Northwest Arctic Heritage Center

Northwest Arctic Heritage Center Updates will be posted to the park website and social media channels. Visit us to learn more about current events, research projects, and ranger lead programs.
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The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center is the visitor center and museum for Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve, and Cape Krusenstern National Monument Northwest Arctic Heritage Center Temporarily Closed
As a public health precaution, the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center is temporarily closed for the safety of staff and visitors. This is the official page for the Northwest Arctic He

ritage Center located in Kotzebue, Alaska. The Heritage Center is the museum and visitor center for Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve, and Cape Krusenstern National Monument.

The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center and NPS offices in Kotzebue will be closed on Monday, May 25, in observance of Memo...
05/25/2026

The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center and NPS offices in Kotzebue will be closed on Monday, May 25, in observance of Memorial Day.

We will reopen with normal operations on Tuesday, May 26.

Have a safe and meaningful Memorial Day.

NPS Photo

The National Park Service is monitoring weather and climate trends across the Western Arctic Parklands using remote auto...
05/16/2026

The National Park Service is monitoring weather and climate trends across the Western Arctic Parklands using remote automated weather stations. Our team will be conducting annual maintenance at several sites, accessed by helicopter.

You may see a red and silver Temsco A‑Star 350 (tail number N31NS) operating out of Kotzebue and the Dahl Creek airstrip.

Additonal NPS climate monitoring information and links to the current data available at: https://www.nps.gov/im/arcn/climate.htm. Site locations are shown on the map below.

NPS Photo/Ken Hill: Weather station at Howard Pass.

Bears are active across northwest Alaska. Whether you’re hiking the dunes or heading out to camp, here are few bear‑safe...
05/15/2026

Bears are active across northwest Alaska. Whether you’re hiking the dunes or heading out to camp, here are few bear‑safe reminders for everyone on the land this summer.

• Avoid surprising a bear by traveling in open country or making noise in dense vegetation.
• Give bears plenty of space; divert your route and don't approach.
• Post a lookout during berry picking or other subsistence harvests.
• Carry a deterrent like bear spray and/or a firearm and know how to use it.
• Store food and scented items securely in bear‑resistant containers.
• If you encounter a bear: stay calm, back away slowly, and never run.
• Report bear encounters of aggressive or food conditioned bears.

Your choices help keep both people and bears safe. Stay alert, stay respectful, and enjoy your time on the landscape. Learn more by visiting https://www.nps.gov/kova/planyourvisit/bear-safety.htm.

NPS Photo/Amy Martin, 2022 Artist in Residence: Brown bear tracks in the sands of the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes.

05/11/2026

Happy Mother's Day to all!

The National Park Service is working on a film about the importance of Cape Krusenstern National Monument with residents of Sisualik. As we've been working on editing the film a theme emerged: the strength of mothers and grandmothers.

In honor of all the aanas and aakas out there, here are a few stories of your impact.

Thank you to our partners featured in this short Mother's Day clip: Saima Ikrik (Ikrigauraq) Chase, Cyrus Naungaq Harris, Siikauraq Whiting, and Mike Kutavak Kramer. Photos from Siikauraq and Mike of Dora Argagiaq Ataataruaq Wilson and Hannah May Gallahorn (Aliitchak).

📹: By Rachel Heckerman for Cape Krusenstern National Monument, people speak about memories while being interviewed

An audio described version of this reel is available at: https://youtube.com/shorts/1l2DyiI8YpM?feature=share

🌏🕊️ World Migratory Bird Day is May 9!This year’s theme, Every Bird Counts—Your Observations Matter, celebrates the impo...
05/08/2026

🌏🕊️ World Migratory Bird Day is May 9!

This year’s theme, Every Bird Counts—Your Observations Matter, celebrates the important role that each of us plays in understanding and protecting migratory birds. Whether you’re a seasoned birder or a casual observer, the species you spot help paint a clearer picture of the amazing journeys birds undertake each year.

The annual migratory bird contest is still happening. Call in your observations for a chance to win a prize and increase our understanding of migratory patterns in NW Alaska.

Call 907‑318‑2230 or email [email protected] with: the bird you saw, when & where you saw it, and your name and contact information.

Happy birding, Kotzebue!


WMBD 2026 Logo image created by artist Luísa Lacerda from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Prevention is protection when it comes to wildlife interactions, especially when their range overlaps with human village...
05/02/2026

Prevention is protection when it comes to wildlife interactions, especially when their range overlaps with human villages and cities. By securing trash cans, cleaning up uneaten pet food etc., reducing potential attractants prevents unnecessary human–animal conflict and keep animals from becoming too comfortable/conditioned around people. When we limit these preventable encounters, it’s easier to tell the difference between normal curiosity and unusual behavior—something that’s especially important for spotting diseases like rabies, which has confirmed presence in foxes across the region and is transmissible to other mammals, including people!

