Whitehorse Daily Star

Image title

Photo by Whitehorse Star

ELK-VIEWING LEASE BID REJECTED – An elk is seen in October 2016 between Whitehorse and Haines Junction. The elk-viewing proposal the Yukon government has rejected involved an area near the Kusawa Lake Road west of Whitehorse.

YG nixes leases for elk-viewing venture

The Yukon government has denied the request for two agricultural leases to support an elk-viewing business along the Alaska Highway near the Kusawa Lake Road.

By Chuck Tobin on October 17, 2017

The Yukon government has denied the request for two agricultural leases to support an elk-viewing business along the Alaska Highway near the Kusawa Lake Road.

The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board recommended last month that the government reject the proposal. The viewing facility would have a negative impact on existing land users and elk which could not be mitigated, the board said.

In its decision issued last Friday, the government noted concerns raised by First Nations related to the alienation of land used for traditional purposes and the proposal to establish a hay farm that would also be used to attract elk.

Scott and Andrew Berdahl were proposing to secure two agricultural leases of 65 hectares each, for a total of 130 hectares.

The intent was to rotate hay production between the two hay fields, with one field being left fallow every year to allow foraging by the elk.

Wildlife viewing clients would be put up in tents or yurts.

While viewing could occur year-round, most viewing would be concentrated during the fall, when the elk are rutting, says the proposal.

In submissions to the assessment board, the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN), the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’an Council strongly objected to the proposal.

Further alienation of important lands were at the forefront of concerns.

So too was the likelihood of further habituation of elk to hay fields when farmers through the Takhini River Valley are already dealing with elk in their fields – shooting them if they have to.

‘Alienation of land’

“Our principal concerns of this project relate to the significant and permanent alienation of land currently open for use to exercise CAFN Aboriginal and treaty rights, as well as the negative effects and risks to wildlife from the intentional feeding (of) elk,” reads the First Nation’s submission.

Champagne and Aishihik points out a substantial amount of land in their traditional territory through the Takhini River Valley has been turned into private title over the last 45 years.

“Continued dispositions of land under current policies is seriously jeopardizing alternative uses of reasonably accessible areas of land, including land to exercise CAFN subsistence harvest treaty rights, and healthy land for wildlife,” the submission says.

“This is resulting in forcing CAFN to take the default position of protecting and keeping our Settlement Land in an undeveloped state to allow for some areas for wildlife refuge and free movement in this area.”

There’s also the very strong possibility the area contains heritage resources from thousands of years of occupancy that could be disturbed by the development of a farm and use of heavy equipment, says the submission.

Making land use decisions while a land use plan for the region has not yet been developed was also a concern raised by the CAFN .

The Alsek Renewable Resource Council also submitted opposition to the proposal.

The 130 hectares being sought fall within the core area of the Takhini elk herd and a registered trapline, the council points out.

It says the proposal runs contrary to Environment Yukon’s Management Plan for Elk, as well as the health and “wildness” of the herd.

“This project is essentially baiting and luring wildlife, through an inviting food source, to allow for humans to view them in a farm setting,” says the council’s submission.

“These animals are currently being hunted on farmed areas, as a way to disincentivize feeding on fields, so again, it would run counter to allow them to feed unhindered on some fields, and not others.”

Comments (2)

Up 21 Down 1

BnR on Oct 18, 2017 at 7:12 am

"Scott and Andrew Berdahl were proposing to secure two agricultural leases of 65 hectares each, for a total of 130 hectares."
This is perhaps one of the most original excuses I have heard someone use to try and get an ag. lease, which would then become someones hobby ranch, and then be sub divided for profit. Can't blame them for trying given that the Ag Branch lets others get away with it.

Up 21 Down 1

Atom on Oct 17, 2017 at 6:45 pm

For 30 years the Ag program has been used to acquire land for basically free, only to be sold by the applicant for huge sums of money after ownership is secured...and no one really farms it.

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.