Commander's Reserve. State natural biosphere reserve

In 1741 the expedition led by Commander Vitus Bering opened the Commander Islands. For a long time they were uninhabited. The first settlers were the Creoles and Aleuts, who began to develop the islands in 1825. Today, the village of Nikolskoe on the island of Beringa is a settlement of the Aleuts, the only one in the Russian Federation.

From the history of the reserve

In the Tsarist times the Commander Islands were suppliers of furs for the royal treasury. Uncontrolled demand for animals led to the mass destruction of seals, which significantly reduced their numbers. At the end of the XIX century, work began to protect rookeries, the first restrictions were imposed on the production of fur seals and sea otters. Control over their fishing was approved in 1911.

Significantly improved the situation in Soviet times. In 1958, fishing was prohibited thirty miles around the islands. The first zapovednik of regional importance appeared on this land in 1980.

The name "Commander's State Reserve" and the status of the federal, he received in April 1993. Since 2002 it has received the status of "biosphere", which is under the protection of UNESCO.

Location:

The Commander's Reserve is located in the north of the Pacific Ocean. Its territory is bounded from the south by the Bering Sea. The Commander Islands are the western extremity of the island Aleutian arc. They are the top of the underwater ridges and consist of 15 islands of different sizes.

Kamchatka, the Commander Islands

In general, these are separately standing small rocks. The largest of them is Bering Island. Its highest point is the mountain of Steller, whose height is 755 meters. Also it is impossible not to single out the picturesque Medny Island. It is a flat and low island.

The Commander-Aleutian arc consists of volcanic rocks. On these islands volcanic activity is not recorded, and earthquakes happen quite often. These are minor tremors (rarely reach 5-6 points).

Zapovednik "Komandorsky": description

He is on the Commander's archipelago. This is the Aleutian region (Kamchatka region). It also includes the coastal water area of the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The total area of the reserve is 3,648,679 hectares. This territory includes 3 463 300 hectares of marine area and 185 379 hectares of land.

The reserve is in the south of Bering Island. In addition, it occupies the islands of Ariy Kamen and the Copper Island, which are located in a compact group east of Kamchatka.

The Commander's Reserve is divided into sections that are protected to varying degrees:

• Protected nuclei, where human activity is prohibited and its interference in natural processes;
• Buffer zones, where limited fishing and partial economic activities are allowed.

Climatic conditions

Commander Islands are located in the non-polluted southern part of the Bering Sea. It's a pretty cool summer and a relatively warm winter. Almost monthly there are days when the wind blows on islands with a huge speed - more than 108 kilometers per hour.

Goals and objectives of the reserve

The Komandorsky Reserve has special tasks:

• Protection of natural areas and the marine area adjacent to it, in order to preserve natural objects in a natural state;
• Carrying out scientific research, keeping the history of nature;
• Carrying out environmental monitoring, as well as environmental education;
• Introduction on the territory of the biosphere reserve of environmental management methods that do not destroy the environment and do not deplete biological resources;
• Promote the protection of historical, cultural and ethnic heritage.

Due to the biological diversity of marine flora and fauna, the unfreezing water area in winter, the territory is a place of fattening of a large number of waterfowl, the presence of endangered, rare and endemic species of birds and mammals. Kamchatka has no equivalent reserve.

Plants

Flora and fauna of the region includes 383 species of vascular plants and 158 - algae. Through the Commander Islands is the eastern border of the territory, where 93 species of rare plants are distributed. There are no forests here. At any point of the Commander, the tundra prevails. Only occasionally here one can find bushes of shrubbery and willows. Under them grow the Swedish Derain, Loiseleria lying, Crawberry black, Phyllodoca Aleutian and blue.

The grass in the reserve is represented by an anemone varicoloupe, a serpent-borne serpentine, a three-leaved mantle, a horsetail wintering. A multi-floral flower often suffers from its beauty. These unusual flowers are often torn off, making bouquets, despite the fact that the plant is poisonous.

Other shrubs are also found here: Siberian juniper, edible honeysuckle and hips-blubbery.

