Elk-Ag Conflict Hunt and Working Group

See new details about the 2020-21 Elk-Ag Conflict Hunt: INFO SHEET and MAP. Farmers are strongly encouraged to contact Robert Perry, Environment, immediately upon the sighting of elk in farm fields – 867-393-7147. 

ELK-AG CONFLICT HUNT: For more than a decade, YAA has been working with Yukon farmers whose fields and farms have been impacted by elk.  Elk herds affect crop and hay production by breaking fences, digging up pasture, eating crops, and they destroy fields with winter bedding. Elk-Ag Conflict Hunts have been put in place to mitigate and prevent some of these damages. Please click on the details above to learn more about the current conflict hunt.

MANAGEMENT PLANS: In the 1950s, several herds of elk (49 elk in total) were introduced into the Braeburn region. In the 1990s, 73 elk were released in the Braeburn region, 28 released into Hutshi Lakes area, and 18 elk were released into the Takhini Valley in the 1990s.*  The Takhini Valley herd is now comprised of well over 200 animals. The elk herds are managed by Government of Yukon’s Environment department, and have been guided by the 1990 Elk Management Plan for Takhini Valley, 2008 Elk Management Plan and 2016 Elk Management Plan.

WORKING GROUP: The 2016 management plan actioned the formation of an elk-agriculture working group, comprised of representatives from a wide range of stakeholder groups. Impacted farmers are represented by one member of YAA, one member of the Game Growers Association, one member from the Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee, and one member of Yukon Young Farmers. These representatives have attended many meetings over the past four years and they, in partnership with the YAA board of directors, persistently advocate at all levels of government.

* Management Plan for Elk in Yukon, 2016, page 3