Article

Old Crow Flats Special Management Area protected

Shown is the SE portion of this region, known as the “little flats”. The photo is taken within VG FN lands R-10A, ~30 km NE of Old Crow. Photo by John Meikle

On August 15, 2006, the Yukon and Vuntut Gwitchin governments announced agreement upon an approved Management Plan for the Old Crow Flats Special Management Area (SMA). The agreement effectively provides full and permanent protection for nearly 4,000 km2 of core wetlands that had been in a conservation limbo for more than 10 years.

The Old Crow Flats are located just north of the village of Old Crow. This diverse lake network is home to major populations of waterfowl, muskrat, moose and other wildlife, and provides some of the winter range for the Porcupine Caribou Herd. The area is of major cultural and economic importance to the Vuntut Gwitchin, and is one of the most important wetland complexes in Canada. It is the only Yukon wetland to be designated, by the United Nations through the Ramsar Convention, as having international ecological significance.

“The Old Crow Flats, or ‘Van Tat,’ has been and remains a critical part of the Vuntut Gwitchin traditional territory,” said Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Joe Linklater in a press release. “We have lived in the Flats for thousands of years. We refer to the area as ‘our bank’, and we are committed to protecting this valuable resource for all time. This achievement is particularly satisfying as it is the last important land issue to be resolved in our Final Agreement.”

Click here to download the Old Crow Flast Special Management Area map. (Acrobat [PDF] format, ~4.8 Mb)

The Old Crow Flats Special Management Area was established in 1993 by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Final Agreement to protect the ecological integrity and to protect traditional and current use of the area.

The Final Agreement included provision for Vuntut National Park, which was established in 1995. The park covers about 4,345 (4,376) km2, is part of the overall SMA, and includes the northern 1/3 of the Old Crow Flats wetlands.

The Final Agreement also required the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and Yukon government to jointly prepare and approve a Management Plan for this SMA, specifically for the northern part of the Flats (within the national park), VGFN Settlement Lands (the bulk of the core wetlands - 3,948 km2), and areas east and west of Crow Flats (YTG land - 3,775 km2). The planning process took place over the past year and included public consultations in Old Crow and Whitehorse. One of the management principles was: “strive to maintain the integrity of the SMA as one ecological unit”. The plan will be reviewed in 2011 and every 10 years thereafter.

Elsewhere in the SMA, the Yukon government agreed “…to protect the ecological integrity and diversity of the area … while maintaining future possibilities of some industrial resource development.” They did this by withdrawing from industrial development its lands-bracketing the wetlands-for a period of 20 years.

The two governments also acknowledged the long-standing contribution of previous and present Vuntut Gwitchin elders and leaders who, with the Yukon and federal governments, provided the framework for the implementation of this SMA in the Vuntut Gwitchin Traditional Territory.

In sum, 70% or 8,324 km2 of total Old Crow Flats SMA (12,099 km2) is permanently protected including the entire ‘core wetland’ area. The remaining 30% (YTG lands) is interim protected until 2026. Thus in the Yukon there is now a contiguous matrix of protected areas totalling around 19,000km2, from the Beaufort Sea (Herschel Island), through Ivvavik and Vuntut National Parks to Old Crow Flats.

Summary of Old Crow Flats Special Management Area Management Plan

• Vuntut National Park
  Area: 4,376.1 km2 = 36% of SMA

• Old Crow Flats Core Wetland
  • includes Settlement Areas:
    • VGR- 01A - Area: 2,216.7 km2
    • VGR- 10A - Area: 1,731.5 km2
  • Combined, both are permanently withdrawn from all industrial development (3,948.2 km2) = 33% of SMA
  • Settlement areas are for “…permanent protection of ecological integrity of the flats…” and for traditional and current harvesting of fish and wildlife

• YTG Lands:
  • Area East: 3011.6 km2
  • Area West: 763.0 km2
  • Total: 3,774.6 km2 = 31% of SMA
  • Intended “…to protect the ecological integrity and diversity of the area … while maintaining future possibilities of some industrial resource development.”
  • They can be considered for establishment of Habitat Protection Areas
  • For now, both areas are withdrawn for 20 years from all development

Table 1. Old Crow Flats Special Management Area land status summary table.
(from North Yukon Planning Region Resource Assessment Report)

Land Category	Area (km2)	Area (% of SMA)	Status1
Settlement Lands: R-01A (western Old Crow Flats)	2,217	18.3	Protected (OCFlats SMA Management Plan 2006)
R-10A (eastern Old Crow Flats)	1,731	14.3	Protected (OCFlats SMA Management Plan 2006)
Subtotal	3,948	32.6
Vuntut National Park	4,376	36.1	Protected (Vuntut N.P. Management Plan 2004)
YTG Land: Old Crow Flats - East	3,012	24.9	Interim Protected until 2026 (OCFlats SMA Management Plan 2006)
YTG Land: Old Crow Flats - West	763	6.3	Interim Protected until 2026 (OCFlats SMA Management Plan 2006)
Subtotal	3,775	31.2
TOTAL	12,099*	100	70% of total Old Crow Flats SMA is permanently protected, including the entire ‘core wetlands’. Remaining 30% is interim protected until 2026.

¹Status - current as of August 31, 2006
* Total SMA area as reported is less than entire boundary (12,118 km2) due to removal of Old Crow River.

Conclusions

A formal protection upgrade of this magnitude is nationally significant. CPAWS applauds the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, the Yukon Government, and all those involved in this major conservation achievement.

The total amount of permanent or interim protected lands in the Yukon remains at about 13.4%, or 64,600 km2, excluding the interim Special Conservation Lands on the North Slope, negotiated through the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. Of the total conservation land in the Yukon, approximately 11.3% is now closed to industrial development.