CPAWS Yukon
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Land and Water Relationship Planning Gathering
Organized by CPAWS Yukon and the Northwest Boreal Partnership, the Land and Water Relationship Gathering brought people together to listen, share and learn about the intersection of efforts and opportunities around land and water planning, climate adaptation, conservation, and regenerative economies – with a highlighted focus on Indigenous-led and collaborative efforts.
We brought together a diverse group of representatives from First Nation communities and governments, government agencies, funding groups, academic institutions, conservation groups, the tourism and business sector, and land planning and management organizations. In addition to teaching and inspiring one another with examples of what is possible, we hope this gathering will help everyone work together on future land-water initiatives and planning in the North and beyond.
Speakers included:
- CPAWS Yukon – Chris Pinkerton, Joti Overduin
- How We Walk with the Land and Water – Colleen James, Mark Wedge, Margaret McKay, Louise Clethro, Jewel Davies, Coralee Johns, Rebecca Kingdon, Roy Neilson
- Yukon Land Use Planning Council – Neil Salvin, Tim Sellars, Nicole Percival, Joe Copper Jack
- Yukon First Nation Climate Action Fellowship – Nika Silverfox, Jewel Davies
- Carcross/Tagish First Nation – Patrick James, Sean McDougal
- Ross River Dena Council – Josh Ladue
- First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun – Frank Patterson, Jimmy Johnny
- Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission – Karen Linnell
- Northwest Boreal Partnership – Leanna Heffner, Coralee Johns
Haa Shagóon Hídi (Our Ancestors House – Carcross Tagish First Nation)
Event Details
- Thursday Apr 20, 2023 from 9:30am – 5pm. Lunch included.
- Location: Carcross, Yukon (70km from Whitehorse)
- Venue: Haa Shagóon Hídi (Our Ancestors House – Carcross Tagish First Nation)
This gathering was an interactive hybrid event, made possible by Gúnta Business. Gúnta business specializes in high-quality and highly interactive live-streaming, making these important community events accessible to all.
We also had a videographer, photographer, and artist capturing the event. Additional media coming soon! Stay tuned as we share more event updates, conservation news, and opportunities for you to get involved by subscribing to our newsletter.
Mining 101: Digging into the terms
Written by Paula Gomez Villalba, Communications Coordinator. Photos by Makolm Boothroyd.
April 6, 2023
Across much of the Yukon, boreal forests and wetlands stretch as far as the eye can see, crisscrossed by ancestral rivers that provide for the land, people, and wildlife. Threatening these rich wild spaces is the legacy of the Klondike Gold Rush, which lives on in the territory’s mining laws. These laws date back to the 1900s and prioritize short-term gains, reflecting the extractive history of colonialism on Indigenous land.
Now the Yukon government is creating a new minerals legislation, in collaboration with Yukon and Transboundary First Nations. The new mining legislation will cover the entire life of placer and quartz/hardrock mines, from prospecting to production to closure.
This is a once in a generation opportunity, so we want to make it as accessible as possible for you to share your vision for mining in the Yukon. Even if you’re not a mining expert, you’re an expert on your hopes and vision for the territory’s future. Mining has shaped and will continue to shape the Yukon, and this legislation needs to prioritize the territory’s long-term health and prosperity.
There are lots of terms, synonyms, and potential approaches related to mineral development. Here we’ll define some common mining terms you might come across. Once you’re ready to take action, check out our guide to completing the official survey. Responses will be used by the Yukon government as they continue developing the legislation.
Placer Mining: Placer mining is a way of extracting minerals (usually gold) that has settled in the bottom of water courses like rivers, creeks, and wetlands.
These minerals often lie beneath frozen layers of soil and gravel requiring miners to use excavators, bulldozers, and pressurized water to strip away vegetation, soil, and let the permafrost thaw.
Quartz/Hardrock Mining: Hardrock mining is where mining companies extract minerals from bedrock veins using large open pit or underground mines.
Extracting minerals from the rock often involves the use of chemicals that can be harmful if released.
Images from Google Earth. Graphic by Malkolm Boothroyd.
Prospect of profit, or automatic land rights?
Free Entry System: Free entry grants any individual or company the right to stake a mining claim without the need for a permit or other authorization.
Mineral rights are automatically approved without consultation or consent from First Nations. These mining claims then hold tremendous leverage over land use planning decisions.
