Vuntut National Park

National Park Of About 4,345 Square Kilometres North Of Old Crow, Established In 1995 Under The Vuntut Gwitchin Final Agreement; Contains Part Of The Old Crow Flats, A Ramsar Wetland Of International Importance, And Some Of The Richest Ice Age Fossil Beds In North America · Old Crow, Yukon

Vuntut means among the lakes, and the park takes in part of the OLD CROW FLATS - a wetland of thousands of shallow lakes on unglaciated ground, designated a Ramsar site of international importance, where hundreds of thousands of waterfowl nest and moult each summer. It was established in 1995 under the VUNTUT GWITCHIN FINAL AGREEMENT, and the Vuntut Gwitchin of Old Crow co-manage it; their relationship with the PORCUPINE CARIBOU HERD, which moves through here, is the centre of the story. Because this country WAS NEVER GLACIATED it holds some of the richest Ice Age fossil beds in North America - mammoth, steppe bison, giant beaver and horse bones wash out of the riverbanks around Old Crow in quantity. THERE IS NO ROAD TO OLD CROW, let alone to the park: the community is fly-in only, and the park beyond it has no facilities of any kind.

North of Old Crow, northern Yukon, Old Crow, Yukon, Canada

NO GATE, NO FACILITIES, NO TRAILS AND NO STAFF ON SITE. The season is ROUGHLY LATE JUNE TO EARLY SEPTEMBER. ACCESS IS THROUGH OLD CROW, which is itself FLY-IN ONLY - there is no road to the community and none to the park - and then by chartered aircraft or by river. PARKS CANADA REQUIRES REGISTRATION and asks visitors to make contact well in advance; the park is co-managed with the VUNTUT GWITCHIN FIRST NATION and travelling with local guides from Old Crow is both the practical approach and the intended one. VISITOR NUMBERS ARE VERY LOW - often a handful of parties a year. EVERYTHING IS CARRIED IN AND OUT. Weather cancels flights routinely. THE FOSSIL BEDS ARE PROTECTED and material must not be collected. Confirm everything with Parks Canada's Yukon field unit.

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