Yukon's Boreal Region
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The World’s Forests
Original Forest Cover
Remaining Frontier Forests
Over the last 8,000 years, the earth’s forest cover has drastically decreased. Today, only 1/5th of the world’s original forests are intact frontier forest (large, ecologically intact, and relatively undisturbed natural forests).
Canada is home to the second largest amount (25%) of the world’s intact frontier forest. Most of this is boreal forest like we have here in the Yukon. The Yukon has an excellent opportunity to demonstrate ecosystem-based forest management to ensure intact frontier forests persist for the next 8,000 years and more.
Map Source: D. Bryant, et al., The Last Frontier Forests: Ecosystems and Economies on the Edge. (World Resources Institute: Washington, DC, 1997).
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CPAWS-Yukon is part of a national effort to protect and conserve the Canadian boreal region. We have a strong local forest conservation program focusing on establishing protected areas and maintaining the ecological integrity of pristine watersheds. CPAWS supports a community-based sustainable forest industry in the Yukon, one that respects the many other ecological, cultural, spiritual and economic values of the forest.
CPAWS Yukon’s Jim Pojar and Kaska youth
make their way through the wetland/forest complex
of the Upper Coal river in SE Yukon.
Photo by Theresa Gulliver
“Our vision is for a fully functioning forest ecosystem that benefits all living things, while providing environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits for present and future generations.”
Yukon Forest Strategy, 1998, Yukon Government
Given what we know from other parts of Canada, it is unimaginable that we would be prepared to cut our Yukon forests without a long-term plan, and without first identifying areas of high conservation value for protected areas and wildlife habitat. We need a plan to make sure that there will still be rivers that run wild a hundred years from now. We need to agree on the special areas that should be protected forever; and we need to know how we will care for the rest of the land to make sure that grizzly bears, songbirds, bull trout and pine marten flourish long into the future.
We propose a comprehensive network of protected areas, wildlife habitat conservation areas, and special management zones that will protect the boreal forest's variety of life, wilderness and clean waters.
A protected area and conservation network will serve as the most important infrastructure of the Yukon boreal region - supporting the ecological services that our economy and life-style depends upon. Planning for conservation will ensure that existing forest economies, subsistence harvesting and traditional life-styles continue, and that visitors can support sustainable communities in the future through tourism. Protected areas are a vital part of a two-pronged approach to land use in the North, one that recognizes the value of leaving nature undeveloped while supporting responsible development outside conservation lands.
CPAWS-Yukon has completed numerous ecological and other surveys in the Yukon's boreal region, recording and mapping ecosystem features, wildlife species and conservation options. We have supported community forest planning and development initiatives.
Canada goose and goslings
Photo by Theresa Gulliver
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