On the meadows grow long-nosed sedge, palmised root, horsetail, geranium fluffy, iris bristly, meadow tortuous.

Animals

The Commander's Reserve is distinguished by a wide variety of animals. There are 25 species of mammals, 25 fish and 213 birds. There are six species of terrestrial mammals. This is an American mink, a blue copper fox, a gray rat, a red vole, a house mouse, a reindeer. They all inhabit the island of Bering.

The reserve is especially famous for protected large haulouts of marine animals: Steller sea lions and marine fur seals. These animals create joint rookeries - thousands of congestions on the shore.

Seals are a kind of eared seals. This is the most numerous marine species, which glorified the reserve to the whole world. Northern sea lions (Steller sea lion) are few in the Commander's Reserve. Largies are seals, animals that are quite rare for islands. They live on the coastal reefs and rocks of the islands. This sea animal of unusual beauty and grace with a motley color.

Anthuras are the so-called island seals that belong to a group of true seals. Sometimes this animal is called a "flower seal" because of the unusual color of the skin: large yellow and white spots in the form of rings are scattered on a brown or dark gray background. Anthuras are rare animals, so they are protected by the state.

Kamchatka (Russia) is mostly inhabited by marine life. This is the commander's belt, the whale-humpback, the blue northern whale and others.

An endemic population of blue fox (polar fox) is protected in the Commander's Reserve. The life of these animals is full of dangers and a desperate struggle. Approximately 40% of puppies of blue arctic foxes perish. Some of them break from the rocks, others are killed by larger predators.

Birds

The Komandorsky Reserve is a nesting place for marine and waterfowl birds, as well as the stopping of Anseriformes and Charadriiformes during migrations. On the islands there are nesting gyrfalcon, seagull gull, peregrine falcon, red-legged goat.

Nesting here are about a million bird species of nineteen species. Most of all there are fools, thin-billed guillemots, common sweepers, and hatchets. Foolish people are so named for their gullibility: they are absolutely not afraid of man. And axes, or dead ends, are called because of the peculiar shape of the beak, which very much resembles a hatchet. They have a second name - sea parrots. In the mating season, the already bright color of these birds becomes even more amazing.

In search of food, these birds are able to dive to a huge depth (up to 10 m). They remain under water for up to two minutes, they catch fish, while they do not release the caught fish. They can simultaneously hold up to 12 fish in the beak.

Tourism

Today, a huge number of our compatriots and guests from abroad come to the Commander's Reserve to admire the extraordinary nature of these places. Tourist routes are organized in the reserve, which help to appreciate the diversity of fauna and flora. Routes lie on the islands of Bering and Copper, acquaint with the birds of the islands of Toporkov and Ariy Kamen.

In addition, here you can see historical places telling about the history of our homeland. In November 1741, the packet boat "Saint Peter", led by Commander Vitus Bering, was thrown into coastal reefs during a severe storm.

The islands, which were later called the Commander Islands, were part of Russia, like Alaska and all the other islands of the Aleutian arc. And that uninhabited island, called the island of Bering, became the last haven for the great commander and his loyal companions.

In 1867, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands were sold to the US, and only inaccuracy in indicating the geographical data in the treaty, has kept the islands under consideration for Russia.

After the archaeological excavations (1922), the camp of the famous expedition and burial was discovered. The reburial of the remains of the team and of Commander Bering himself was carried out. Since then, the Bay of Komandor has become very attractive for tourists who want to bow to the fearless Russian explorers of the Second Kamchatka Expedition.

Reserve mode

Despite the harsh climate of those wishing to visit the Commander Islands every year, more and more. The most favorable months for visiting these places are July, August and September. Today the reserve has developed several interesting routes. In addition, you can get a pass to visit the rookeries of marine mammals. Here you will see a huge number of animals and you can make a stunning photo.

How to get there

The Commander Islands can be reached by air, helicopter or by sea. From Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the island of Bering, you will have to overcome 735 km. Sea tours to the Commander Reserve are constantly organized.

Where to stay

As a rule, tourists are accommodated for the night in the village of Nikolskoye. Quite often the organizers of water tours offer accommodation in comfortable cabins of ships.