Acquisition: Rules about who can stake a claim and how.
Currently any adult can do so by pounding a few stakes into the ground and paying a $10 fee. Part of the free entry system.
Disposition: Rules for where mineral staking can happen and what mineral rights are granted.
Prospectors can stake a claim anywhere, unless the area has been withdrawn from staking (like designated protected areas). Part of the free entry system.
Mineral Tenure/Mining Claim: When an individual or company has tenure or a claim, they hold the rights to explore and develop minerals below the claim.
These are acquired through the free entry system and have to be maintained in good standing.
Exploration: Evaluating the mining potential of an area where a company has mining claims.
Exploration can involve building roads and cutting trails, disturbing wildlife with daily flights, building camps, and moving tens of thousands of tonnes of rock. Claim holders automatically have the right to explore, but specific exploration projects are subject to approval.
Mining roads cover Arch Mountain in the Kluane Wildlife Sanctuary.
Accounting for harm and public benefits
Financial Security: Hardrock (and a few placer) mining companies provide financial security to cover the costs of reclaiming and closing their mine site in case they abandon it.
This security amount is paid before production begins and reassessed every 2 years. The Yukon has a long track record of underestimating security needed, leading to expensive taxpayer funded cleanups and environmental harm left unsecured.
Royalties: Royalties are payments made to governments by mining companies, recognizing that the public and First Nations own the rights to minerals and should benefit from their extraction.
Placer miners currently pay just 37.5¢ per ounce of gold (the same rate as the early 1900s) and quartz miners are only required to make payments once they start making a profit.
Tailings: Tailings are waste materials left over after mining and can include harmful chemicals and metals.
Hardrock tailings are left in large ponds or are sometimes dried and stacked. Reclaiming tailings is a challenging task and some tailings will require treatment indefinitely.
Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB): YESAB is responsible for reviewing proposed mining projects, and recommending mitigations and whether or not a project should go ahead to the Yukon government.
The YESAB process is separate from the new mining legislation but links very closely to it.
Abandoned Wellgreen quartz mine, clean-up costs are an estimated $15 million.
A changed landscape
Reclamation: Reclamation involves transitioning land to a different state after exploration and mining ends.
It’s usually impossible to fully restore the original ecosystem – simply too much has changed. The result is a different landscape where original values have been restored, replaced, or lost to different extents. Reclamation can involve filling in pits, recontouring the landscape, and planting vegetation. It’s expensive and hard to enforce, sometimes resulting in mines being abandoned.
Peat: Peat is a carbon-rich soil found in some wetlands that takes thousands of years to form.
Peatlands are vulnerable to placer mining because gold settles at the bottom or rivers and wetlands. When excavated, the peat decays and releases massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. Peatlands cannot be restored.
Permafrost: Permafrost is frozen soil that holds huge stores of greenhouse gasses like methane and carbon dioxide.
Typically we would say that permafrost is soil that is frozen year-round, but climate change and developments like mining are causing permafrost thaw.
Closure: The goal of mine closure is to return the site to a stable, non-polluting state and to meet reclamation goals.
This process takes many years. In the Yukon, a hardrock mine is considered closed when a Closure Certificate has been issued. Despite the number of mines that have operated in the territory, none have received this certificate.
Abandonment: When a mining company leaves a site without meeting the proper reclamation or closure measures.
Abandoned mines can pose significant risks to people and the environment, as contaminants and equipment are left unchecked. Reclamation and closure is then handled by the Yukon government with public funds.
The stages of placer mining show how in spite of the best reclamation efforts, natural peatlands can’t be restored.
Land and Water Relationship Planning Gathering
Event Details
- Thursday Apr 20, 2023
- Open at 9am, Official start at 9:30am, and Closing at 5pm.
- Location: Carcross, Yukon (70km from Whitehorse)
- Venue: Haa Shagóon Hídi (Our Ancestors House – Carcross Tagish First Nation) in the Main Hall and Firepit area + Virtual Interactive Livestream via Gúnta Business
- Lunch + early bird-breakfast, coffee, tea and afternoon snack provided
- Registration required so we can ensure we have enough food, and to be able send out the Zoom link for those attending virtually
Speakers attending:
- Yukon First Nation Climate Action Fellowship
- How We Walk with the Land and Water
- Taku River Tlingit First Nation
- Northwest Boreal Partnership
- Carcross/Tagish First Nation
- Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission
- Yukon Land Use Planning Council
Organized by CPAWS Yukon and the Northwest Boreal Partnership, this gathering is bringing people together to listen, share and learn about the intersection of efforts and opportunities around land and water planning, climate adaptation, conservation, and regenerative economies – with a highlighted focus on Indigenous-led and collaborative efforts.
