On Tuesday, Ranger Tyler made a quick flight to the Kelly River Ranger Station to pick up a member of the park service’s maintenance team and one of our law enforcement rangers.
Direct flight to and from the Kelly River Ranger Station near the mouth of the Kelly River near the western boundary of the park. It was a sunny day with a smattering of clouds. The Noatak River looked particularly blue. The Aggi [Agashashok River] was clear and flowing quickly while the Eli River looked quite dry from the air. It was slightly smoky from the fires in Gates of the Arctic National Park to the east. We saw wolf tracks on the gravel bar at the ranger station.
The Eli River. NPS Photos/Tyler Teuscher
The Maiyumerak Mountains. NPS Photos/Tyler Teuscher
National Park Service canoe on the banks of the Noatak River at the Kelly River Ranger Station. NPS Photos/Tyler Teuscher
In most national parks, backcountry ranger stations such as this one would be staffed by a ranger all summer long. Noatak National Preserve is one of the largest and most remote units in the national park system, however, and it impractical to staff such remote cabins for long periods of time. Instead, the ranger station is used periodically by law enforcement rangers and researchers throughout the summer.