Karta

The Karta Inventoried Roadless Area covers 52,117 acres on east-central Prince of Wales Island in the Tongass National Forest, within the Alexander Archipelago. North Pole Hill, Rush Peak, Pin Peak, and Harris Peak rise above the interior, while Mound Point and Pellett Point mark the saltwater margin and Abbess Island sits offshore. Drainage is dominated by the Karta River, which collects flow from Karta River headwaters and merges with Harris River, Halfmile Creek, Threemile Creek, Paul Young Creek, Goose Creek, Flagstaff Creek, and Maybeso Creek as it descends to Karta Bay. Inland still waters — Foot Lake, Lake Ellen, Wolf Lake, and Black Bear Lake — store cold runoff and feed the system through summer. The Karta River's hydrologic significance is rated major, supporting one of the most productive salmon runs in southeastern Alaska.

The lowlands carry Coastal Western Hemlock-Sitka Spruce Rainforest. Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) and Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) form the closed canopy, with Western Red-cedar (Thuja plicata) and Alaska-cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis) intermixed on cool, wet aspects. Red Alder (Alnus rubra) takes disturbed openings and old burn margins, returning nitrogen to riparian soils. The understory is dense: Devil's-club (Oplopanax horridus), Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), and Yellow Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) in wet pockets. Lettuce Lichen (Lobaria oregana) drapes lower limbs, deep mats of Stairstep Moss (Hylocomium splendens) cover the ground, and the small orchid Fairy Slipper (Calypso bulbosa) appears in the deepest shade. Upper slopes transition through Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) parkland to subalpine heath. Open muskegs hold Bog Buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), Roundleaf Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), and Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus).

The Karta River and its tributaries support four Pacific salmon species — Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), Coho Salmon (O. kisutch), Chum Salmon (O. keta), and Chinook Salmon (O. tshawytscha) — along with resident Coastal Cutthroat Trout (O. clarkii), Steelhead (O. mykiss), and Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma). American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) move from interior berry slopes to streamside fishing during spawning runs. Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus), the Sitka black-tailed subspecies on this coast, browse forest edge and avalanche openings. Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), listed as endangered by the IUCN, nests on the moss-covered limbs of large old-growth conifers and forages in nearby salt water. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) perch above salmon-bearing reaches. Along the marine shoreline, Northern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) forage among kelp beds, Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) haul out on tidal flats, and Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) feed offshore. Rocky intertidal zones support the endangered Pinto Abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) alongside Purple Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceus). Portions of this area fall within the potential range of several federally listed species; see the Conservation section for details.

A visitor entering Karta typically arrives by floatplane to Karta Bay or follows the 5-mile Karta River Trail from the bay toward Salmon Lake. The trail moves through second-growth and remnant old-growth spruce-hemlock, with frequent crossings of small tributaries running clear over gravel. In late summer the river runs heavy with returning salmon and the bears that follow them. From higher ground on Rush Peak or Pin Peak, the Alexander Archipelago opens to view across forested ridges and protected saltwater.

The 52,117-acre Karta Inventoried Roadless Area lies on east-central Prince of Wales Island in the Alaska Panhandle, drained by the Karta River into Karta Bay at the head of Kasaan Bay [1]. Its human history begins in deep antiquity. Archaeologists have dated artifacts found on Prince of Wales Island to as much as 10,300 years before the present [2]. Tlingit people were first to settle Prince of Wales Island [2]. In the nearby Thorne River drainage, an archeologically significant 5,360-year-old spruce root basket — "The Thorne River Basket" — was found in the estuary in 1998 and is preserved in the Alaska State Museum in Juneau [4]. During the 1700s, Kaigani Haida migrated from Haida Gwaii in present-day British Columbia and established permanent settlements on Prince of Wales Island [2]. Native Alaskans, particularly the Haida, historically lived around Karta Bay and utilized the rich food sources of this area [1].