We expect to bring together a diverse group of representatives from First Nation communities and governments, government agencies, funding groups, academic institutions, conservation groups, the tourism and business sector, and land planning and management organizations.
In addition to teaching and inspiring one another with examples of what is possible, we hope this gathering will help everyone work together on future land-water initiatives and planning in the North, across the nation, and cross-borders.
This all-day event will include lunch, snacks, and food for thought as we listen and learn together, and share thoughts on Indigenous-led stewardship initiatives, land and water relationship planning, regenerative economies, First Nation climate solutions, and cross-border initiatives.
Options for Attending
In-person:
Doors open at 9:00am for an early-bird breakfast and the event will begin at 9:30am. We aim to wrap up the event at 5pm. Please dress to be outdoors for portions of the day.
Driving Directions from Whitehorse: Drive East on the Alaskan Highway (1), turn right on the Klondike Highway (2 Southbound) following signs to Carcross. After 51.5km, Haa Shagóon Hídi will be on the left hand side of the highway. Expect it to take about 60 minutes to drive from Whitehorse.
*If transportation from Whitehorse is a barrier for you, please let us know so that we can assist you in joining the gathering. Email cdow@cpawsyukon.org
Virtual:
This is more than simply watching via zoom. This gathering is an interactive hybrid event, made possible by Gúnta Business. Gúnta business specializes in high-quality and highly interactive live-streaming, making these important community events accessible to all.
2022: Our Year in Review
Written by Adil Darvesh
What a year 2022 shaped up to be!
We achieved some major milestones for conservation across the Yukon, many of which were thanks to your support. From filling up City Hall to oppose a busy road through McIntyre Creek, to writing letters on plans and policies, your help makes our work possible. Throughout the year our team hosted 13 events and had over 200 submissions from people who care about the Yukon’s wild spaces. We feel incredibly grateful for everything we accomplished.
Winter
Last winter we saw record breaking amounts of snowfall, and our team was right in the middle of it! Maegan and Candace recorded snow tracks throughout McIntyre Creek/Chasàn Chùa as staff, volunteers, and dogs ventured out to see how animals use the creek. Amelia Ford, a Grade 12 student at F.H. Collins joined us on a few treks, and wrote about her experience.
Photo by Maegan Elliott.
We also saw the first proposed development in the Peel Watershed. The Michelle Creek mining exploration project would overlap two Wilderness Areas, and in our eyes, it was the first test of the protections that the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan put in place. This December, the Yukon Environment and Socio-Economic Board (YESAB) recommended that the project not go forward due to impacts on wildlife and First Nation wellness. This is incredibly good news, as it sets a high precedent for project approval in the Peel Watershed.
The Special Management Areas (set aside for protection) in the Peel Watershed were added to the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database and now officially count towards Canada’s conservation targets. As a result the Yukon jumped to second place in Canada for conserved areas at 19.1%, just behind British Columbia. This is a big step for us to achieve 25% protection by 2025 and 30% protection by 2030. At the time, these were only federal targets, but with the Canada-Yukon Nature Agreement signed in early December, the Yukon Government has also committed to 25% by 2025. Polling conducted by Nanos Research confirms that Yukoners are supportive of bold conservation targets, so this is a step in the right direction.
Perhaps one of the biggest changes for our team happened in the winter. We moved into a new office! While the old office had lots of history and character, our growing team needed a little bit more room for staff. Over the past year we’ve held a few events welcoming you to our new space and it’s something that we hope to continue in 2023.
Spring
As the weather warmed up, so did our campaign for McIntyre Creek. Nicole Schafenaker joined us as our first ever artist in residence, supported by the International Centre of Art for Social Change FUTURES/forward program. Wanting to explore the wildlife corridor and its species through a creative lens, she hosted a series of events called Corridors: A Community Engaged Art Series in early May.
Photo by Maegan Elliott.
