To the Government of Yukon
Re: Habitat Protection Amendments to the Yukon Wildlife Act

Current Status:

Most regions of the Yukon presently support an abundance of wildlife and will continue to do so as long as their habitats are not negatively impacted. However, wildlife habitat protection does not appear in development related legislation in the Yukon. Although such protection may be considered in environmental review processes this only occurs in response to specific levels of development proposals and cannot be applied to many areas where such proposals do not arise.

Concern:

Many wildlife habitats already identified in the Yukon, or that will be identified through wildlife management plans, are at risk because there is no legal means of protecting them. Protection of wildlife habitats was a principal objective of the RRDC in arranging for an integrated wildlife management plan at this time, however, the planning process identified that in most cases such protection is not available.

RECOMMENDATION to YTG:

Given the urgent need for habitat protection, in view of the increase in development activity in many parts of the Yukon, the RRDC recommends that the Government of the Yukon proclaim the 1992 habitat protection amendments to the Yukon Wildlife Act.