. The Canadian field-naturalist. News and Comment The Park in Perpetual Planning: The Kluane Park Reserve, Yukon In recent years the federal government has placed much emphasis upon the concept of the utiliza- tion of Canada's North for the benefit of the country as a whole. The development of national parks in the ecologically fragile north is a part of this policy. Of the proposed national parks the one in the Southwestern Yukon Territory is perhaps the most outstanding and delayed of all (see map). The area is bounded by the White River on the north, the Alaska and Haines High- ways on the
. The Canadian field-naturalist. News and Comment The Park in Perpetual Planning: The Kluane Park Reserve, Yukon In recent years the federal government has placed much emphasis upon the concept of the utiliza- tion of Canada's North for the benefit of the country as a whole. The development of national parks in the ecologically fragile north is a part of this policy. Of the proposed national parks the one in the Southwestern Yukon Territory is perhaps the most outstanding and delayed of all (see map). The area is bounded by the White River on the north, the Alaska and Haines High- ways on the east, the British Columbia border on the south, and the Alaska border to the west. The area includes 8,800 square miles or but of the Yukon's land area, which is currently known as the Kluane Game Sanctuary. A range of absolutely majestic scenic attractions and ecotomes is included which is difficult to find in any one subarctic area. The park which may be divided into three general landscape types: the high glacierized mountains, the alpine tundra mountain area, and the glaciated river valleys. Most of the high mountain area lies behind a linear "front range" or the Kluane Range which lies along the west side of the Alaska Highway, cut only by a few large glacially fed streams. The Kluane Range summits average 6,000 to 8,000 feet with a few to 10,000 feet. Although some small glaciers lie in this area, the majority of it is an alpine tundra with spruce forest on the lower slopes. Westward from the Kluane Range the eleva- tions rise steadily and peaks coalesce under ice cover to form a broad, high glacier plateau (8,000 to 10,000 feet in elevation) known as the Icefield Ranges. The plateau forms a base for the high peaks of the St. Elias Mountains. The St. Elias form the core of the area. They are the most massive and some of the highest mountains in North America. The major peaks, all over 14,000 feet in elevation, include Mt. Lucania, Mt. Steele, Mt. Wood, Mt.
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