March 2005

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

Yukon Chapter

Introduction

Through 2004 the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society -Yukon Chapter continued pursuing conservation goals in the Yukon Territory and the mountain boreal forest with the support of First Nations, Parks Canada, planning boards and councils, communities and the general public. Work focused on reducing the area available for oil and gas exploration prior to land use planning and preventing exploration in candidate protected areas.

Peel River Watershed

Work continued toward a core protected area over the Snake River valley, in addition to conservation and land use planning throughout the Peel River Watershed. The Peel Watershed Atlas was completed in 2004 and was submitted to the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Planning Commission early in 2005. The Commission began working on land and resource planning for the region in late 2004.

Southeast Yukon

As part of the Kaska Conservation Initiative, the Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) drafted a conservation values assessment of two large areas of interest in the upper Beaver and Coal River drainage. Discussions on the national park proposal at Wolf Lake within Natural Region #7 continued and a study of potential economic impacts was commissioned. CPAWS continues to participate actively in the southeast Yukon forest management planning process.

Other boreal forest work included projects on woodland caribou, the threat of roads and other access, a proposal for a habitat protection area for the Little Rancheria caribou herd, and a Yellowstone 2 Yukon-sponsored research project on glaciofluvial landforms as elements of connectivity in the Liard Basin.

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