This came at the perfect time, as the City of Whitehorse released their draft Official Community Plan (OCP). This OCP will guide the direction of the city over the next decade and the draft version committed to working with First Nations, Government of Yukon, and Yukon University to designate McIntyre Creek as a park. This was a huge moment for those who were calling for protection of McIntyre Creek for many years. The draft plan, however, included language that would keep the door open for a “transportation corridor,” a busy road cutting through this wildlife corridor. Over the spring we called on you to submit comments welcoming the idea of a park, but asking to remove any language that would include a road.
In late November, the City of Whitehorse removed that language from the proposed OCP, after so many of you came out to City Hall meetings, submitted comments, and shared your love for McIntyre Creek!
Summer
This summer Ainslie Spence joined the team as our Conservation and Events Intern. She managed our booth at the local Fireweed Market and spoke with many of you about our campaigns and recommendations.
Ainslie identified that a lot of our materials were geared towards environmentally minded people, but we didn’t have very much for a younger audience. In response, she created a phenomenal resource for parents and youth titled Hutch’s Yukon Adventure. This colouring and puzzle book follows Hutch, the CPAWS Yukon husky, through his adventures around the Yukon in our key campaign areas. You can pick up a copy of the book at our office!
One of the areas in Hutch’s Yukon Adventure is the Beaver River Watershed, where our team has helped organize youth river trips in the past. This summer we traveled to Mayo to premiere films from the 2020 and 2021 Beaver River Watershed canoe trips. It was so awesome to show the community these movies, and promote the upcoming trip from Mayo to Moosehide.
Malkolm and I joined this summer’s canoe trip and had such a great experience connecting with youth and the land. We paddled along the Stewart and the Yukon rivers, taking time to stop at important historical sites, like the Old Village. Trips like these are important ways to continue sharing knowledge and foster a connection with people and place.
Our connection to place was also highlighted in our Plants of the Boreal walks. So many of you joined us on guided walks with plant experts to learn about what grows in our backyard. We took what we learned in these walks and at the end of the summer, Candace hosted a Winter Medicine Making Workshop to collect plants and share some of their different uses. It was a big success and something we hope to continue in 2023!
Photo by Paula Gomez Villalba.
Fall
As fall rolled in, so too did Environment Ministers across Canada. Many of you joined our calls for the Yukon Government to adopt similar targets to the Federal Government’s for 25% and 30% protection. At the time, the Yukon didn’t commit to any, but it’s possible they were laying the groundwork for the Canada-Yukon Nature Agreement signed in December by Minister Steven Guilbeault and Minister Nils Clarke. It sets aside funding for land use planning and protecting areas across the territory!
Nature conservation will be crucial for helping us manage the effects of climate change. We released a new report, written by Malkolm and Randi, about a significant blind spot in the Yukon’s climate strategy. Peat is an organic material rich in carbon, and disturbing it could release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Our report, The Yukon’s Climate Blind Spot addresses some of the concerns behind development in peatlands, and provides recommendations to manage them better. You can read a summary of the report here.
Photo by Malkolm Boothroyd.
The release of the Dawson Region Recommended Plan in the late fall kicked off a multi-month campaign to help you submit comments. We held a webinar and a few in-person events sharing our recommendations for a strong plan and sharing tools for you to make your own submission. Thank you to everyone who sent comments, we’ll eagerly await the Final Recommended Plan in spring 2023!
Winter
As the snow arrived and the holiday season began, we hosted our open house for the first time in a few years, and it was so great to be back! Our Pop-Up Shop and Holiday Open House highlighted some of our work and collaborated with some of our favourite artists and craft makers. We joined forces with the Yukon Conservation Society, our new neighbours, inviting you to a day out at “Conservation Corner.” Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello, learn about our work, and buy some goodies for the holidays.
Lastly, right after the open house our Outreach Manager, Joti, joined the CPAWS team in Montreal at the COP15 biodiversity conference. Joti shared some of her thoughts on our social media pages as she met with leaders across the country and shared ideas around protecting and conserving biodiversity through Indigenous-led conservation. Stay tuned for a summary from COP15 soon!
Phew! A lot happened this year. We’re so thankful to you for your support and for continuing to show up for nature. I had to skip over some other things that took place last year, but our Communications Coordinator, Paula, does a great job sharing our work on social media. Follow us to keep up to date!
