Yeendoo Nanh Nakhweenjit K'atr'ahanahtyaa: Environmental change and traditional use of the Old Crow Flats in northern Canada

• Main Authors: Shel Graupe, Wolfe, Brent, Burn, Christopher, Cooley, Dorothy, Froese, Duane, Chan, Laurie, Pisaric, Michael, Humphries, Murray, Lantz, Trevor
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network 2016
• Subjects: Climate change; Community-based monitoring; Food security; Human adaptation; Paleoecology; Resource management strategies; Traditional Knowledge; Vegetation; Wetland; Wildlife; International Polar Year-Yeendoo Nanh Nakhweenjit K'atr' ahanahtyaa Environmental change and traditional use of the Old Crow Flats in northern Canada; Yukon; Canada; Old Crow Flats; Gwitchin; International Polar Year; IPY; Old Crow; permafrost
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5443/11451; https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/?doi_id=11451

This multidisciplinary project is comprised of eight components focusing on: geology and Paleoenvironments (Froese); hydrology and biology (Wolfe); permafrost (Burn); dendrochronology (Pisaric); vegetation (Lantz); food security (Chan); muskrat (Humphries); and moose (Cooley). : Purpose: This research project was initiated when the Vuntut Gwitchin Government invited researchers to Old Crow, Yukon to develop research questions based on the concerns of the community. This resulted in an IPY research project that seeks to integrate traditional and scientific approaches, generate new environmental knowledge of local, national and international significance, establish a legacy of community-based monitoring, create a strategic action plan to manage responses to future climate-driven effects, and serve as a useful model to other northern communities experiencing and adapting to the impacts of climate change. The goals of the project include: documenting the history of environmental change from the last interglacial to the present in Old Crow Flats; assessing the distribution and abundance of vegetation and wildlife in relation to the changing physical environment; evaluating the impact of changes in the physical and biological environment on traditional food sources of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation; and developing a long-term monitoring program for the Old Crow Flats to be continued by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. : Summary: The Old Crow Flats in northern Yukon is the homeland of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and is a wetland ecosystem of international significance. Local observations indicate that this area is undergoing pronounced and unprecedented changes. To understand these changes, this project uses both traditional knowledge and scientific methods to investigate the hydrology, permafrost, plants and animals of the Old Crow Flats, as well as food security issues in surrounding communities. The use of paleo-environmental research techniques is also allowing researchers to assess conditions in the area during previous interglacial periods. Together, this information will be used to establish a legacy of community-based monitoring, create a strategic action plan to manage this important area, and serve as a model to other northern communities experiencing and adapting to the impacts of climate change.