YLUPC
← Return to Plan
Loading LMU…
Region:
LMU #:

Designation:
Area:

Artwork: Yukon Graphic Recording

INTENT STATEMENT

The vision for this LMU is to conserve key habitat for woodland caribou while allowing for sustainable development. If access changes in the future, the vision should continue to prioritize maintaining caribou values.

This area offers important winter habitat for the Clear Creek caribou herd as well as moose populations. It is within the Stewart River watershed and contains many important community water sources, including Clear Creek.

The LMU has a long history of placer mining and has been identified as having high mineral potential. There is an active outfitting concession, traplines, and associated infrastructure. Access into the LMU is relatively limited, although it receives high vehicle traffic in the summer due to its proximity to the North Klondike Highway and the Clear Creek road is heavily used by industry.

This LMU is designated as an ISA 4 to allow some additional development to occur in light of existing levels of disturbance. Because it is located within the Clear Creek caribou herd range and important moose habitat, it is a priority to minimize disturbance to key caribou habitat areas and to address impacts to moose through overharvesting, while allowing for ongoing placer mining.

TR’ËHUDÈ AND STEWARDSHIP

”This LMU is the gateway to the Dawson Region. There is a sign that tells people who are driving on the Klondike Highway that they are entering the Traditional Territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in. For some it is a new experience, and for others it is a welcome home. There is overlap of Traditional Territory here with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun and they have identified the area as being an important place for fishing, traditional camps, and the Clear Creek caribou herd.”

– Dawson Regional Planning Commission

LMU DIRECTIONS

  1. No exploration is allowed in identified rutting ranges during rut (September 15 to October 15).
  2. When caribou are present during rut, all industrial activity within two km of caribou must stop until caribou move.
  3. Any access development (roads and trails) within mapped caribou rutting habitat should be avoided.
  4. If the Clear Creek Road is upgraded or closed, a 10-Year Plan Review should specifically review directions for this LMU and the related access or reclamation interests and requirements. Reclamation efforts should be geared towards restoring functional caribou habitat, rather than only decommissioning roads.
  5. 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 overlay (Section 5.3.4) must be followed.
PRIORITY VALUES
  • Water
  • Caribou
  • Sustainable Local Economy
VALUES
Land–People Relationship
  • Industrial, commercial, and traditional economic activities offer opportunities for stewardship, especially with respect to caribou.
Community Culture
  • Placer mining operations offer opportunities for long-term investment in the community.
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Culture, Heritage, and Hän language
  • Several identified archeological sites are clustered on the ridge above the McQuesten River and along the Klondike Highway on the northeast side of the LMU.
  • The area is used for traditional economy activities, especially harvesting, fishing, and gathering, particularly in areas transected by the Klondike Highway and Clear Creek Road.
  • The LMU includes important areas for connecting to the land through trapping, gathering, and harvesting.
Community Resilience
  • Local employment opportunities exist in mineral exploration and development activities.
  • The Clear Creek caribou herd has the potential to provide harvesting opportunities, contributing to food security.
  • The North Klondike Highway is an important transportation route for goods and services.
Water
  • Watercourses in the LMU feed into the Stewart River and include a small portion of the South Klondike River and Left Clear Creek.
Plant and Animal Relations
  • The LMU is located within the Tintina Trench Flyway, an important migration route for migratory birds. The presence of high-elevation habitats is important for some migratory bird species.
  • The LMU includes WKAs for thinhorn sheep.
  • Species-at-risk known to occur include wolverine, bank swallow, lesser yellowlegs, olive-sided flycatcher, rusty blackbird, horned grebe, common nighthawk, short-eared owl, and barn swallow.
  • Species-at-risk expected in low numbers include gypsy cuckoo bumble bee, Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee, western bumble bee mckayi subspecies, and transverse lady beetle.
Salmon
  • Activities in the LMU have the potential to impact salmon in the Stewart and Klondike rivers through downstream movement of sediment and/or contaminants.
Caribou
  • The LMU overlaps with the Fortymile and Clear Creek caribou herd ranges.
  • It contains key summer and winter habitat for mountain caribou, including habitat for calving, post-calving, summer, and rutting, and Wildlife Key Areas for the Clear Creek caribou herd.
Moose
  • The LMU includes an important moose movement corridor.
Landscapes
  • The LMU contains some old-growth forest (>140 years old) and isolated occurrences of rare or endemic species.
Wetlands
  • Some wetland habitat is present in the LMU.
Sustainable Local Economy
  • There is identified agricultural land disposition in the area along Clear Creek.
  • The LMU overlaps with the South Klondike River and Flat Creek landscape units of the Dawson Forest Resources Management Plan. There are no active timber harvest plans in the area.
  • There are limited opportunities for tourism, though there is identified potential for horseback riding activities.
  • The LMU contains active mineral exploration and development for both placer and hard rock interests and is an area of high mineral potential.
  • The LMU overlaps with trapping concessions and one active outfitting concession.

Indicator gauges

Surface disturbance (km²)
Linear disturbance (km)

Cumulative effects