Heimo Korth is an American outdoorsman. He and his wife Edna are among the few permanent residents of the

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on traditional Gwich'in lands. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest national wildlife ...

. They live along the

Coleen River The Coleen River ( ) is a tributary of the Porcupine River in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It begins in the Davidson Mountains in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and flows generally south-southeast into the larger river ...

, just south of the

Brooks Range The Brooks Range ( Gwich'in: ''Gwazhał'') is a mountain range in far northern North America stretching some from west to east across northern Alaska into Canada's Yukon Territory. Reaching a peak elevation of on Mount Isto, the range is believ ...

, and move between cabins seasonally. Striving to be self-reliant, they hunt and fish for their own food. The Korths' lifestyle came to public attention with James Campbell's 2004 book '' The Final Frontiersman: Heimo Korth and His Family, Alone in Alaska's Arctic Wilderness''. In 2009,

VBS.tv VBS.tv was an online television network owned by ''Vice Media'', and later absorbed into VICE.com. The network produced original, short-form, documentary-style video content under the auspice of VICE Films. Subject matter included humanitarian ...

produced ''Surviving Alone in Alaska'', a documentary film showing Korth's lifestyle. He was also featured among others on PBS's "Braving Alaska" in 1992. Reliant on

bush pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally ...

s to transport him in and out of his home in

the bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this a ...

, he was incidentally featured in ''

Flying Wild Alaska ''Flying Wild Alaska'' is a documentary television series that aired on Discovery Channel in 2011 and 2012. The show features the Tweto family from Unalakleet, Alaska who run the Alaska airline Era Alaska. They operate the hub operations from ...

'' 2011 - 2012, as Korth had hired the series' protagonist Jim Tweto to fly him out of

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

. Heimo, Edna and their family, alongside 4 other families, make up the Discovery series ''

The Last Alaskans ''The Last Alaskans'' is an American reality television series. The series premiered on Animal Planet on May 25, 2015. The second season premiered on the Discovery Channel on April 12, 2016. The fourth and final season premiered on the Discovery C ...

'' which premiered in 2015. Heimo and his wife are briefly discussed in the book, "Warriors Creed," when two Pararescue Jumpers drop in during a snow storm to provide medical assistance to Edna, and transport them both to a medical facility. Heimo's first name is of Finnish origin and means "tribe" in English.

References

External links

Heimo Korth Fan Club
- the Korths' official Facebook page {{DEFAULTSORT:Korth, Heimo 1950s births American hunters People from Alaska People from Appleton, Wisconsin Survivalists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people