Southern (S) Detachment covers the coastal areas of southeast and southwest Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, Bristol Bay and Bering Sea. The Detachment headquarters is located in Anchorage and is staffed by the Detachment Commander (Captain) and an Administrative Assistant. Southern Detachment is divided into two regions, the Southeast Region and the Southwest Region, each of which are supervised by Deputy Commanders (Lieutenants).
Southeast Region
The Southeast Region of the Southern Detachment is headquartered in the State capital of Juneau and is under the command of a Lieutenant. Sergeants in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Petersburg assist in supervising the Region.
Southeast Region covers the entire mainland and numerous islands of Southeast Alaska and encompasses an area from Dixon Entrance on the southern end, to Icy Bay on the northern end. The region is bounded on the east by the U.S./Canadian border and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The climate is primarily maritime, which means cool in the summers, mild in the winter and a great deal of precipitation throughout the year. The environment consists primarily of forested lands and islands, pristine deep waters, and snowcapped mountains.
Southeast Region is home to three of Alaska’s ten largest cities, Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka. Fishing, tourism, government, and logging are the mainstays of employment.
Southeast Region has 17 commissioned Alaska Wildlife Troopers who are stationed throughout the region. Posts are located in the communities of Craig, Haines, Hoonah, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka and Wrangell.
Civilian support staff for the region consists of: Three full-time Public Safety Technician II’s, one Boat Officer IV, one boat officer I, one Vessel Technician II, one Administrative Assistant and fiveseasonal Public Safety Technician I’s (PST). The PSTs are employed during the busy summer months.
The Wildlife Troopers within the region have an array vessels and aircraft to assist in covering this vast area.
Patrol vessels stationed in southeast Alaska include:
- P/V LOYALTY 34ft Ketchikan
- P/V COMPLIANCE 27ft Hoonah
- P/V MOEN 31ft Petersburg
- P/V COURAGE 33ft Sitka
- P/V GOWTUKAN 32ft Prince of Wales Island
- P/V SENTRY 31ft Juneau
Other patrol equipment include; patrol trucks, ATV’s, snowmachines, PA-18 Super Cub, and a Cessna 185 on amphibious floats.
Southwest Region
The Southwest Region of the Southern Detachment covers the Island of Kodiak, Bristol Bay, the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. Southwest Region headquarters is located in Kodiak and under the command by a Lieutenant. Sergeants in Dutch Harbor, King Salmon, and Kodiak assist with the overall supervision of the region. Posts within the region include Dutch Harbor, Kodiak, Dillingham and King Salmon.
Currently the region has 12 commissioned Alaska Wildlife Troopers, one Boat Officer IV, one Boat Officer III’s, two Boat Officer I’s, two Vessel Technicians, two Administrative Assistants, two PST II’s and four PST I’s. This region has enforcement responsibility for commercial fisheries of salmon, herring, crab, and groundfish. These fisheries are conducted in some of the nation's richest marine waters which include the Bering Sea Crab fishery and Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon. In addition to unmatched fishery resources these waters experience some of the world's most severe weather.
Patrol vessels stationed in the Southwest Region include:
- P/V Stimson 156 foot Kodiak
- P/V Cama’i 65 foot Kodiak
- P/V Audrey Ann 32 foot King Salmon
A myriad of small watercraft, ATV's, five fixed wing aircraft, and an R-44 helicopter are also needed to meet its enforcement responsibilities.
In addition to the vast commercial fishery resources in the Southern Detachment, wildlife viewing and subsistence and sport hunting, subsistence and sport fishing and trapping opportunities abound.
The best brown bear viewing in the world is found in the Southern Detachment at places such as McNeil River, Brooks Falls on the Alaska Peninsula, Karluk River on Kodiak Island and Pack Creek in Southeast.
Hunting opportunities include a myriad of small game, waterfowl and big game including: Moose, brown and black bear, mountain goat, black-tailed deer, caribou and elk.
Finally Southern Detachment is home to many of the most sought after sport fishing destinations in the world, including trophy rainbow trout fishing in Bristol Bay, halibut and Chinook around Kodiak Island and rock fish, all species of salmon and halibut in Southeast.
Protecting the resources of Southern Detachment and Alaska is a challenging yet extraordinarily rewarding task.