The Yukon Conservation Society and the territory's anti-fracking group are way off in their assessment of the proposed seismic program on Eagle Plain, says Northern Cross president Richard Wyman.

Wyman said last week the organizations would have you believe the company is planning to establish a grid of seismic lines over virgin ground that could be seen from space.

In reality, when Northern Cross has finished its program, anybody would be hard-pressed to point out where the work was conducted, he said.

The proposal is before the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) for review. (See story below).

The Northern Cross president said in addition to what he maintained was minimal impact to the environment, the economic benefits for the Yukon generated by the seismic exploration program shouldn't be ignored.

The company is planning expenditures of between $15 million and $20 million. It's hoping to begin gearing up next November to do the work between mid-February to mid-April, said Wyman.

He said Northern Cross has already spent between $50 million and $60 million on its Eagle Plain exploration project, much of it in the last year completing three exploration wells.

Two more drill holes planned for the past winter had to be cancelled because there was not enough snow cover to provide for the compaction required by the environmental assessment and exploration permit.

Wyman said it's unlikely Northern Cross will drill the holes next winter as the company focuses on its three-dimensional seismic program.

Access into the proposed area will be along existing corridors established years ago.

Where possible, he added, the company will be using existing seismic lines.

Wyman pointed out there are already 10,000 kilometres of existing seismic lines in that area of Eagle Plain, dating to as far back as 1959.

Northern Cross is not planning long, straight seismic lines that could make it easier for wolves to spot caribou, as has suggested by the conservation society, he said.

Rather, said Wyman, the company is planning lines that bend and twist, and if crews come across a tree, they'll go around it.

As it is, however, most of the proposed area was hit by a forest fire, and there aren't many trees to speak of, he said.

Wyman emphasized Northern Cross has no plans at this point to use hydraulic fracturing.

That has been suggested by Don Roberts of the organization Yukoners Concerned About Oil and Gas Exploration.

Northern Cross is still trying to figure out the potential to produce oil and gas from Eagle Plain, though the company does believe there is potential, he said.

Wyman said while the area is described as 700 square kilometres in the notice for public comment issued by YESAB, in reality, the area will be no larger than 440 square kilometres.

Where the lines will go is still being worked out, and can't be finalized until Northern Cross has finished analyzing results from the third exploration well, he said.

Wyman said the company is committed to do as little brushing as possible, and will be using light-tracked vehicles such as snowmachines to move around.

"By the time it is all said and done, if somebody wanted to come out and inspect it, you would be hard-pressed to figure out where we did this work,” he insisted. "The impact will be imperceptible.”

Wyman said all the work associated with the seismic program conforms with the North Yukon Land Use Plan adopted by the Yukon government and Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation of Old Crow.

Northern Cross is committed to providing job and economic opportunities for Yukon residents and businesses, as it has done throughout its drilling program over the last year, he said.

He expects up to 80 people will be involved at the peak of the proposed seismic program, including 20 or so Yukoners.

The economic impact of the exploration program, particularly in light of the sharp decline in mineral exploration, is significant, Wyman said.