RESOURCE EVALUATION

a) Resource Priorities:

Importance of resources, representativeness, rarity, scientific interest, significant areas.

"Because the Alaska-Canadian border is but an arbitrary line through the centre of what is one great natural entity transcending national boundaries, the water and wildlife resources, as elsewhere in North America, move from one country into the other. The importance of the area, and the matter of its status and preservation in the future, becomes a problem of like importance to two neighbouring peoples whose futures in conservation, recreation, and economy are necessarily bound closely together by geographical proximity" (Cranes 1954 in Childes 1994).

The survey report of northeastern Alaska and northwestern Canada undertaken in 1949 under the leadership of George Collins concluded with these thoughts which remain relevant today. The trans-boundary nature of the hydrological regimes of Vuntut National Park and the Old Crow Special Management Area makes this a politically important conservation area.

The most significant features of the hydrology of Vuntut National Park and the Old Crow Special Management Area are the shallow thermokarst lakes and wetlands of the Old Crow Flats and the unique characteristics the Old Crow River drainage. The latter include thermal groundwater springs, aufeis areas, and winter open water areas, the deeply incised meandering river beds and braided drainage patterns, the water-retaining beaded drainage patterns of the northern tributaries, and the moderated river flow characteristics resulting from the effects of the Old Crow Flats.

The Old Crow lakes and wetlands provide summer habitats for numerous waterfowl and a particularly important breeding area in times of drought on the Prairies. The waters of the Old Crow Basin also support resident populations of fish, many of which overwinter in the pockets of unfrozen water in the lakes and rivers, particularly in stream fed areas and in larger rivers such as the Porcupine River. The lakes of the Flats provide a particularly suitable habitat for the muskrat and provide moisture to support vegetation which in turn support large mammal populations. Erosion by the Old Crow River led to the discovery of "bones falling out of the cliffs" and the identification of one of the western hemisphere’s most important localities for vertebrate paleontology. The waters of the area are truly at the centre of the traditional life of the "People among the lakes" and will play a significant role in visitor use of and interest in Vuntut National Park.

b) Potentials and Constraints:

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

Old Crow Flats is an internationally important wetland area. It provides unique research opportunities for both scientific and traditional knowledge studies. There is the potential for systematic monitoring by both these methods, of the impacts of traditional and visitor activity, and of regional and global climate change, on this fragile wet land. This would not only answer the pressing questions regarding the state of the wet lands but would be a vehicle for co-operation between the local residents, the international scientific community and Park management.

The Flats are the source of the traditional life style of the Vuntut Gwitchin and their unique relationship to this environment needs to be honoured and maintained. The wetland ecosystem is dependent on the water supply to it and the drainage of water from it, which are in turn dependent on the permafrost and ground ice regime as well as on meteorological and hydrological conditions. Interdisciplinary studies are thus also necessary for interpretation and preservation activities in the Park. Other interdisciplinary questions which are of international interest include the origin of the oriented rectangular lakes and the mechanisms of formation of the river meanders. Both of these phenomena are particularly well represented in the Park and both are still not fully understood. Remote sensing techniques will provide valuable non-intrusive techniques for the study of these prominent Park features.

Rivers and streams have high spring flows and flooding is reasonably frequent. Summer flow is maintained by the contribution of the wetlands so basic water travel may be possible most of the summer. In some cases it would be necessary to fly in and boat out of river sites. No river flow data are available from within the Park. However, initial evaluations could be based on the records from the mouth of the Old Crow River combined with that obtained from traditional knowledge sources and from the journals the many research parties who have visited the area over the past four decades.

Snow is very important to the ecology of the Park as well as being the primary source of river flow. It insulates the ground, provides burrows for small animals, protects vegetation from cold and wind, provides moisture for plant growth in the spring, provides a surface for winter travel and provides the shelter for winter hunting camps. It can also prevent large herbivores from feeding; slow the spring growth of plants or cause an abrupt end to the growing season; be whipped up by strong winds into white out or blizzard conditions; and cover land and lake ice with such a uniform whiteness that all definition is lost. Snow plays such a major role in the life of this region that traditional knowledge must hold answers to some of the questions regarding the nature and distribution of winter snowcover across the Park and Special Management area.

c) Research:

Gaps and future projects.

