Oil & Gas

View a map of peregrine falcon breeding areas and areas of interest for oil and gas exploration

Oil and gas issues – pipelines and exploration and development – have changed the conservation picture in the Yukon during the past three years. The Yukon government pursues a policy of oil and gas exploration and development in advance of land use and conservation planning – placing at serious risk many watersheds of exceptionally high conservation value. With the anticipation of potential northern gas pipelines through the Yukon and NWT, fierce competition between governments has stripped away any caution on the potential enormous environmental and social impacts of these projects.

More recently, coalbed methane development has been promoted by a small British Columbia company for the Wind River watershed. The Yukon government seems poised to permit exploration for coalbed methane in advance of land use planning and without public consultation on this new and unproven industry. Since coalbed methane development poses a serious risk to the Yukon’s ecological, cultural and social values, we have begun public education work on the impacts of coalbed methane development.

CPAWS-Yukon calls on the Yukon government to complete the network of protected areas and conservation lands before any further oil and gas development or the construction of pipelines in the Yukon. We support wilderness designation for the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, and we are concerned with further development in the Yukon portion of the winter range of the Porcupine Caribou Herd prior to completion of land use planning and required conservation measures. We call on the Yukon government to put in place oil and gas exploration and development regulations that reflect the special ecological conditions of the north and prevent the environmental, social and human health problems associated with the industry.

CPAWS-Yukon hosted two oil and gas information workshops in cooperation with the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee and the Yukon Conservation Society in order to raise public awareness about the issues. Northern environmental organizations have also produced a compelling set of principles to bring forward a more balanced approach to dealing with potential oil and gas development in the north.

CPAWS completed a number of research projects on the impacts of oil and gas development on northern ecosystems with a particular focus on woodland caribou. We intervene in the annual oil and gas permitting process to ensure that our northern lands are not adversely affected by oil and gas activities. We advocate a higher standard of care that Yukoners expect of the oil and gas industry. We also work to improve the oil and gas disposition process in the Yukon to ensure that lands of high conservation value are excluded from oil and gas development areas.