in 1932, aniakchak bay and the lagoon behind were discovered to have rich beds of razor clams. a cannery was established that year, quickly exhausting the stocks. over the next decades the region became largely deserted, frequented only by trappers and fishermen. a flurry of renewed interest in oil leases in the 1950s came to nothing. in the 1960s, sport hunters began to frequent the area, focusing primarily on bear and caribou.