European-era enterprise transformed Prince of Wales Island in the twentieth century. Fire burned the Karta area around the turn of the century, after which second-growth spruce, cedar, and hemlock grew back [1]. President Theodore Roosevelt established the Tongass National Forest by proclamation in 1907 [5]. Industrial timber extraction came decisively in the postwar era: the first of two fifty-year timber contracts began in 1951 with a pulp mill in Ketchikan [5]. Ketchikan Pulp Co. brought their floating logging camp to shore at Thorne Bay from Hollis in 1961, when timber was still the leading sector of the island's economy [4]. Thorne Bay was home for the world's largest logging camps in the 1960s [4].

Federal protection of public lands in Alaska entered a new phase at the end of the century. President Jimmy Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) into law on December 2, 1980, after decades of legislative and advocacy efforts [3]. A decade later, Congress passed the Tongass Timber Reform Act, Public Law 101-626, on November 28, 1990, "to amend the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, to protect certain lands in the Tongass National Forest in perpetuity, to modify certain long-term timber contracts, [and] to provide for protection of riparian habitat" [1]. That Act designated 38,046 acres at the core of the Karta drainage as the Karta River Wilderness, embedded within the larger 52,117-acre roadless area now protected under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The Karta River system, with its salmon runs and stands of regenerating spruce, cedar, and hemlock, remains under the Thorne Bay Ranger District today.

Vital Resources Protected

• Anadromous Watershed Integrity: The Karta River and its tributaries — Harris River, Halfmile Creek, Threemile Creek, Paul Young Creek, Goose Creek, Flagstaff Creek, and Maybeso Creek — make up one of the major salmon-producing systems on Prince of Wales Island, supporting Pink, Coho, Chum, and Chinook salmon along with resident Coastal Cutthroat Trout, Steelhead, and Dolly Varden. Roadless conditions hold sediment delivery at natural background levels, leave riparian canopies intact, and preserve the gravel substrate and cold flows that anadromous fish require for spawning. Foot Lake, Lake Ellen, Wolf Lake, and Black Bear Lake provide cold storage that buffers downstream temperature through summer.

• Old-Growth Murrelet Habitat: The unfragmented Coastal Western Hemlock-Sitka Spruce Rainforest preserves multi-aged stands of Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, Western Red-cedar, and Alaska-cedar with the large limbs and thick moss platforms that Marbled Murrelet (IUCN: Endangered) requires for nesting. Murrelets fly inland from salt water to nest in single mossy depressions on the upper limbs of mature conifers — a behavior that depends on the absence of canopy openings, edge predators, and disturbance of large nest trees.

• Marine-Terrestrial Transition Zones: The Karta Bay shoreline maintains an unbroken interface between forested upland, intertidal beach, and kelp-bed shallows. This continuity supports Northern Sea Otter (Sea Otter listed as Endangered by IUCN) foraging in kelp, Harbor Seal haul-outs on tidal flats, and the rocky substrate where the endangered Pinto Abalone persists in cold subtidal water.

Potential Effects of Road Construction

• Sedimentation of salmon-bearing streams: Road cuts and fill slopes on the steep terrain above the Karta River drainage deliver chronic fine sediment to receiving streams, smothering the gravel spawning substrate that Pink, Coho, Chum, and Chinook salmon depend on. Culverts at stream crossings interrupt fish passage and concentrate scour and deposition above and below the structure. Eroded subsoil continues moving downslope for decades after construction, so the loss of spawning habitat is not easily reversed.

• Fragmentation of murrelet nesting habitat: A road corridor through old-growth Coastal Western Hemlock-Sitka Spruce Rainforest creates permanent edges along which wind-throw, drying, and corvid predation on nestlings accelerate, all of which reduce Marbled Murrelet nesting success. Because individual murrelet nest trees are not replaceable on management timescales — the limb-moss platforms develop only on very old trees — fragmentation of this habitat is functionally permanent for the species.

