The purpose of Kobuk Valley National Park is to maintain the environmental integrity of boreal forest, montane, and riverine ecosystems. The park protects and interprets diverse resources including arctic sand dunes, archeological sites, and subsistence resources. Section 201 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) states that the park shall be managed for the following purposes, among others: To maintain the environmental integrity of the natural features of the Kobuk River Valley, including the Kobuk, Salmon, and other rivers, the boreal forest, and the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, in an undeveloped state; to protect and interpret, in cooperation with Native Alaskans, archeological sites associated with Native cultures; to protect migration routes for the Arctic caribou herd; to protect habitat for, and populations of, fish and wildlife including but not limited to caribou, moose, black and grizzly bears, wolves, and waterfowl; and to protect the viability of subsistence resources.

Kotzebue