It was established in 2003 by Les and Evy Kinnear at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park, which previously housed the Sitka Pulp Mill.

Sitka conservation organizations opposed the Kinnears' plan to open a refuge, believing that wild bears should not be confined in tanks and shown to the public.

Evy had previously been a Los Angeles middle school teacher in math and science before becoming her mother's caretaker in Portland.

Les Kinnear decided to stay in Alaska in Sitka after Evy saw the bear sanctuary as a venture worth doing and pledged her support.

[4] In 2003, Les Kinnear created Kootznahoo, a non-profit organization, to serve as a sanctuary for bears from Southeast Alaska.

[5] After the state of Alaska asked her to evaluate the proposal, the bear expert and Houston Zoo handler Diana Weinhardt visited the site and concluded it was achievable.

Carrie Bosman, a Sitka resident and the Center for Biological Diversity's Alaska program director, said, "I think it's a moral question.

Jim Faro, a Sitka resident and former Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist, said, "I think they will find it extremely expensive to modify (the mill site) into anything other than a substandard holding facility."

[2] The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation conducted an analysis of the soil surrounding the waste tanks, confirming that there was a small pollution rate.

[4] That year, the Sitka Assembly authorized a modification of the lease to include part of the hill for the bears' living space.

[14] A viewing platform overlooks the bears' living quarters, which is filled with water, trees, barrels, and swings.

[21][22] A female brown bear cub named Pandora temporarily stayed at the refuge for a few weeks in mid-2011 before being relocated to Montana Grizzly Encounter.

[22] For its show Expedition Wild, National Geographic filmed Kinnear's and the naturalist Casey Anderson's interactions with Pandora.

In Seward, Spring Creek Correctional Center workers had found her consuming cigarette butts which led the orphaned cub to be named Smokey.

[23] After she was caught on October 16, 2013, by Alaska State Troopers, a social media campaign asked the Department of Fish and Game not to kill the bear, and the refuge agreed to adopt her.

[27] The seven-year-old brown bear Balloo, whose namesake was a favorite character of Kinnear's in The Jungle Book, was euthanized in October 2017 after he could no longer move his hind legs.

[27] Midland Reporter-Telegram journalist Kay Crites wrote, "It was a little sad to see the bears kept in large circular areas surrounded by concrete walls.

"[29] Noting that the Department of Fish and Game frequently euthanizes cubs whose mothers have died, she found that the refuge had saved the bears' lives.

[29] The Manchester Evening News's Kate Fielder said, "It was amazing to watch these bears play as eagles soared above.

"[31] Author Erin Kirkland wrote, "If you're going to see bears at other southeast Alaska destinations or elsewhere in the state, I'd skip this frankly.

The bears are acclimated to their human family and can be quite funny when asking for a fish snack, much to the delight of youngsters in the crowd.