If you see an animal acting strangely — like showing uncoordinated movement, unusual aggression, reduced fear, severe lethargy, or paralysis, these are signs that a fox could have rabies. Rabies is most commonly spread through a direct bite or scratch, and in rare occasions, if saliva from an infected animal is transferred onto mucous membranes like the eyes, mouth or nose. Report any animals suspected of having rabies to the nearest ADF&G biologist (Kotzebue # 907-442-3420) or the Virology/Rabies Unit in Fairbanks (371-1000). Afterhours rabies line is 855-371-1001.



Image description: Red fox looking over shoulder with white background by Jean Beaufort/CC

🎬✨ Movie Night at Northwest Arctic Heritage Center! ✨🦆To kick off a full month of bird‑inspired programs, the Kotzebue c...
04/30/2026

🎬✨ Movie Night at Northwest Arctic Heritage Center! ✨🦆

To kick off a full month of bird‑inspired programs, the Kotzebue chapter of Ducks Unlimited is sponsoring a special community movie night!

We’ll be showing “Wings Over Water”, a stunning film co‑produced by Ducks Unlimited that celebrates the incredible birds and wetlands of North America. Come enjoy breathtaking footage, learn something new, and help us launch this month’s festivities in style!

Northwest Arctic Heritage Center
Thursday, May 7 from 6-8 pm. Movie begins at 6:30.

Bring your friends, family, and fellow bird lovers!

Ducks Unlimited - Wings Over Water Poster.

Thank you to everyone who joined in the Earth Day Upcycling Art & Creativity Showcase! This year’s Earth day event was a...
04/27/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined in the Earth Day Upcycling Art & Creativity Showcase!
This year’s Earth day event was all about sharing ideas, collaborating, and celebrating the many ways people in our region "upcycle" by repurposing materials that would have otherwise gone to waste or sit unused, and giving them a new life. Whether you submitted a project, shared your creative process, or came to cheer on friends and neighbors, you helped make this event a success!

Among the winning and highlighted entries included toys and art made from antler, rocks, bone and driftwood, a woodstove made with a gas tank, bed frame, door edge, and honda wheel rims, a niksik made from a chuck-it ball launcher with kitchen spoon lure, as well as atikluks made from old curtains and bedsheets, a bouquet of flowers made from toilet paper rolls and cardboard boxes, a reusable baskets and bag made from knitted AC plastic bag "yarn" and more!

The assortment of entries reflects the creativity and innovation of upcycling that sustains our community and honors the nuna (land/earth) that takes care of us. Keep your creative upcycling ideas going for next year!



Photo description: Members of the public looking at table with printed and physical entries and voting on their top three entries by Christina Nelson/NPS

The wind is a sculptor of snow, the sky a painter, and the Kobuk River ice their shared canvas. Drifts stretch across th...
04/10/2026

The wind is a sculptor of snow, the sky a painter, and the Kobuk River ice their shared canvas. Drifts stretch across the tundra and frozen channels—some small and rippling, others large and all encompassing, rising up and over like the back of a breaching whale. In places the ice shines through, catching the colors of the sky. The tundra landscape is active and ever changing, even in the coldest winter months.



Photo of bright blue Kobuk river ice with white wind drifted snow framing it by Christina Nelson/NPS

Tonight! 4 pm - 6 pm, call in and share your thoughts about Wildlife Special Action Request WSA26-01, Regarding Western ...
04/09/2026

Tonight! 4 pm - 6 pm, call in and share your thoughts about Wildlife Special Action Request WSA26-01, Regarding Western Arctic Caribou in Units 22, 23, and Southwest Portion of 26A

WHEN: April 9, 2026 from 4 pm - 6 pm
WHERE: By Teleconference: (833) 436-1163 Conference ID: 514 754 808 #
WHAT: Action request: Limit the caribou harvest to four caribou per year per hunter, only one of which can be a cow. This request would specially reduce harvest limits in Units 22, 23 and southwest portion of 26A.

Current regulations: Units 22, 23, 26A, west of the Colville River drainage upstream from
the Nuka River and drainages of the Chukchi Sea, south and west of and including the K*k
and Kugrua River drainages —15 caribou, only 1 may be a cow

WHY: Data from Alaska Fish & Game biologists illustrate a continual
decline in the Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH). The July 2025 photo census estimated
the herd at 121,000 caribou, representing an approximately 20 percent decline from 2023.
At its annual meeting the WACH Working Group assigned the management level “Critical,
Declining” to the herd based on the current census (less than 130,000) and adult cow
survival rate less than 80%. The WACH Working Group identifies an immediate need to address the current herd decline by limiting the harvest of both bulls and cows to allow the herd population to stabilize and begin to recover.

NPS Photo/LeeAnne Ayres donated slide of a caribou hunter enjoying a cup of coffee after a successful harvest

Address

171 3rd Avenue
Kotzebue, AK
99752

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 10am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 4:30pm
Thursday 10am - 4:30pm
Friday 10am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+19074423890

Website

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