Yukon gov't announces suite of changes to hunting, fishing rules

The Yukon government says compromise — ensuring harvest opportunities while reining in others, to conserve animal populations like elk — is front and centre to its new hunting and fishing rules.

Moose are one of the most popular animals to harvest in the territory and, this year, hunters will have more chances to get one — at least in spots near Whitehorse. Mount Lorne and Fish Lake will each see four new tags in certain zones, bringing the total from seven to 15 tags for those zones.

John Ryder, manager of regional programs with Environment Yukon, said moose populations in parts of the Southern Lakes region have rebounded.

"Wildlife populations, we see cyclical changes — you know, ups and downs," he said. "Right now, the moose population is up. We don't know all the reasons for that."

Deer numbers are also up, and hunters will have more opportunities to harvest them too. Permits are set to increase in certain game management areas, from 12 to 20. 

Logan McKillop, the executive director of the Yukon Fish and Game Association, agrees with the changes saying they strike the right balance between restraint and sustainable harvest.

The new deer tags include four specifically for youth. McKillop said this is an important step.

"We strongly believe that connecting youth to the outdoors in the Yukon through hunting and fishing is essential to ensure that the next generation of Yukoners will be strong ambassadors as stewards of the environment," he said.

The restrictions 

Some opportunities are curtailed, while others are banned.

Fishing for lake trout in Little Atlin lake will be closed from July to late November, among other things.

What's new now is that there will be no hunting allowed for the Braeburn elk herd. 

"The Braeburn elk herd is sitting at around 30 animals," McKillop said. "So that is getting to be critically low."

Next year, the bison hunting season will be shortened by one week, to insulate herds that are calving. 

Then there's the ban on roadside hunting of grizzly bears in the territory's southwest. The move is linked to a case involving a hunter who killed a grizzly near the traditional fishing village of Klukshu.

Now, no bears can be killed within 100 metres east of the Haines Road centreline, between Gribbles Gulch and Unnamed Creek 1.