There's no scientific information suggesting the expanse of land surrounding McIntyre Creek is essential wildlife habitat, a local biologist told city council Thursday.

Graeme Pelchat of EDI consultants said there is some evidence of large mammals moving through the area, but not much.

Certainly not enough to suggest the 440 hectare study area is a regular wildlife corridor for moose, bears and deer, he said at council's noon-hour meeting .

Pelchat said it would be fair to describe the 250-metre strip taking in both sides of the creek as a viable corridor for medium-sized animals like birds, coyotes, foxes, otters and other water animals.

But even the vitality of that corridor has been hurt by the large numbers of people out walking their dogs or running their ATVs and four-by-fours through the network of unregulated trails, council heard.

Pelchat said going forward with a subdivision in the area known as Porter Creek D and building a road across McIntyre Creek would not hurt the 250-metre corridor along the creek.

In fact, he told city council, developing a management plan for the area to direct off-road vehicles and human traffic to designated trails would enhance the vitality of the creek corridor by reducing human disturbance.

Pelchat said the loss of the McIntyre Creek area would not affect surrounding wildlife populations.

This is not an area that provides a vital link between two isolated populations, he said.

A proposal to put several hundred residential lots in the area between the Alaska Highway and Mountainview Drive, and to drive a road across the creek to provide a connection between Mountainview and the Alaska Highway, has been hotly debated over the last couple of years.

Several individuals and organizations have challenged the proposal, particularly the road across McIntyre Creek, suggesting the area does provide a vital corridor and habitat for wildlife.

Developing it, many argue, would not only have a negative impact on wildlife, but would destroy a unique and important feature in the middle of the city which most cities would kill for.

City council is scheduled to vote Dec. 12 on whether to go ahead with development. Two of the remaining six council members said recently they favour development.

The others, including Mayor Bev Buckway, said they would not decide until all the information was in, including the wildlife study the city commissioned from EDI.

Buckway said this morning there's still more work to be done before she makes up her mind, noting the review of traffic studies and next Thursday's open house to gather public input on the findings of the wildlife research.

Some of the councillors were not around during the first go-around of public debate over the Porter Creek D, and she want to hear what they have to say after all the material has been reviewed, she said.

"We have to do our due diligence on this,” said the mayor. "What we have to look at is what is the long-term benefit for the community.”

The biologist told council that because the area is neither a vital wildlife corridor for large mammals or a patch of vital habitat, it wouldn't be wise to try and manage it as corridor for mule deer, bears and the like.

Doing so, he said, would require things like fencing along the highway to control the movement of large animals coming and going, something like they do in Banff National Park.

Besides, there are several restraints which make the McIntyre Creek area rather impractical as a wildlife corridor for large animals, Pelchat said.

He pointed to Porter Creek on one side, Takhini North on the other, the new Whistle Bend subdivision to the east and Raven's Ridge to the west along with the new residential development along Fish Lake, the Kopper King and Yukon College.

"So you have all this surrounding it,” Pelchat said. "So we do not think this is a functional habitat patch (for large animals) or a functional corridor.”

Pelchat pointed out the research from late April to mid-September included the use of hidden cameras which were triggered by movement.

Of the 900-plus movements recorded, a little over 800 were triggered by humans, some 120 were triggered by mammals and 20 or so by birds.

Black bears were recorded, but mostly in July, when Environment Yukon was cautioning Whitehorse residents about in increase of bear activity across the city, the biologist told council.

He said there was no sign of grizzly bears, though the presence of grizzly bears has been recorded in the past.

Similarly, no moose were photographed, though old moose pellets and other sign were noted throughout the area, Pelchat pointed out, adding mule deer were also photographed.

He said if a road is built across McIntyre Creek, the city should stick with a bridge design as opposed to a culvert to allow for freer movement of the smaller animals to maximize the vitality of the 250-metre wildlife corridor along the creek.

Culverts, said Pelchat, restrict movement.

When the time comes to upgrade the section of the Alaska Highway where the creek crosses it, thought should be given to replacing the two culverts there with a bridge-like structure for the same reason, he said.

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