A proposed placer mine for Judas Creek should not proceed because it would further harm the already troubled Carcross caribou herd.

So concludes the evaluation by the Teslin office of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board.

The 62-page assessment released Monday says potential negative impacts on other wildlife including fish could be mitigated with special measures.

“However, the designated office determined that significant adverse cumulative effects to the Carcross caribou herd cannot be mitigated,” says the assessment board’s recommendation to the Yukon government’s mineral resource branch.

The mineral resource branch now has 30 days to accept, reject or alter the recommendation by the assessment board.

Nicolai Goeppel and Alex Shaman are proposing a seasonal placer mining operation along Judas Creek, about 4.5 kilometre north of Jakes Corner.

The proponents maintain the impact will be minimal, particularly as there is no need for a staff camp on site because of the proximity to local subdivisions and Whitehorse.

During the 70 days available for the public to provide input on the proposal, there was some support for the project in recognition of the employment it would create and the long-standing relationship between the placer mining industry and the Yukon.

There was, on the other hand, much more opposition over the potential impact on the environment, especially the caribou herd which has been the subject of an intense recovery program for almost three decades.

First Nations have noted their aboriginal right to protect sources of subsistence food, in submissions to the assessment board.

In its submission, the Carcross-Tagish First Nation cited a provision in its aboriginal land claim agreement which sets out an obligation to protect habitat which is critical to the Carcross herd’s recovery and sustainability.

The Taku River Tlingit First Nation of Atlin B.C. pointed out it has unsettled aboriginal land claims to the area along Judas Creek. As such, any placer mining operation would require the approval of the First Nation, the Tlingits insist.

The evaluation by the Teslin office concluded the area along Judas Creek where the placer operation is proposed is critical habitat used by the Carcross caribou.

In its submission to the assessment board, Environment Yukon recommended the project be rejected, primarily over concerns about the impact on the caribou.

“If we lose this herd again, we are not getting it back. Ever,” Patrick James, chair of the Carcross-Tagish land management board, wrote in the First Nation’s submission to the assessment board.

This is the third decision by the assessment board where caribou have played a central role in having a project rejected or elevated to a higher level of screening.

In February, the board’s Dawson office recommended the proposal by Northern Cross Yukon for an extensive oil and gas exploration project on Eagle Plain be elevated to a screening by the executive committee in Whitehorse.

It cited the inability to measure the potential impact on the Porcupine caribou herd, and therefore was unable to determine the impact on the cultural values attached to the herd.

When the executive committee recommended in February the Casino mine proposal be elevated to the first-ever panel review in the assessment board’s 11-year history, it cited two primary factors: concern over the proposed tailings facility including what would be one of the largest tailings dams in the aworld; along with concern over the potential impact on the Klaza caribou herd.

The assessment board’s Teslin office is also scheduled to release a decision this week on a proposed mineral exploration project on Jubilee Mountain, west of the Atlin Road.

Similar concerns over the potential impact on the Carcross caribou herd have been expressed.

In its submission regarding Jubilee Mountain, the Carcross-Tagish First Nation again cites the provision included in its land claim agreement, which is appended to the Constitution of Canada:

“The Carcross/Tagish First Nation and Government shall cooperate to co-ordinate their respective land and resource management activities in a manner that identifies and protects critical habitat of the herd through available mechanisms in this agreement and through other existing regulatory processes.”

Wendy Randall, chair of the assessment board, said this morning the board deals with concerns over caribou all the time.

In most cases, working in partnership with First Nations and government departments, they’re able to come up with suitable measures to mitigate impacts, she said.

“But there certainly are times where there is more of a challenge,” Randall said. “Particularly so for a herd that is having some challenges itself.”

She noted the Carcross herd is protected, and mountain caribou in general are listed as a species at risk.