Locals will get the first look at the new Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center today.
Deputy Refuge Manager Steve Miller said they were a little daring with the new design…
Miller: “I was involved all the way from the beginning, so it was like, ‘Is this going to turn out and be something that we wanted? And it’s gorgeous. It’s something to be proud of and I hope the whole community is proud of it.”
The design of the Visitor’s Center took inspiration from the nearby habitat…
Miller: “We tried to blend it in more with the environment. It’s kind of set down into the ground a little bit, it’s got some more natural colors, grays and browns, it’s got some wood highlights to it, so it does seem to blend in and we did go with a portion of the roof is a green roof, so we do have grass on a portion of the roof, so it doesn’t stick out quite as much as you might expect for a brand new building.”
Supervisory Park Ranger Matt Connors said the theme continues inside…
Connors: “That they were to walk through all the major habitats on the refuge from the oceans to the ice fields in less than a few minutes and when I saw walk through I don’t mean just looking at photographs or reading about descriptions, when you walk into the entryway you’re going to actually walk through a crevice in a glacier. And then as you walk around you’ll see some alpine rock with Dall Sheep looking at you, life size mounts, and as you go around the corner you’ll see all types of habitat in the forest and all the animals that dwell within there. And then a big surprise at the end but I’m now going to give that away yet.”
The Grand Opening of the new Center isn’t until May 30th, but locals will get a sneak peek today 3pm-7pm. The Refuge will be open Tuesdays through Fridays starting next week, 10am to 7pm.