was abandoned in 1938 and is now a ghost town tourist attraction and historic district maintained by the National Park Service. Copper River Highway (Alaska Route 10) runs from Cordova to the lower Copper River near Childs Glacier, following the old railroad route and ending at the reconstructed Million Dollar Bridge across the river. The Tok Cut-Off (Alaska Route 1) follows the Copper River Valley on the north side of the Chugach Mountains. Fisheries The river's famous salmon runs arise from the use of the river watershed by over 2 million salmon each year for spawning. The extensive runs result in many unique varieties, prized for their fat content. The river's commercial salmon season is very brief, beginning in May for chinook salmon and sockeye salmon for periods lasting days or hours at a time. Sport fishing by contrast is open all year long, but peak season on the Copper River lasts from August to September when the coho salmon runs. The fisheries are co-managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and the Department of the Interior Federal Subsistence Board. Management data are obtained primarily by ADF&G at the Miles Lake sonar station and the native village of Eyak at the Baird Canyon and Canyon Creek research stations. Birding The Copper River Delta, which extends for 700,000 acres (2,800 km2), is the largest contiguous wetlands along the Pacific coast of North America. It is used annually by 16 million shorebirds, including the world's entire population of western sandpipers and dunlins. It is also home to the world's largest population of nesting trumpeter swans and is the only known nesting site for the dusky Canada goose subspecies (Branta canadensis occidentalis). See also List of rivers of Alaska References Further reading Brabets, Timothy P. (1997). Geomorphology of the Lower Copper River, Alaska [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1581]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. External links Ecotrust Copper River Program Copper River salmon habitat management study Prepared for Ecotrust by Marie E. Lowe of the Institute of Social and Economic Research, hosted by Alaska State Publications Program Alaska Department of Fish and Game: Copper River Salmon Eyak Preservation Council Nature Conservancy: Copper River Delta The Copper River Watershed Project NVE Fisheries Research and Seasonal Employment on the Copper River Cordova District Fishermen United Wrangell-St. Elias National Park information Copper River | Chitina Dipnet Fishery Escapement