Dawson City's UNESCO World Heritage site bid to be submitted next year

Yukon's Klondike region is inching closer to submitting a bid to become a designated World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

It's an idea that's been talked about and promoted for years around Dawson City.

Molly Shore of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation is working on the UNESCO nomination, which a local group plans to submit to UNESCO early next year. 

"We came up with the name 'Tr'ondëk-Klondike' World Heritage site, because we think that really represents the shared story in our region," Shore said.

"We're looking at everything from around the gold rush, right up to the present day."  

Shore said a UNESCO World Heritage designation would not add any new restrictions or regulations for those who live and work in the region, but proponents hope it will boost tourism.

"We're really telling the world why the Dawson area is so special, on an international scale."

There are more than 1,000 UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the world, including two in Canada's North — Nahanni National Park, and the polar ice fields that stretch from Alaska and B.C. into Yukon's Kluane National Park.