Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
A tactical evacuation is underway once again in the Rock Creek area near Dawson City, Yukon, as the Klondike River continues to run dangerously high. Officials have issued another flood warning for the area, a little more than a week after an earlier warning was downgraded to a flood watch. A tactical evacuation means that residents are advised to leave the area, but are not under an evacuation order.
The latest ice breakup forecast for Yukon suggests there may be some flooding in the Dawson City area this spring, though not likely in town. "We assess the flood risk as low for Dawson City proper, the town itself, because it is protected by the dike," said Anthony Bier, the Yukon government's acting senior hydrologist. It's been a cool spring so far in the Dawson area, and a lot of snow fell over the winter. The amount of snow on the ground — called the snowpack — is higher than it usually is, meaning more water hitting the rivers once things start melting.
First Nations, scientists and climate change experts are sharing how the Yukon's landscape — shaped by permafrost — is thawing and what that means for adaptation, land use, industry and wildlife. The issue is the main theme of the North Yukon Permafrost Conference, a collaboration between the Tr'ondëk Hwëchin and Vuntut Gwitchin governments, the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun and the Canadian Permafrost Association. The conference runs all week. The permafrost shift is especially noticeable in Dawson City, said Jackie Olson, a Tr'ondëk Hwëchin citizen who has lived in the community her whole life.
An independent panel is urging the Yukon government to develop a wetlands policy to protect unique streams, bogs, fens and peatland from mining because there are no known ways to fully restore these sensitive ecosystems once disturbed. Wetlands filter water, provide habitat to species and sequester carbon but are quickly being lost to development worldwide — an issue drawing attention on World Wetlands Day Feb. 2.
