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Wildlife Key Areas

Environment Yukon Photo

Wildlife Key Areas are locations used by wildlife for important, seasonal life functions.

For many species Wildlife Key Areas serve a distinct purpose. For example, key areas for thinhorn sheep include spring lambing sites, winter range, fall rut areas, mineral licks, and seasonal travel corridors.

Wildlife Key Areas are often used traditionally around the same time each year, and during these times animals can aggregate in relatively large numbers. Both these factors make animals vulnerable to direct habitat loss or disturbance.

Wildlife Key Area Inventory Program

Knowing where animals are during important stages in their life cycle is useful for wildlife and habitat management, resource and land use planning, and environmental assessment reviews.

In support of these uses, the Fish & Wildlife Branch of Environment Yukon maintains extensive data on Wildlife Key Areas. Most Wildlife Key Areas are identified from population surveys done at key times of year, although some information is gathered from people knowledgeable about wildlife and their distribution.

Accessing Wildlife Key Area Maps & Data

There are two means to deliver wildlife key area information to the general public and to those involved in land use reviews or development assessment.

Wildlife Key Area Maps

Wildlife Key Areas are presented as a standard map series in pdf format, available for download.

Wildlife Key Area Data 

The Wildlife Key Area spatial and attribute data are also made available to the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) community for custom application.

Additional Resources

• Wildlife Key Areas Brochure 3.38 MB
• Wildlife Key Areas Maps
• Wildlife Key Areas GIS Data