Cook Inlet Basin Ecoregional Assessment

The Cook Inlet Basin ecoregion is home to the greatest concentrations of Alaska's human population. Even so, most of the basin is only lightly developed and many of its landscapes and ecological processes are relatively intact. The region is most notable for its healthy populations of top level predators, such as brown bear, and its important habitats for waterfowl, shorebirds, marine mammals and five species of Pacific salmon. This conservation blueprint reflects the migratory nature of these species and the character of northern landscapes, where species range across a variety of large habitat areas at different seasons and life stages.

Read the executive summary and view the map of areas of biological signficance

Products Available from the Assessment:

The following products from the assessment are available on CD-ROM by contacting the Alaska Field Office at 907-276-3133 or alaska@tnc.org

The Cook Inlet Basin Ecoregional Assessment: This full report details the methodology, process and outcomes of the assessment.

Ecoregional Atlas: A collection of maps from the assessment, describing characteristics of the ecoregions and the areas of biological significance.

Conservation Target List: Representative species and systems in the ecoregion -- use this list as a starting point for your biological assessment.

Terrestrial Systems and Aquatic Systems Models: Use these models to understand broad patterns of habitat distribution in order to create more efficient and cost-effective monitoring and inventory efforts.

Information Gaps: Discover opportunities to fund research and to partner to advance the understanding of the ecoregion.