Kluane National Park and Reserve are two protected areas in the southwest part of Yukon, Canada. The National Park Reserve was created in 1972 to become a national park, but this required agreements about land claims by First Nations people. It originally covered 22,013 square kilometers (8,499 square miles). In 1993, an agreement with the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations allowed part of the Reserve—5,900 square kilometers (2,300 square miles)—to become a national park. This area is now part of Canada’s national park system and is managed together with Parks Canada. The larger western part of the Reserve remains a Reserve, waiting for a final agreement with the Kluane First Nation. The park is located south of British Columbia, and the Reserve is also south of British Columbia and west of the United States (Alaska).
The Reserve includes Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada, which is 5,959 meters (19,551 feet) tall and part of the Saint Elias Mountains. Glaciers and mountains, such as the Donjek Glacier, cover most of the park’s area, about 83%. The remaining land is forest and tundra, found east of the largest mountains and glaciers. This area has colder and drier weather than the western and southern parts of the park. Trees grow only in the lowest areas of the park. The main types of trees are white spruce, balsam poplar, and trembling aspen.
Activities
A day-use area with a boat launch, picnic spots, and a campground is located at Kathleen Lake. This area is open from mid-May to mid-September. Popular hiking trails include St. Elias Lake, Mush Lake Road, Shorty Creek, Cottonwood, Rock Glacier, King's Throne, Kokanee, Auriol, Dezadeash River Trail, Alsek Trail, Sheep Creek Trail, Bullion Plateau Trail, Slims West, and Soldiers Summit. Other activities in the park include rafting on the Alsek River (a Canadian Heritage river), mountain biking on old mining roads, horseback riding through Alsek Pass, boating on Kathleen Lake and Mush Lake, and fishing for lake trout, Arctic grayling, rainbow trout, northern pike, and sockeye salmon.
The park was featured in a short film from the 2011 National Parks Project. The film was directed by Louise Archambault and included music by Graham Van Pelt, Ian D'Sa, and Mishka Stein.
In August 2013, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. visited the park to see Mount Kennedy, which is named in honor of his uncle, U.S. president John F. Kennedy.
Fauna
Animals that live in this park include Yukon wolf, bear, coyote, mink, lynx, river otter, caribou, Yukon moose, muskrat, snowshoe hare, marmot, red fox, Dall sheep, beaver, wolverine, mountain goat, and arctic ground squirrel. This park is home to about 120 bird species, such as the rock ptarmigan, golden eagle, and bald eagle.
The bi-national Kluane-Wrangell-St. Elias-Glacier Bay-Tatshenshini-Alsek park system, which includes Kluane, Wrangell-St. Elias, Glacier Bay, and Tatshenshini-Alsek parks, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 because of its amazing glaciers and icefields, as well as the homes of grizzly bears, caribou, and Dall sheep.
A 2009 count of the Kluane herd found 181 northern mountain caribou, a special type of caribou.
Kluane National Park is located within the traditional lands of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and Kluane First Nation, who have lived in this region for a long time. Through agreements with the Canadian government, they have legally protected their right to harvest resources in the area.