Reporting Unit: Southwest Yukon

Most of the Yukon's population is found in the southwest. Approximately 23,000 people live in Whitehorse and about 1,500 live in the surrounding area. Population growth has been rapid, especially in the past seven years, when a 26 per cent increase in population occurred. Many residents value a lifestyle that includes access to wilderness areas for recreation or traditional activities. Impacts from our increasing population are beginning to show in a variety of ways, through the wastes we release, declines in several local resources (fuelwood, fish and wildlife) and in limits on land for development.

One might think a relatively small population and vast spaces would limit land use conflicts. Conflicts occur in this region, however, since much of the valuable land for residential, agriculture and wildlife habitat is located in valley bottoms.

Large carnivores have adjusted poorly to development in southern Canada in the last century and this heightens the importance of Yukon wolf and bear populations. Grizzly bears are vulnerable to development in several ways. They require large areas for foraging, and females mature at a late age and have relatively few young. Bears are frequently attracted to garbage at municipal waste sites, which is an additional risk for them. A bear-proof electric fence at the Haines Junction municipal dump helps stop the routine destruction of bears from the surrounding area, including grizzly bears from Kluane National Park. Electric fencing is planned for several other Yukon municipal dumpsites.

It would be misleading to suggest that human activities are responsible for all environmental concerns in this region. In geological terms, the landscape of the southwestern Yukon is young. The area is the most seismically active in Canada and the mountain topography creates terrain hazards such as landslides. Many of the glacially-fed waterways carry a heavy sediment load and are prone to flooding.

The groundwater supply in Carcross was the subject of concern in the mid-1980s. Testing of well water indicated that arsenic, a naturally occurring poisonous element, was showing up in samples. Arsenic levels were approaching the unacceptable limit for drinking water (over 0.05 parts per million) and steps were eventually taken to bypass the groundwater source containing arsenic and obtain supplies from an intake in Lake Bennett.

We can gain a useful perspective on how humans affect the environment over time by looking at the traditional knowledge of First Nations. The Aishihik Lake area in southwestern Yukon has a long, rich history with the Champagne-Aishihik First Nation centred around Aishihik Village. Elders offer two reasons for the village's location: the best fishing areas were at the north end of Aishihik Lake adjacent to the village; and, caribou, moose, and sheep were found in prime hunting areas nearby.

Aishihik River was dammed in 1975, changing the natural water levels in Aishihik Lake. When the operation began, many people were concerned about high water levels; however, biologists now suspect low water conditions also have significant effects. Lake whitefish and lake trout can live for over 35 years. They reach sexual maturity before their "teens" and reproduce annually during an autumn spawning period. Fisheries biologists found that, since hydro operations started, there have been some years where few lake whitefish survived to join the adult population. These "recruitment failures" seem to be associated with low lake levels.

Residents report that the region has changed in recent years and some First Nation members have encountered difficulty in pursuing traditional harvest practices. During the late 1980s local First Nations reported declining moose and caribou numbers in the Aishihik region. Woodland caribou had declined by approximately 40 per cent between 1981 and 1991. Eventually, licensed hunting was stopped, First Nations voluntarily curtailed their subsistence harvest and, in 1992, the Aishihik Caribou Recovery Program was started.

Next: check out the Whitehorse Urban Area