Ch. 3 Land - Environment Yukon

litter and garbage, mentioned by
13 per cent of river travelers 10.
Clean-up along heavily used rivers
such as the Yukon River is undertaken
periodically.
“There’s one spot on the Canol
Road where our family gathered
and built shelters. Now the
people that travel along that road
are going down to the lake and
the houses that we built there
have been destroyed by bullets
and the wood used for fires. The
poles that we gathered for setting
up our tents and the poles that
we used to dry out our meat are
all burnt up by the people that
come through that way.”
–Charlie Dick, Ross River
First Nation Elder
Ross River Elder Charlie Dick still lives
a traditional way of life. As more and
more visitors use Quiet and Lapie
Lakes to access recreational and
wilderness areas like the Big Salmon
River, these types of conflicts may
increase.
The winter use of rivers and trails by
recreational users on snowmachines
and dogmushing appears to be increasing.
Impacts of the increase in use of
winter trails is not well understood.
Extensive trail networks, increased noise
and traffic may impact wildlife.
With more people, there is more
potential for people/bear interactions as
has been experienced in the last few
years in Kluane, on the Snake River,
and in northern British Columbia at
the Liard Hot Springs. Bears are attracted
by garbage, become dangerous and
occasionally have to be destroyed.
Harvesting of fish and wildlife without
proper permits may further deplete
fish populations that are already
under stress.
Related Legislation and
Educational Programs
To protect the natural resources
important for tourism, government and
the tourism industry have been
cooperating in a number of areas. The
Wilderness Tourism Licencing Act came
into effect in May 1999. To obtain a
licence, wilderness operators are
required to pay a $100 annual fee, get
public liability insurance, meet worker
compensation standards and have
standard first aid training for all
guides. To maintain a licence requires
compliance with low impact camping,
waste disposal standards and trip
reporting. The Environment Act
prohibits littering on all public lands.
Other initiatives include placing environmental
messages in the media and
advertising the “No Trace Checklist”.
The leave no trace philosophy is
becoming the wilderness tourism
industry standard. The No Trace Yukon
program was initiated in 1998 and the
first No Trace Yukon instructor’s course
was delivered in 1999 through joint
sponsorship of Renewable Resources,
Yukon College and the National Outdoor
Leadership School. Production of
additional awareness materials and
program development to promote and
support minimum impact backcountry
recreation is ongoing.
The “Into the Yukon Wilderness”
brochure is available in English, French,
German and most recently Japanese
13. This guide is distributed widely in
visitor reception centres, Renewable
Resources offices and in response to
visitor inquiries. Yukon Tourism and
the industry regularly take them into
the marketplace. The Yukon Vacation
Guide and other tourism promotion
information contain instructions on
the safe and wise use of the Yukon’s
wilderness.
Highway travelers also require services
including effluent dumping and waste
disposal. The Environment Act prohibits
the discharge of holding tanks except at
designated sites and littering on all public
lands. The government is working to
provide suitable effluent dumping sites
where communities have problems
handling the eduction sewage volumes.
PROGRESS & CHALLENGES
Progress since 1995
■ The Wilderness Tourism
Licensing Act came into effect
in May 1999 with requirements
for wilderness guides and
operators and responsibilities
for clients in leave no trace
camping and waste disposal.
■ “Into the Yukon Wilderness”, a
Yukon government brochure is
available for all Yukon visitors.
■ Continued efforts of industry
(Wilderness Tourism
Association) to help members
and others in the industry
to recognize the value of
wilderness and treat it with
the respect it deserves.
■ Implementation of the
“No Trace Yukon” Program.
Challenges
■ Increased human/bear
encounters.
■ Greater use (by visitors and
residents) of Yukon rivers in
the absence of management for
most of the high use river
corridors.
6 8 ❧ Y U K O N S T A T E O F T H E E N V I R O N M E N T R E P O R T 1999