Determining whether the Flats are, in fact, drying, and if so, why and what can and should be done to slow or mitigate the results of these changes must be a research priority for the Vuntut National Park and Special Management Area. Hawkings, Duguay and others have developed a program which combines remote sensing satellite techniques with in-situ monitoring to evaluate past and current changes in the lakes of the Old Crow Flats. These techniques need to be applied to the question of whether the Flats are drying up and to the long term, ongoing monitoring of the water balance of the Old Crow Flats.

The basic questions of what causes the orientation and shape of the lakes in the Flats is still being asked and warrants study within Park and Special Management Area. This is also true of the mechanisms responsible for the river meanders and oxbow lakes which are such a prominant feature of the hydrology of the Park.

Although the pipeline studies of the 1970s evaluated the sensitivity of the streams and rivers which would have been crossed by the pipeline, the observations were not systematically repeated nor did they cover the upper reaches of the Old Crow River basin. Systematic evaluation of the location of springs, winter open water areas, areas where lakes and rivers are not frozen to the bottom in winter, talik areas where permafrost is not present or has receded and areas of aufeis should be conducted. This information should be added to the Yukon-wide data bases such as the Yukon ground water data base (Hardisty et al. 1991). Changes in the extent and location of these phenomena should also be monitored.

Hydrometric sites are being maintained near the village of Old Crow but no river flow data is available from within Vuntut National Park itself. Janowicz (1993) included traditional knowledge sources in his flood history study. Jasek (1997a,b) studied the break-up and flooding of the Porcupine River. He suggested the installation of water level stations with satellite telemetry capability upstream of Old Crow to help detect ice jam surges. These could provide a means of obtaining early warnings of flood conditions at Old Crow. He suggests combining these monitoring techniques with development of an ice jam model for the Porcupine River.

Studies of traditional knowledge should be combined with a long-term area-wide snow course monitoring program to determine the distribution and annual variations of snowcover. A quantitative evaluation of the distribution and variation of snowbanks, and of the importance of these features to the ecology of the area should be undertaken. Snowcover also provides an annual repository for pollutants and pollen washed out of the atmosphere. Snow chemistry measurements would not only aid in water quality studies, but also provide information on general atmospheric pollution levels in Vuntut National Park and the Old Crow Special Management Area.

Although rainfall is not a major factor in river flow or soil moisture balance in the area, heavy rainfall may be important to river travel and safety and should be further investigated, initially by comparing the daily hydrometric and daily precipitation information. The water quality measurements should be continued and an effort made to relate these to meteorological, hydrological, and biological factors. The study of aufeis provides insights into the permafrost hydrology and underground drainage of the area and their summer melt regime is linked to climate and climate change.

Although there is general agreement that taliks (unfrozen areas within a permafrost area) exist under some of the water bodies (rivers and lakes) in the study area, no observations or modelling studies have been undertaken in the Park area to determine the size, depth, temperature conditions or geomorphological properties needed to create these unfrozen pockets.

Duguay et al. (1999b) suggest that shallow lakes represent promising sites for long-term monitoring and detection of changes related to global climate change and its effect on polar regions. The Old Crow Flats abound in shallow lakes. Insufficient data analysis has been undertaken at present to allow analysis of trends. However, there is satellite imagery from the area since 1973, although technology has changed over the last 25 years, so all images do not provide the same information. Mossop’s observations of early thawing lakes should be investigated using these same methods and related back to their impact on wildlife.

The observation of enriched vegetation downstream of aufeis locations should be further investigated as well as the role of aufeis areas in the overwintering of fish. Aufeis may also provide a means of monitoring climate change and its impact on the hydrological regime of the Park and Special Management Area.

Time series of climate and hydrological fluctuations do exist for areas bordering the Park, although there is considerable missing data in both time series. No concerted effort has be made to compare these time series and integrate them with snowcover data or with the results of the Borderlands Co-op environmental monitoring program. In semi-arid regions such as Vuntut National Park longer hydrological time series are needed than is wetter regions (Eagleson 1981, in Leith 1993) which stresses the need for beginning a long term monitoring program. An integrated study of climate change and its impact on and interaction with the hydrological conditions is an essential element of understanding the ecosystems within Vuntut National Park and Old Crow Special Management Area.

d) Guidelines for Park Planning:

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

A comprehensive multi-disciplinary, multi-agency program to study the hydrology of the Old Crow Flats is needed as outlined in the "First Steps" section below. The results of this study should be incorporated into Park planning and used to mitigate further damage to this important wildlife habitat and cultural area.

