Blue fox farm on Grindall Island, 1930. High fur prices that followed World War I made raising foxes economically attractive and a new industry was born. Islands were in much demand for use as fox farmers because the animals could run free. It was believed that wild animals produced better pelts than pen-raised animals. Blue fox was the species usually raised in Alaska. During the decade after the war three-fourths of Alaska's fox farms were on Southeast Alaska islands. Nervous and shy, especially in breeding season, the foxes adapted well to the seclusion which islands offered. Nearby canneries provided cheap food in defective cans of salmon and scraps of fish. The animals preyed on wild birds and eggs. The worldwide economic depression of the 1930s destroyed the industry when the price of furs dropped.

Photo courtesy U. S. Forest Service #221_1930_Grindall_Is_Blue_Fox_Farm.