Finally, I want to thank our previous Executive Director, Chris Rider. Over the past 4.5 years that I’ve been at CPAWS Yukon, Chris was a constant source of support, advice, and perfectly timed dad jokes. We’re all really happy that he is now taking lessons learned from our chapter onto the CPAWS National chapter in Ottawa and continuing to advocate for wild spaces across the country.
From the CPAWS Yukon team, thank you again for your support. We’re excited for 2023!
Where to begin?
Written by Paula Gomez Villalba
Updated December 2022
Every year there are many opportunities to connect with nature, but getting started isn’t always so easy. Our forests and lands are home to many plants, animals, and a long history of how Indigenous peoples cared for and used them. We’re all learning— whether it’s names of plants budding after a long winter, or a new exciting way to stay active in the mountains.
This list highlights a few resources and spaces around the Yukon that we’ve found helpful in fostering connections with our wild spaces.
Learn
The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North
Written by Yukon resident Beverley Gray, this book is an amazing guide to identifying and using plants found in the North. It includes colour photos and profiles on specific plants, many recipes, and instructions on how to preserve plants. Many Yukon public libraries have copies available to borrow.
Government of Yukon Guide to Hunting & Guide to Trapping
These Government of Yukon guides dive into the rules and regulations of harvesting wildlife, how to get licenses, and how to be safe and responsible. They also highlight key education courses and workshops.
Culture
Kwanlin Dün First Nations Justice Department
The Justice Department “delivers cultural recreation, outreach and healing programs and services to youth (ages 12 to 29), their families and caregivers, and the whole community for the purposes of reducing risk factors, revitalizing cultural and traditions and improving quality of life.”
Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre
The Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre is the cultural home of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation in downtown Whitehorse. It is a gathering place that hosts events and workshops, including a hide tanning camp and sewing circle.
Council of Yukon First Nations
The Council of Yukon First Nations offers health, medical, culture and language, recreation, and social support. Their mandate is to serve as a political advocacy organization for Yukon First Nations holding traditional territories, to protect their rights, titles and interests.
Move
Yukon Aboriginal Sport Circle
The Yukon Aboriginal Sport Circle is a non-profit society dedicated to promoting Aboriginal sports and participation. They offer many different sports programs in Yukon communities, including Arctic Sports, Dene Games, and Archery.
Kwanlin Koyotes Ski Club
The Kwanlin Koyotes are a youth ski group based out of the Kwanlin Koyote Cabin in McIntyre Subdivision. Their mandate is to get kids out on the land, learning how to ski, and taking in the natural environment that surrounds us.
Photo by Malkolm Boothroyd.
CPAWS Yukon welcomes landmark Canada-Yukon Nature Agreement, but more work is needed to protect nature
Whitehorse, Yukon – The Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS Yukon) is encouraged by today’s joint announcement by the Government of Canada and Government of Yukon in the Canada-Yukon Nature Agreement. We called on the Government of Yukon to step up on protecting and conserving wild spaces and species, and their commitment to protecting 25% by 2025 is a step towards achieving that.
In 2021, Canada’s federal government confirmed its commitment to protecting 30% of its land and ocean by 2030 — necessary action towards addressing biodiversity loss and climate change. Although the Canada-Yukon Agreement is a critical first step, CPAWS Yukon is hopeful that the Government of Yukon will follow the agreement by implementing clear policies that support 30% protection by 2030 and supporting Indigenous-led conservation.
The news follows the release of CPAWS Yukon polling that says the majority of Yukoners support the government setting a big and important nature conservation goal, like protecting and conserving 30% of land and water in the Yukon by 2030. Nearly three quarters of Yukoners (73%) think the Government of Yukon should commit to protecting at least 30% of the territory.
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Canada-Yukon Nature Agreement Press Release
Contact
Adil Darvesh, CPAWS Yukon Communications Manager
867-393-8080 x 9 | adarvesh@cpawsyukon.org
New poll confirms Yukoners support nature conservation in Canada, the Yukon, and the Dawson Region
While it’s no surprise that Yukoners deeply value the territory’s lands, waters and wildlife, a new poll confirms that Yukoners support nature protection. The poll, conducted by Nanos Research and commissioned by CPAWS Yukon, shows that a strong majority of Yukoners (80%) support the federal government’s commitment to protect 30% of land in Canada. Nearly three quarters of Yukoners (73%) think the Government of Yukon should commit to protecting at least 30% of the territory.
