Prince of Wales Management Area
Overview

The Prince of Wales management area includes all of Prince of Wales Island and all the islands to the west and includes all the surrounding marine waters. The major marine fisheries are for chinook and coho salmon, and halibut, but also include other salmon species along with lingcod, rockfish and other bottom fish species. Major freshwater fisheries include all salmon species (except chinook) along with steelhead (including resident rainbow trout), cutthroat tout and Dolly Varden char.

POW Island is the third largest island in the nation (only Kodiak and Hawaii are larger) and contains hundreds of streams and lakes. An extensive road system (the vast majority of which is unpaved) on the island allows access to many of these freshwater systems. The major landowner in the area is the US Forest Service (they can also provide a good map of the island), but there are also large sections of private land (mostly owned by native corporations). The US Forest Service also maintains a series of cabins located throughout the area that can be rented by the public (through the ReserveUSA web site). The area is sparsely populated with several communities spread throughout the area. Towns on the island road system include Craig (the largest community on the island), Klawock, Hydaburg, Thorne Bay, Coffman Cove, Naukati, Whale Pass, Kasaan and Hollis. Point Baker (on the northern tip of POW and Edna Bay (on Kosciusko Island) are off the road system. The Inter Island Ferry Authority provides daily Ferry service between Ketchikan and POW.