{"id":545,"date":"2024-09-10T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T08:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e-mailguide.com\/?p=545"},"modified":"2025-01-03T11:08:51","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T11:08:51","slug":"photo-essay-the-brown-bears-and-salt-marshes-of-chinitna-bay-alaska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-mailguide.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/10\/photo-essay-the-brown-bears-and-salt-marshes-of-chinitna-bay-alaska\/","title":{"rendered":"Photo Essay: The Brown Bears and Salt Marshes of Chinitna Bay, Alaska"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In late spring through midsummer, brown bears gather in high numbers in Chinitna Bay\u2019s salt marshes to graze on the protein-rich sedges and other plants. \u00a9Candice Gaukel Andrews<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Alaska\u2019s Chinitna Bay on Cook Inlet near Lake Clark National Park and Preserve<\/a> is the very heart of coastal brown bear<\/a> country, according to the National Park Service. And now, having visited it,<\/a> I can say I wholeheartedly agree.<\/p>\n

Here, in the estuaries where rivers flowing out of the mountains meet the sea, food is almost free for the taking from early spring until the bears return to their dens in the fall. I say \u201calmost\u201d because the bears do have to dig, fish or forage for it.<\/p>\n

Salt marshes are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, and they are a prominent feature of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve\u2019s coastline. They act as buffer zones between freshwater and saltwater, creating a brackish environment affected by tidal fluctuations. This makes these areas unique by harboring plant communities of salt-tolerant grasses and sedges that support a wide range of animals, including migratory birds, fish, intertidal invertebrates, moose, river otters, other small mammals, shorebirds, songbirds, waterfowl and a dense population of coastal brown bears.<\/p>\n

> Wildlife Guide: Brown Bears<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Public<\/p>\n

Visitors flying to Chinitna Bay get an overview of the salt marshes that the bears graze in for much of the summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Coastal salt marshes are crucial for coastal brown bears<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Coastal salt marshes comprise less than 1% of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, yet they are critical for the survival of the park\u2019s brown bears. Each spring, brown and black bears congregate in these marshes and meadows to graze on the fresh, green sedges after winter hibernation. With their fat reserves depleted and with young cubs to feed, bears emerge from their dens in need of high-protein nutrition. Young sedges in the salt marshes are a vital, early-season source of that needed nutrition.<\/p>\n

During low tide, bears leave the salt marshes for the adjacent mudflats to dig razor clams and other bivalves. Tidal streams bisecting the salt marshes provide nursery habitat for a variety of juvenile fish. In late summer, salmon enter the salt marsh streams on their way to their spawning grounds. As these fish arrive, bears transition from sedges to salmon in preparation for the upcoming winter months.<\/p>\n

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