Areas of winter open water and other areas of overwintering for resident fish populations should be identified and monitored for changes. These areas should be given particular attention in the planning of combined multi-disciplinary research efforts. The origin of these special winter open water areas needs to be investigated. Their sensitivity to local activity and global climate change should be evaluated. This will involve cooperation of park management and research scientists from a number of disciplines.

A systematic evaluation of the times of flooding and unsafe travel for the waterways used in traditional activities and those which have potential for tourists should be undertaken. In connection with this, the effects of summer storms on river flow needs to be investigated.

The four hydrometric stations maintained by Inland Waters should be continued and their data regularly analysed and related to climate and snowcover data and to the areas of winter open water and spring flooding. Hydrometric stations should be established on several of the main creeks within the park, at least for a period of years sufficient to determine the relationship of flow in the tributaries within the Park to the long term station. In conjunction with this as discussed in the research section a snowcover study should be initiated combining traditional knowledge and instrumental monitoring techniques. These studies should be combined where possible with climate, permafrost and wildlife studies for cost efficiency, to allow integration of the results and to minimize impact on the ecosystem.

e) Conservation and Management:

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

A balance needs to be maintained between the use of the wetlands for tourism and traditional hunting and fishing activities, and the possibility of terrain disturbance or damage to this unique wetland. Guidelines should be developed in cooperation with the terrain sensitivity program suggested in the soils and geomorphology evaluations (section 4d) to minimize damage to the fragile land surrounding the lakes of the Old Crow Flats wetlands. Care may be needed in the choice of snowmobile trails and other transportation routes to avoid drainage of lakes due to destruction of the narrow ice-rich ridges between the lakes.

The times of flooding and unsafe travel and the effects of summer storms on river flow, should be incorporated into the planning traditional river travel and tourist expeditions.

The study of the origin of rectangular lakes and of river meanders would not only provide input to the understanding of why the Old Crow Flats appear to be drying up but also add to the scientific knowledge of these phenomena. Research should be encouraged into these important factors. The observations and traditional knowledge of local residents would be a valuable part of this effort.

The presence and conditions for formation of taliks (unfrozen ground) by the rivers and lakes within the Park and Special Management Area could be investigated in combination with geomorphology and soil studies. This would require some controlled excavation and drilling and thus necessitates a balance between conservation and the need to understand the impact of lakes and rivers on the land beneath them. It is also important to monitor changes in the size or frequency of such taliks as part of the evaluation of the impact on the land of changing climate and hydrological conditions.

f) First steps:

What should be done first? Immediate future

Comprehensive long term monitoring of the lakes of the Old Crow Flats should be established. The past conditions should be evaluated from satellite imagery and from traditional knowledge of the area. Specifically as proposed by Duguay et al. (1999c), time series of remotely sensed images and related ground truth data should be used to: 1) quantify current changes in the extent and water level of thaw lakes (1939 to present), and 2) quantify the spatial and interannual variability of the number of lakes that freeze completely to the bottom each winter and those that do not (1992 to present).

Beginning with the suggestions of Jasek (1997b) which include combining monitoring techniques with development of an ice jam model for the Porcupine River, a flood prediction and management program should be initiated.

The water quality monitoring begun in 1996 should be continued and a standardized metadata system developed for this and other monitoring programs. The trends and spatial variation of water quality should be examined and related to recent studies on "cold condensation" and other current global and regional research on the transport and deposition of pollutants in northern areas.

Wherever monitoring activities are being established for other research purposes (such as climate, ground temperature, wildlife studies) thought should be given to how to incorporate basic hydrological monitoring. This might include efforts such as: monitoring aufeis areas to see if they respond directly to climate change or whether they are controlled by ground water conditions; determining the changes to habitat down stream of aufeis; or studying the interaction of permafrost, river flow and lake depth.

It is necessary to encourage Park staff, researchers, visitors, and Vuntut Gwitchin guides, hunters and trappers, to record data on springs, aufeis and winter open water occurrence, winter conditions in streams, particularly in areas which may provide overwintering habitats for fish. These features should be recorded with GPS locations whenever possible. Information is also needed regarding the navigability of the main rivers in summer and the areas which are subject to flooding.

Oral history researchers should be encouraged to record information on the conditions of specific lakes and wetland areas, on areas and years where flooding has occurred, on existence and changes in springs, aufeis, winter open water areas, and changes in the course and flow of the rivers and streams.