Currently 19.1% of the Yukon and 13.5% of Canada is protected. “Protected areas are an effective way to prevent habitat loss and fragmentation, two of the major causes of wildlife declines in Canada and around the world,” explained Randi Newton, Conservation Manager of CPAWS Yukon. “Indigenous-led conservation and land use planning offer clear pathways for protecting the lands and waters that make the Yukon so special.”
The poll is a strong indication that Yukoners are expecting more action from their governments to protect nature. The results are timely, as people from across the world are gathering at COP15, the United Nations’ biodiversity conference in Montreal, to set conservation goals to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity.
The territorial government has not committed to conservation targets, despite the federal government pledging to protect 30% of land in Canada. However, the majority of Yukoners (66%) say they would be more likely to support a territorial government if it set a big and important nature conservation goal, like protecting and conserving 30% of land and water in the Yukon by 2030. Nearly two thirds (63%) say they would be more likely to support a Yukon political party if it proposed to increase territorial funding to create new protected areas. Only 16% were less likely to support a territorial party that made a commitment to do so (19% said it would have no impact).
“Commiting to nature conservation would help ensure the Yukon doesn’t sleepwalk into the same habitat and wildlife declines facing the rest of the country,” said Randi Newton. “Clear policy direction from governments would help support existing initiatives and Indigenous-led conservation efforts. Protecting at least 30% of the territory by 2030 is a very achievable goal if we simply follow the lead of land use planning and conservation initiatives from First Nations and the Inuvialuit.”
Yukoners also support conservation in the Dawson Region, where land use planning is ongoing. The Recommended Dawson Region Land Use Plan identifies nearly 40% of the region for protection, including the existing Tombstone Territorial Park. Nearly half (47%) of poll respondents favoured at least 40% protection, compared to 28% who favoured less than 20% protection.
“For many, Dawson is synonymous with mining and the Klondike Gold Rush, but this poll demonstrates that Yukoners also value Dawson for its superb wildlife habitat, beautiful rivers and mountains, and the cultural connections that run deeply with the land,” said Randi Newton.
Nanos Research conducted the poll through phone interviews with 410 Yukoners between November 4th and 14th, 2022. The results of the poll are accurate plus or minus 4.8%, 19 times out of 20.
Find a copy of the report here.
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Contact
Adil Darvesh, CPAWS Yukon Communications Manager
867-393-8080 | adarvesh@cpawsyukon.org
Colouring Contest
Looking for a way to bring a bit more colour into summer? Join our colouring contest and submit your completed page to win!
The contest runs until September 7th and is open to kids of all ages. We have three prizes available, including a $50 Mac’s Fireweed Books gift card.
Download your colouring page and enter the contest by emailing a photo of your finished piece to info@cpawsyukon.org with your name and age. You can also drop off your completed colouring page at our booth at the Fireweed Community Market on Thursdays 3-7pm.
These colouring pages are samples from Hutch’s Yukon Trip: A Colouring Book Journey by Ainslie Spence, CPAWS Yukon’s 2022 intern. Join Hutch the husky on an adventure across the Yukon to some of the places CPAWS Yukon has been working to conserve now and for future generations. The book features colouring pages, activity sheets, fun facts, and Hutch’s wild tips!
We’ll be selling the books ($5) at the Fireweed Community Market on Thursdays, 3 – 7 pm in Shipyards Park in Whitehorse.
The fine print:
All entries must be emailed to info@cpawsyukon.org or given to us in person. By submitting your entry you are giving CPAWS Yukon permission to share it on social media (you may remain anonymous if you want – just let us know!).
Peat beneath our feet
Written by Paula Gomez Villalba, Communications Coordinator
There is peat beneath our feet in wetlands that are thousands of years old. Soil so rich in carbon and history that it’s home to a plethora of plants, animals, and values. Peat forms when a shortage of oxygen in wet soils slows down the breakdown of mosses and other plants. Over thousands of years, layers of organic material build on top of each other, forming peat. We call places with these special soils peatlands.
Photo by Malkolm Boothroyd
Wetlands with peat come in many forms, like fens, bogs, and swamps.
The organic material that peatlands store is rich in carbon. Around the world, peatlands hold more carbon than all the carbon humans have burned since the Industrial Revolution.
Beyond carbon, these ecosystems also hold important ecological and cultural values. They are home to moose, beavers and waterfowl, and a breadbasket for many First Nations citizens. Many people visit wetlands to hunt, fish and feel connected with the natural world.
