Artwork: Yukon Graphic Recording

INTENT STATEMENT

The vision is for continued enjoyment of traditional and recreational pursuits while allowing for limited sustainable development to continue. Future management of this area should continue to focus on respectful tourism, mining, opportunities for cultural connections, and to maintain and enhance the cultural, community, and ecological values these activities depend on.

The LMU is an area of cultural significance to Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and continues to offer an important recreational gathering space for residents and visitors alike.

The Fortymile River is a critical salmon-bearing stream, supporting the movement of adult and juvenile Chinook salmon and providing identified spawning habitat. This LMU hosts active placer mining, forestry, tourism, traplines, harvesting, Fortymile caribou habitat, and all-season recreational pursuits along the Fortymile River and off the highway. The Top of the World Highway runs through this LMU, making it highly accessible via highway, secondary roads, and trails. The Top of the World Highway is a major tourist route connecting the Yukon to Alaska.

Given its proximity to Dawson City, as well as the neighbourhoods of West Dawson and Sunnydale, this area represents important opportunities for community growth, connection, and wellness that must be considered alongside any industrial uses. In particular, Chu Ttho Dëk (Hän for “yellow water creek”, commonly called Swede Creek) is an important source of drinking water for the community. The Clinton Creek asbestos mine in this LMU was abandoned in 1978 and is now under the care and maintenance of Government of Yukon and Government of Canada. Remediation planning is underway in collaboration with Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, and continued work on future reclamation and closure planning is a priority due to community concerns.

This LMU is designated as an ISA 2 in recognition that it accommodates a mix of recreational, cultural, residential, and industrial activities, many of which rely on healthy ecosystems and intact viewscapes. As a highly active recreation and tourism destination, the LMU must be carefully managed to preserve values important to the broader community and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, while supporting multiple land uses. ISA 2 thresholds are appropriate because many of these land uses require minimal or no development footprint, thriving in the absence of development.

TR’ËHUDÈ AND STEWARDSHIP

Tąy Dë̀kdhät means “trail on top/high”, and this route is essential for connecting to families and communities in Alaska and providing access for community members to pursue on-the-land activities.

This area is important to Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in for many reasons, particularly as a space for reconnection. For many years, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in have not harvested the Fortymile caribou to help the herd to become healthy again. As a result, an entire generation of Citizens have not harvested caribou, and the cultural impact of this is deeply felt. The opportunity for knowledge transfer and reconnection to a traditional practices and ways of life is especially important in Tąy Dë̀kdhät.

LMU DIRECTIONS

1. Activities that have the potential to disturb salmon and other fish spawning sites should be restricted during known, species-dependent Freshwater Timing Windows for the Yukon (as per DFO).
2. The operation of large, high-powered tourist watercraft on the Fortymile River should not result in appreciable mortality to juvenile or adult salmon or disruption of their habitats.
3. Land users working in proximity to Mickey Creek and Swede Creek should be made aware that these streams are used for human consumption. An appropriate buffer should be explored and implemented, where appropriate, to ensure no negative impacts on these important water sources.
4. To protect Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in heritage resources, a buffer near the Forty Mile Heritage Site should be implemented. The boundaries should be the Tr’ondëk–Klondike UNESCO World Heritage Site boundaries for Ch’ëdähdëk (Forty Mile), Ch’ëdähdëk Tth’än K’et (Dënezhu Graveyard), and Fort Cudahy and Fort Constantine, buffered by an additional two km. The management of this LMU should adhere to any relevant directions set out in the Fortymile Townsite Management Plan.
5. Take care not to disturb the unique biophysical and socio-cultural setting, particularly through the use of off-road vehicles within key ungulate, ecologically important, and cultural areas. The use of off-road vehicles should not undermine cultural and wildlife values.
6. The visual integrity and natural aesthetic viewscape of the Top of the World Highway corridor should be maintained.
7. With regards to the Fortymile River:
   1. Do not block the flow of water in the Fortymile River.
   2. No ground disturbance or storage of contaminants (including fuel storage, outhouses, waste materials, and tailings ponds) within 30 m of the high-water mark.
   3. Reclamation of existing disturbances should be directed towards standards that protect heritage and water values.
   4. Use existing access points wherever possible.
   5. Access should be shared.
8. This area is located within important caribou herd ranges. It is crucial to maintain key caribou migration pathways and to minimize disturbance to key habitat. Stewardship Directions for the caribou overlays (Section 5.3.4) must be followed.