SITKA — A bear rescue operation in Sitka is planning to expand its facilities to accommodate an increasing number of visitors.
The Fortress of the Bear, run by Evy and Les Kinnear, has grown to become a popular tourist attraction in recent years. The couple is looking to purchase the property at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park that it leases to expand its bear rescue operations and add new facilities and programs, The Sitka Sentinel reports.
A priority for the Kinnears is adding more space for visitors to view the animals. The observation deck, which sits above the bears’ enclosure, got pretty crowded last year, said Evy Kinnear.
“We can’t complain, because we’re on the good side of it. But there were days last year when people were really packed in up there,” she said to the Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.
Les Kinnear said the expansion would increase the available viewing space by 40 percent. The work would be completed using recycled materials, like other improvements that have been made at the facility.
“Everything has been reused from whatever was around and that’s how we’ve been able to sustain what we’ve done,” Evy Kinnear said.
Since opening the Fortress of the Bear in 2002, the Kinnears have rescued 13 bears. Five of the animals have been relocated to zoos in Texas, Montana and New York. Long-term plans for the facility, Evy Kinnear said, include rehabilitating bears for release back into the wild.
The Kinnears lease the property for $50 a month. Members of the Gary Paxton Industrial Park’s board of directors are open to selling the land, but paperwork related to a federal easement in the area has prevented that.
Evy Kinnear said that the facility has changed quite a bit from when they first took over the property, which was previously the site of the Alaska Pulp Corp. pulp mill. But more improvements could be made, she said.
“We’ve done a lot of work but it still has an industrial look about it. We would love to change that,” Evy Kinnear said.
