New development near Mayo will destroy special area, say skiers

Cross-country skiers aren't happy about a Yukon government plan to develop on the outskirts of Mayo in an area with popular ski trails.

Five agricultural parcels and 19 residential lots are proposed for the Five Mile Lake area, north of the community, which also covers some of the town's favourite ski trails. The government says the residential lots are needed to pay for development costs of the rest of the neighbourhood.

Skiers like Amber Dumouchel are not impressed with the plan though.

"It'll just destroy something that's so special that we have here," she said at a public meeting Wednesday night in the community.

The lots are prime agricultural land that the Yukon government acquired when it bought land for the Mayo B hydro dam. And it's exactly what a town desperate for building lots needs, town councillor Trevor Ellis said.

"It's something that we've grappled with on this council for a long time," he said.

Esther Winter, who runs the volunteer cross-country ski program in Mayo, has concerns about the plan, but she believes the government will try to accommodate them.

"It's certainly going to change the face of where we do recreation no matter what, if this development goes ahead," she said.

"But we do appreciate that the government has been at least listening. I'd like to see in the final run that we end up with decent ski trails — we end up with it still looking like wilderness."

The territorial government is looking for environmental approvals in time to put the lots up for lottery later this summer.

There's no word yet on the pricing.