Kronotsky Nature Reserve 

Kronotsky Nature Reserve protects over a million hectares of mountainous and coastal habitats on the southeastern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The reserve harbors unique natural monuments such as the Valley of the Geysers, the caldera of the Uzon Volcano, Death Valley, Burlyaschy (Bubbling) Volcano, Kronotskoye Lake, the Semyachik Estuary, glaciers of the Kronotsky Peninsula, and the unique Sakhalin fir grove. Through history, however, preservation of this area has alternated with its active exploitation. 

After Russians settled Kamchatka in the 17th century, the rate of natural resource development accelerated. In 1720, Peter the Great issued a decree stating that “fire shall not be permitted in the woods, so that the sable shall not abandon them.” But development often resulted in sharp declines in animal numbers. In fewer than three decades, the sea cow on the Commander Islands went extinct. Uncontrolled trade of sea otter led to its disappearance on the Kamchatka coast and around the Commanders. Unsustainable hunting of sable resulted in near extinction of the population on Kamchatka by the mid 1800s.

In 1882, an imperial decree designated Kronotsky as a sanctuary for sable conservation, making it one of Russia’s first preserves. Despite its protected status, however, only local hunters policed the territory, and sable numbers on the peninsula continued to decline. War and civil strife, beginning in 1905, only aggravated the situation, and, after 1912, there were no limitations on hunting of sable and other fur-bearing animals in Kronotsky.