The Laberge Renewable Resources Council (LRRC) funded and coordinated the purchase and installation of 18 “Garden Throne” style outhouses in 2020 and 2021.
This project aims to improve fish and wildlife habitat along the Yukon River by installing proper outhouses at the highest traffic sites along the southern portion of the Yukon River. This is an initiative we believe is long overdue.
This is a joint initiative led by LRRC and supported by Ta’an Kwäch’än Council (TKC), Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club (YCKC), Wilderness Tourism Association of Yukon (WTAY), and the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board (YFWMB).
The Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club (YCKC) identified priority outhouse locations from Whitehorse to Carmacks. The Ta’an Kwäch’än Council (TKC), YCKC, and the Wilderness Tourism Association of the Yukon (WTAY) worked together to determine specific site locations within TKC’s Traditional Territory.
Charlotte O’Donnell, Executive Director of the Laberge RRC, managed the project. And the Executive Director of the YFWMB, Graham Van Tighem, coordinated and conducted the fieldwork.
About the Project
About the ProjectThe outhouse units are small and portable enough to be carried downriver by reasonably sized boats but robust enough to last the elements.
The installation in 2020 was made possible by the Whitehorse Canadian Ranger Patrol Group volunteers, led by Graham. He also conducted all the installations in 2021 with additional volunteers (friends/family).
In 2021, we placed units no less than 100 feet from the high-water mark of the Yukon River or Lake Laberge, and they were installed with approved ventilation. It was a record high-water year, so we are confident that these outhouses located in “safe zones”.
Each hole has been dug at least five feet deep and will not require maintenance (being filled in, re-dug/moved) for at least 10 to 15 years. The outhouses are not enclosed and are washed clean by rainfall.
In 2022, Graham will continue installing outhouses for the Carmacks RRC. He hopes to continue the project that Charlotte and the Laberge Renewable Resources Council began in 2020.