The tour will visit the Alpine Meteorological Station traversing through 900 meters of elevation and three ecological zones (boreal forest, subalpine taiga and alpine tundra).
The trip involves travelling along a rough 4x4 road approx. 8 km, to the location of a road washout, where it is necessary to transfer to a shuttle vehicle for the remaining 3 km to the station.

The site is on a windswept, boulder scattered ridgetop and is underlain with permafrost. Vegetation consists mainly of grasses and mosses with some lichen and sedges.
The tour will also include a visit to the lower hydrometric station and fish ladder at the Wolf Creek Campground, where a boxed lunch will be served.

Note: The weather during the trip could be windy, cool and wet.

The Wolf Creek Research Basin project was initiated in 1992 to provide a dedicated site to carry out applied water related research in the Yukon Subarctic. The initiative was funded by the Northern Affairs Program with support from Environment Canada's National Hydrology Research Institute. Routine monitoring within the basin includes hydrometeorological inputs within the three vegetation/elevation zones. Monitoring is carried out in multiple levels through the canopy and within the soil cross section. Several hydrometric stations provide nested outflow data.

The project was adopted by the Canadian Climate Program as a Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) basin to study the impacts of climate change. In addition it was selected as an Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) site as part of the national network for biodiversity monitoring. An International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) site has also been established in the basin. This move has resulted in the expansion of research activities to include vegetation, fishery and wildlife components leading to an integration of the overall project. A group of researchers from six Canadian Universities are currently carrying out work in the basin.

For more information contact Rick Janowicz (janowiczr@inac.gc.ca)