Parks
Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation

Van Tat K’atr’anahtii (Old Crow Flats)

Caribou antlers on land in a pile near the banks of a river
Van Tat K’atr’anahtii

The Van Tat K’atr’anahtii (Old Crow Flats) Special Management Area lies north of Old Crow. The 12,116 square kilometre area has hundreds of small lakes and is one of Canada’s most important wetland habitats.

The Old Crow Flats is a complex network of over two thousand shallow lakes. It is of such significance that it is the basis of their name Vuntut Gwitchin, which translates to “people of the lakes”.

For millennia, the Gwich’in have lived in and travelled to the Van Tat, British Mountains, and Porcupine River area in northern Yukon for centuries.

The Van Tat K’atr’anahtii is home to populations of migrating and nesting waterfowl, muskrat, summer moose, migrating Porcupine caribou and fish. With its abundance of fish, plants and wildlife, the Old Crow Flats provide sustenance for the Gwich’in throughout the seasons.

The Van Tat K’atr’anahtii was established as a Special Management Area under Chapter 10 of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Final Agreement. This Special Management Area is made up of Yukon public lands, the Vuntut National Park and VGFN Settlement Lands.

The Vuntut Gwitchin, especially Elders, guided the direction of the management plan for this area. Their vision is “Yeendoo Nanh Nakhweenjit K’atr’ahanahtyaa” – “Looking after the land for the future.” This vision speaks to the spirit and intent of the management plan, which is to strive to maintain the integrity of the area as one ecological unit.

Special Management Areas can be protected through different laws depending on what needs safeguarding. The Yukon and National Parks Acts, Yukon and Canadian Wildlife Acts, and Yukon’s Heritage Resources Act are all laws that can be used to protect these areas.

Photo courtesy of Government of Yukon

Keep reading

Explore More

Settling these agreements involved decades of hard work, innovation and commitment by leaders and visionaries and are mapping the way to a better future for all Yukoners.

Our Stories
A bear in Ni''iinlii Njik
Ni''iinlii Njik (Fishing Branch) Territorial Park
Have you visited Ni''iinlii Njik (Fishing Branch) Territorial Park? Together, the park (whose name means "where fish spawn") and adjacent Habitat Protection Area and Settlement Lands protect a distinct ecosystem in the Traditional Territory of the Vuntut Gwichin First Nation.
Read More
The Ddhaw Ghro Habitat
The Ddhaw Ghro Habitat
The Ddhaw Ghro Habitat Protection Area is an environmentally and culturally rich area located between the Pelly and Stewart Rivers.
Read More
Kusawa Territorial Park
Kusawa Territorial Park
Kusawa Territorial Park (park in progress) is designated as a Special Management Area in two Land Claim Agreements and is part of three Traditional Territories: Carcross/Tagish, Champagne and Aishihik, and Kwanlin Dün First Nations.
Read More