CPAWS recommends against all-season access road to Rau property

CPAWS Yukon is requesting that the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board recommend against the proposal for the 65-km all-season access road north of Mayo to the Tiger gold deposit on the Rau property. The road is being proposed by the company ATAC Resources to facilitate further exploration work as part of its Racla Gold project. Click here to read our submission. 

Public comments are being accepted until March 2. Click here to learn more and submit comments.

Given that the proponent of this project is only at the exploration stage of the Rau deposit, CPAWS Yukon and other stakeholders are concerned about the duration of impact an all-season road would have on other future land uses in this currently un-planned region which lies adjacent to the Peel watershed. CPAWS Yukon encourages the public to submit comments to YESAB, highlighting any concerns about this project.

To find out more project details and submit your feedback, click here.

Below is a summary of the comments made by CPAWS Yukon to YESAB:

  • Gold, the mineral in question, does not require a road for its extraction if development extends beyond the exploration stage
  • A new road in the region would have long lasting impacts.  We are unaware of a case where decommissioned roads no longer enabled motorized access
  • A thorough assessment of salmon habitat for the proposed 46 stream crossings has not been completed
  • Long-term cumulative impacts on fish and wildlife extend well beyond the footprint of any single road (increasing hunting and predator pressure on animal populations, increasing habitat fragmentation from accelerated offroad trails etc.)
  • Land use planning has not occurred, and the creation of an all-season road may foreclose other opportunities and land uses in the region due to its environmental impacts (direct and indirect)

CPAWS is recommending that alternative options to an all season road be thoroughly investigated instead of an all-season access road. The official submission from CPAWS to YESAB can be read here.