Will we defeat the peat?
Peatlands are vulnerable to disturbances driven by climate change and industrial development. When disturbed, the carbon they store gets transformed and released as CO2, adding more fuel to the climate crisis.
In the Yukon, placer mining is one form of development that threatens peatlands because gold settles at the bottom of water courses in rivers, creeks and wetlands. When peatlands are excavated, they are all but impossible to restore and never have the same carbon storing potential as intact peatlands.
Industrial development is steadily consuming wetlands, like placer mining in the Indian River watershed. Base satellite image: Apple Maps. Inset photos: Malkolm Boothroyd.
How much peat is at risk? The short answer is, we don’t fully know. National peatland maps don’t provide a fine scale picture of peatlands in the Yukon, and local mapping of peat has only happened in a few pockets of the territory. Without this information, we don’t know how much of the carbon held by peatlands is vulnerable to all kinds of development.
This makes emissions from peatland disturbance invisible – they don’t appear on the ledgers we use to track carbon emissions and aren’t part of our carbon cutting plans.
Wanting to shed light on these emissions, our team at CPAWS Yukon set out to understand the magnitude of carbon release from industrial development in the territory. Our investigation took us to the Indian River watershed, one of the few places in the Yukon with detailed wetland maps for this type of analysis.
The case of the Indian River watershed
The Indian River watershed lies within the territories of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and the First Nation of Na-cho Nyäk Dun, about fifty kilometres south of Dawson City. The Indian River meanders through a wide valley dominated by fens and swamps.
Peat began forming in the watershed around six thousand years ago—at a time when woolly mammoths still roamed on Siberian islands, and fish had only recently returned to the lakes and rivers around Whitehorse following millennia of glaciation.
We estimate these peatlands store 1,837 kilotonnes of soil carbon—equivalent to over 6,700 kilotonnes of CO2.
The future of the Indian River watershed and its peatlands will be shaped by the outcomes of the Dawson Regional Land Use Plan. The good news is that the Recommended Plan prevents development in bog peatlands, but bogs only make up around 3% of all the peatlands found in the Indian River watershed.
Even with other modest limits on wetland and surface disturbance, the Recommended Plan would allow for significant amounts of new development in most of the Indian River watershed. These disturbances could release 575 kilotonnes of carbon over the next century—about as much carbon as flying a fully loaded jet the circumference of the earth 400 times.
Map of Nän Dhòhdäl/Upper Indian River Wetlands LMU. The bottoms of valleys are where peatlands (left) and disturbances (right) are clustered. Graphic by Malkolm Boothroyd.
A lot is lost when peatlands are developed. Carbon is released into the atmosphere, habitats are destroyed, and harvesting grounds used for millennia disappear.
While many of the Indian River’s wetlands have been lost forever, it’s not too late to protect those that remain. Join us in speaking up for these ancient wetlands. Public engagement on the Recommended Plan is open until Tuesday December 20.
What this means for the climate
The hundreds of kilotons we estimated could get released from peatlands in the Indian River watershed are from a single industry, in a watershed that makes up only 0.3% of the Yukon.
Peatlands covering three times the area of those in the Indian River overlap with placer claims in other parts of the Dawson Region. Peat is also found patchily across the Yukon: from the Old Crow and the coastal plain in the north, to MacMillan Pass in the east, to the Kluane Plateau and the Southern Lakes. There is a lot of carbon at risk.
But the Yukon’s climate change targets don’t account for carbon emissions from peatland disturbance, even though they are a major source of greenhouse gasses. This problem is not unique to the Yukon, and few countries currently report these kinds of emissions. In the recently released Global Peatland Assessment, the UN Environment Programme called on peat rich countries like Canada to report carbon from peatland disturbance and take urgent action to protect remaining peatlands.
“If we’re serious about acting on climate change, we must get serious about the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of peatlands. Wherever peatlands are allowed to be damaged or drained, harmful emissions will continue to be released for decades,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.
It’s time for the Yukon to take action to protect peatland ecosystems and the carbon they hold. Protecting these wetlands is critical to climate action.
This blog post is a summary of our CPAWS Yukon peatland report – The Yukon’s Climate Blind Spot. You can find the full report at cpawsyukon.org/publications
Infographic by Malkolm Boothroyd