RESOURCE EVALUATION

a) Resource Priorities:

Covers importance of resources, representativeness, rarity, scientific interest, significant areas.

The Old Crow Flats are one of the most ecologically significant wetlands in the Yukon and are of national and international importance. Under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, the Old Crow Flats were designated as a protected wetland in 1982. Locally they are of great cultural importance to the Vuntut Gwitchin in terms of historic and present utilization. The lakes of the Old Crow Flats gave the Vuntut Gwitchin their name and were the basis of their annual round of activities. It is the aquatic resources, the plants, invertebrates, and fish, that live in the waters, which in turn support the mammals and birds that depend on the Flats.

Rare and Endangered Species

Although none of the aquatic animal species are known to be rare or endangered, several aquatic plants are listed among the rare plants of theYukon (see listing in Vegetation). The wood frog (Rana sylvatica), though not rare, reaches its northernmost point in Canada in the Old Crow Flats and the Mackenzie Delta, farther north than any other amphibian in North America.

b) Potentials and constraints:

Covers interpretation and educational opportunities, sensitivity, scientific interest, cultural or heritage appreciation, natural hazard zones, public safety, accessibility.

There is a great opportunity for education and interpretation in the wide spectrum of life that exist in the Park and Special Management Area. Even within the community of Old Crow, knowledge of many of the many aquatic species is probably limited to certain Elders and hunters. Parks Canada, with the local expertise of the Elders, can make a large contribution to the interpretation of the life of the Flats to students and Park visitors by surveying, studying, and introducing the many little-known aspects of the aquatic ecosystem.

In terms of recreational fishing, the arctic grayling is a popular sport fish for anglers (Sherry and Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation 1999) and is fished for in many areas around the Old Crow Basin. However, the species is subject to over-utilization due to the low growth rate and ease of capture (Scott and Grossman 1973) and great care must be taken in managing this resource. Although there is currently no recreational fishing in the Old Crow Flats (David Henry, Parks Canada, pers. comm. 2000), it is conceivable that Park visitors may wish to fish for this species in the future.

c) Research:

Covers information gaps and future projects.

Although there is some information on aquatic fish species for the upper reaches of the Porcupine River, our state of knowledge is for the Old Crow Basin is inadequate, especially for the Old Crow Flats and Old Crow River. The basic understanding of fish distribution and life histories of the fish using the waters of the Old Crow Basin is poor. In terms of published traditional knowledge, there is a large body of information for the upper Porcupine River, especially the Fishing Branch area (Sherry and the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation 1999), but again, less for the Old Crow River and Flats. More emphasis on the natural history of aquatic species in oral history projects would improve the situation.

There is a great need for systematic biological surveys of a range of small and large streams, lakes, and ponds in both the Old Crow Flats Ecoregion and the Old Crow Basin Ecoregion. With the exception of the brief surveys for fish in a few creeks in the 1970s, and some collecting of aquatic plants, there is little published information on the aquatic life of this entire area. It would be important to carry out a basic biological survey of a variety of lakes and streams in Vuntut National Park, using modern methods but also techniques that would allow comparison with similar data collected in the 1970s pipeline investigations. Specific lakes that might be surveyed include Sam Lake, Tan Ch'ohli, Ch'inekai Van, and Sheih Zhit.

Parks Canada staff and the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN) should document (using photography and GPS) any open water areas found in winter, as critical overwintering habitat for fish is usually associated with open water. Research should be carried out to document the physical characteristics and extent of open water areas. Such research would allow Parks Canada to detect and evaluate potential changes due to climate change or other environmental factors.

There is a specific need for more information on overwintering sites used by arctic grayling and other species, especially the current use of these sites, movements of fish to and from the sites, and the effect of fishing on these sites. Thomas and Timber Creeks are recommended as two sites for further research as a pilot study. Some examples of topics that should be considered are: water chemistry (dissolved oxygen patterns, pH levels), flow rates, temperature, aufeis extent, and comparison of fish and invertebrate species with 1970s data.

It is recommended that Parks Canada (with the VGFN) become involved with the Yukon Frog Watch (Mennell and Slough 1999 Yukon Renewable Resources) and/or the Canadian Frog Watch program (Canadian Nature Federation 2000) program and begin to monitor the presence of frogs on the lakes of the Flats where frogs have been observed or are known from traditional knowledge, and on those lakes between Vuntut National Park and known frog habitat. Research or simple data collecting on frogs should be integrated with any work done on fish or other aquatic organisms.

It would be a useful project to retrieve information on the species of insects (aquatic and terrestrial) from the few museum collections that have been made in various places in the Old Crow Flats. Specific references to individual aquatic species found in lakes or streams could be extracted from articles on entire insect families in the major publication Insects of the Yukon (Danks and Downes 1997).

In planning research on the aquatic communities in Vuntut National Park and the Old Crow Special Management area, Parks Canada should also review information available on other parts of the Porcupine River basin, including the north bank tributaries of the Yukon River downstream of Fort Yukon.

d) Guidelines for Park Planning:

Covers land management direction, protection versus use, specific management areas, location of rare or endangered species, habitats.

With due consideration of traditional fishing at overwintering areas at the headwaters of the Old Crow River and Timber and Thomas Creeks, Parks Canada and the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN) should research what constitutes a sustainable harvest at each of these sites and consider the protection of these areas from overuse. Some overwintering areas for fish within Vuntut National Park may warrant special zoning or management protection in the future.

It is noted that in early documents about the establishment of the Northern Yukon National Park, Sam Lake was mentioned as a likely access point for aircraft (Parks Canada 1983). Until biological inventories of this and other lakes in the region are completed, aircraft use should be restricted or eliminated.

e) Conservation and management:

Covers concerns regarding resource management and land use, potential conflicts, traditional activities, existing development, state of ecosystems, ecological integrity.

As outlined in the VGFN Final Agreement, Parks Canada and VGFN should monitor traditional activities in the Park which may have an influence on the aquatic resources. For example, the use of traditional routes that cross narrow strips between lakes and rivers, the trapping of beaver, and winter fishing for arctic grayling, are areas that could affect ecological integrity of the Park and SMA.

Park visitors other than the VGFN should be required to report on their fishing activities, indicating where they fished and what they caught. Parks Canada should also continue to work closely with the VGFN to ensure that useful information on fishing within the Park is provided to the Park staff.

f) First steps:

Covers what should be done first, immediate future.

It will be important to encourage Park staff, researchers, visitors, and Vuntut Gwitchin guides, hunters and trappers, to record data on fish and wood frogs in a format similar to the NWT Bird Checklist (or Yukon equivalent) and the Frog Watch program, with GPS locations whenever possible. The recording of observations and extent of range occupied by all aquatic species are very important to the Park's database.

Oral History researchers should be encouraged to record information on ranges, migration patterns, and spawning of fish. Although it would be difficult to collect, traditional knowledge of the smaller, non-food fish species would be valuable since there is so little information. In the same way, information about aquatic insects and the wood frog could be noted.