• Coastal pollution and disturbance pathways: Road and shoreline infrastructure introduces chronic vehicle, machinery, and runoff inputs into the marine-terrestrial transition zone, displacing Harbor Seal and Northern Sea Otter from haul-outs and forage areas. Hydrocarbon, sediment, and stormwater pollutants enter the nearshore waters of Karta Bay used by these species and by Humpback Whale; subtidal Pinto Abalone are particularly sensitive to sediment burial. Nearshore currents redistribute these inputs throughout Kasaan Bay, so even small road networks have outsized footprints on the connected waters of the system.

The Karta Inventoried Roadless Area covers 52,117 acres on east-central Prince of Wales Island in the Tongass National Forest. Access is by boat or floatplane from Kasaan Bay, with a maintained trail system providing the primary inland access.

Trail Access

The Karta River Trail follows the Karta River 5 miles from the head of Karta Bay to Salmon Lake, climbing gradually through second-growth and remnant old-growth spruce-hemlock-cedar rainforest and offering access to the river's salmon runs along its length. The Salt Chuck Trail (Trail 54786), 1.1 miles of native surface for hikers, leads to the Salt Chuck Mine site and tidal flats. Additional unimproved road-grade routes — Rush Peak West Valley (3.0 miles), Maybeso Road (2.6 miles), Angel Lake 2030790 Road (0.8 miles), and 2030128 Road (0.9 miles) — provide foot access into the western and southern margins of the area. Travel off these routes is cross-country through dense rainforest and muskeg.

Cabins and Camping

Three Forest Service rental cabins serve the area — Karta River, Karta Lake, and Salmon Lake — accessible by floatplane, with boat access available for the Karta River cabin. Outside the cabin system, the Harris River Campground and Eagles Nest Campground provide developed sites near the area's western edge. Dispersed camping is permitted on USFS land subject to standard regulations: store food in bear-resistant containers, pack out waste, and camp away from salmon streams during the runs.

Fishing

The Karta River system supports outstanding salmon fisheries. Anglers target Pink Salmon, Coho Salmon, Chum Salmon, Chinook Salmon, Coastal Cutthroat Trout, Steelhead, and Dolly Varden in the river and its tributaries — Harris River, Halfmile Creek, Threemile Creek, Paul Young Creek, Goose Creek, Flagstaff Creek, and Maybeso Creek — under Alaska Department of Fish and Game regulations. Saltwater anglers in Karta Bay and Kasaan Bay target Pacific Halibut, Lingcod, and rockfish, including Quillback, Yelloweye, Copper, Tiger, China, and Silvergray Rockfish, plus Pacific Cod.

Hunting

American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) and Mule Deer (Sitka black-tailed subspecies, Odocoileus hemionus) are the principal big game species, hunted under Alaska Department of Fish and Game seasons and Game Management Unit rules. Waterfowl hunting follows federal and state regulations for ducks and geese, with Canada Goose and various sea ducks present in the bays.

Wildlife Observation and Birding

The area supports a high diversity of birds, including Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), Bald Eagle, Steller's Jay, Varied Thrush, Pacific Wren, Townsend's Warbler, Rufous Hummingbird, and Sandhill Crane in season. Two eBird hotspots within 24 km — Klawock and Lower Wadleigh Island — have each recorded 109 species. Marine wildlife observation includes Sea Otter, Steller Sea Lion, Harbor Seal, and Humpback Whale in nearshore waters. Bear viewing along salmon streams in late summer is a major draw.

Why the Roadless Condition Matters

Every activity depends on the area's intact watershed and forest condition. The Karta River salmon fishery depends on clean gravel substrate and cold, unsedimented water — qualities that would be lost under a road network on the steep slopes above the river. Marbled Murrelet observation depends on old-growth canopy structure that road construction would fragment. The cabin-and-floatplane recreation pattern — paddling and fishing on inland lakes reached only on foot or by air — is intact precisely because there are no shoreline roads. If road construction were to enter this watershed, the fishery, the wildlife viewing, and the trail experience would all change in ways that cannot be reversed.