' translates to "Sit Down Town" in the Tlingit language of the local indigenous people. Historically, Tlingit clans established summer fishing camps at Anan Creek to catch and preserve salmon for their food supply. In the early 1900s, commercial fishing started in the area by using fish traps at the creek's mouth to capture salmon, which led only a few to pass through and spawn. Decades later, commercial fish traps were outlawed, leading to a recovery of the salmon run and reestablishing the creek as a prime feeding habitat for bears at the rapids.

 

The summer abundance of salmon at Anan Creek supports the unique cohabitation of brown and black bears. Wildlife, including seals and eagles, also benefit from the rich salmon runs. Since the 1960s, the USDA Forest Service has managed various remote recreational facilities at Anan Creek, taking advantage of the cliffs that overlook the rapids for bear observation. This project replaced the entire facility, including boardwalks, shelters, restrooms, stairs, and observation decks. As the prime consultant, Landscape Architects at Corvus Design offered a comprehensive range of services - from conceptual design to construction documentation - with consultant partners for survey and structural design. Key to the project's success was enhancing a world-class, secluded visitor experience while ensuring minimal disruption to bear behavior.

The Bear Necessities
Four main criteria guided the project's development. The first goal was to maximize visitors' ability to safely view bear activity. To address this, the resulting design included relocating the shelter to the back of the deck - increasing observation space and, therefore, capacity - and installing a cantilevered deck to provide full viewing access along the cliffside edge. The second goal aimed to tackle significant site and remote construction challenges. The design team had to calculate helicopter lift capacities, verify minimally invasive field construction techniques, and design for off-site prefabrication. The third goal involved reducing the facility's visual impact while establishing a destination. This led to the creation of a simple yet aesthetically pleasing facility utilizing locally sourced cedar timber that will age with the natural environment.

The final goal was creating a design that would allow bears to move freely and undisturbed. As such, the surface area along the cliff was optimized with two lower observation decks that provide excellent vantage points for bear viewing, with a spiral staircase for vertical access. This staircase was designed to fit into an existing vertical notch on the cliff face to reduce the project's footprint and impact and integrate with an observation platform system with an existing structure at the base, the success of which was measured by how well the stairs fit without rock removal. Given the complexity of construction at this remote site and the need for precision, the Landscape Architects engaged in extensive 2D and 3D modeling to verify the design for the stairs and decks. Construction was completed successfully, with the fabricated spiral stairway shipped on a barge and flown in by a helicopter, being set in place without issue.

Designing For Wildlife
The bears are the site's reason for being - this is their habitat. The project included understanding bear movement and typical behavior and applying this knowledge. For example, the deck was elevated to minimize barriers to the movement of the bears below. When not fishing, bears rest on the site and interact with their habitat, so adjacent hazard trees were felled and left in place to provide enrichment and habitat value. Understanding bears also included detailing to protect the facility's wood from bear clawing and chewing.

Impact
The primary goals were to provide a high-quality visitor experience and to minimize the impact on the bears and the area itself. Both goals were met and exceeded, allowing easier bear movement and use, and providing a significant increase in the number of visitors that could have a high-quality wildlife viewing experience. Anan Wildlife Observatory has a rating of 4.9/5.0 on Trip Advisor and is listed as the #1 thing to do in Wrangell, Alaska, even though it's a one-hour boat ride away from town. The reviews are the best testament to project success. "The observation deck itself is located front and centre to where the action is. Stairs also take you down to the bear blind, where it gives the feeling you can almost touch them."