Preserve Post - Summer 2014

Quarterly Publication of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve Operating Society
Volume 9, Issue 1
(we are 10 years old!)
Summer 2014
In this Issue...
Summer
Edition
K
2 10 Years and
Counting
3 Mammals by the
Numbers
4 Timeline
6 Celebrating
25 Years
7 Meet the Board
8 The Back Page

fom the Executive Director...
(Over) 10 Years &
Counting!
We’ve come a long ways! Here’s a brief review of how
we got here:
Late 1960s-2000: We are fortunate that the Nowlans
had the vision to create this valuable resource. Danny
and Uli Nowlan concentrated on propagating northern
species of hoofed animals. They also bred indigenous
species of falcons and raised other orphaned
mammals.
set up for
this project
and with a
charitable
status,
received
decisive
support.
June 12,
2004:
Official
opening day
of the Yukon
Wildlife
Preserve.
Above: Premier Pasloski speaks at the 10th
Anniversary Open House
Left: Danny Nowlan created the Yukon
Game Farm - a precurser of the Yukon Wildlife
Preserve
June 2005: The Yukon Wildlife Preserve Operating
Society obtained charitable status.
2001: The Nowlans decided to retire and put the
property and animals up for sale. Many locals feared
its loss and looked for a way to turn this into a public
facility.
2002: A group of individuals started the Friends of the
Yukon Wildlife Preserve Society.
April 1, 2004: Yukon Territorial Government finalized
the purchase and the Yukon Wildlife Preserve began
a new era. The model of working in partnership with
an autonomous, non-for-profit organization, specially
2
September 2012: The Yukon Wildlife Preserve
achieved Full, Unconditional, Accreditation with
Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA-
AZAC)
June 12, 2014: 10th Anniversary of the Yukon Wildlife
Preserve Operating Society as the fully responsible
entity operating and managing the Yukon Wildlife
Preserve.
Cover Photos: Top: Bull moose in velvet enjoys his pasture. Mid
Left: Party-goers at the 10th anniversary open house. Mid Right:
Mountain Goats are shedding their winter fur. Bottom: A panoramic
view of the Yukon Game Farm (before it was the YWP)
from Uli Nowlan.
Volume 9, Issue 1

Wildlife Update...
Animals by the Numbers
The Preserve’s mammal collection is
always evolving and currently totals
more than 160 individual animals
with 11 species of mammals on
display. This season we’re pleased to
announce the births of baby muskox,
mountain goat, lynx, thinhorn
sheep, bison and mule deer!
Summer 2014
3

YWP
TIMELINE
1965-2014
Chippy
the beaver
before his
escape
Danny
captures the
first sheep
in 1965
Bison
arrive
at the
Preserve
Caribou arrive
and Randy
starts working
at the Preserve
Maria starts
working at the
Preserve
The first mountain
goats arrive
Yukon Game Farm
is born
1965 - 1967 1973
Millie the
moose arrives
1989 1994
2001 2002
4
A big thanks to Uli
Nowlan for photos of
the early days!
Danny and Uli Nowlan
decide to retire
Friends of the Yukon
Wildlife Preserve hard work
pays off and YG buys the
Yukon Game Farm!
Volume 9, Issue 1

The Yukon
Wildlife
Preserve
opens its
doors on
June 12th
Yukon Wildlife Preserve celebrates 10
years!
The Preserve opens a new learning centre
Visitation takes a
giant leap.
Wildlife
Rehabilitation
and Research
Centre built
YWP is
accredited
by Canada’s
Accredited Zoos
and Aquariums
- one of 29 in
Canada.
2004 2006
2009
2010
2012
2014
Summer 2014
New feeding
stations built
Arctic foxes
arrive
5

Getting the job done...
Celebrating 25 Years
He arrived on May 3rd, 1989.
Randy Hallock was the hired
hand to help Danny Nowlan
fence in the big cliff. Randy
knew how to drill rock, string
fence and work with concrete.
“He was pretty quiet” says Uli
Nowlan. “He never told us he
had experience with animals.”
At that time, it was just Danny
and Uli running the Yukon
Game Farm and it was a lot
of work. “We noticed that
whenever we had to catch
something, Randy was really
good!”
“He became our right-hand
man,” says Uli, “but it was
probably 3-5 years before I let
him go around and feed the
animals by himself!”
In 2002,Maria arrived from
Russia to work on the game
farm as a veterinarian.
6
Randy and Maria eventually
married and built a house for
their family. They stayed on
when the Yukon Game Farm
became the Yukon Wildlife
Preserve in 2004.
Today, Randy is a cornerstone
of the Yukon Wildlife
Preserve. “He literally knows
where every water line and
fence post is because he put
them in!” explains Executive
Director, Greg Meredith.
He knows each animal by
sight and rarely misses a day
at the Preserve. And most
nights, he’s in late to check in
on the animals.
For 25 years of incredible
work and dedication to this
place, we give Randy our most
sincere thank you!
Top: Randy Hallock in the early
days. Left: Randy and Maria Hallock
with daughters Victoria and
Natalie.
Adopt an Animal
Your gift allows the Yukon Wildlife
Preserve to support its work in education,
conservation and research.
Our thanks to:
Leigh Storey: Mountain Goat
Sherry Fleming: Arctic Fox
Yukon Montessori School: Arctic Fox
P. Ferguson: Mule Deer
Carlson Family: Muskox
Bill and Rayanne Klassen: Muskox
Charlotte Van Randen: Lynx
Tycho Roy-Gelinas: Arctic Fox
Ian Polard: Caribou
Nevada Shannon: Mountain Goat
Staff of Elijah Smith School: Mule Deer
yukonwildlife.ca/adoptananimal
Volume 9, Issue 1

Meet the Board:
New Board Members
We’re pleased to welcome
Michael Kokiw, Sharon A.
Katz, Alexandra de Jong
Westman and Ranj Pillai
as new board members for
the Yukon Wildlife Preserve
Operating Society.
Michael Kokiw has lived and
worked in the Yukon for over a
decade. He and his wife, Shay,
have two young sons. Michael
has held a number a number of
positions in banking, economic
development and the mineral
industry.
He now operates Kokiw
Business Development,
Summer Staff
Anna Jacobsen
Logan Sands
Hayley Wood
Misha Donohoe
Maureen Peterson
Alina Dragomir
Summer Interns
Edward Leung
Blandine Dupont
Emily Warman
Mikenzie Hart
Summer 2014
providing consulting services
to small businesses, nonprofits,
and start-up operations.
Alexandra has a lifetime of
experience with animals,
from growing up on the
seashores of BC to migrating
up to mountain tops of the
Yukon. Though schooling was
directing her into veterinary
sciences, she ultimately ended
up studying wildlife toxicology
and the impacts of various land
uses on wildlife health.
Alexandra currently operates
her own environmental
consulting company and
was recently awarded a
sessional teaching position
in the Resource
Management
department at the
Yukon College. She
is also the project
coordinator with
the Yukon Research
Centre.
Dylan Cunningham
Abby Menendez
Garry Njootli
Meriya Gmeiner-McPherson
Kaitlyn Dorosz
Julianna Campbell
Leah Girard
Sidney Campbell
Samantha Wilson
Leia Minch
Left: Michael Kokiw.
Right: Alexandra de
Jong Westman
Yukon
Wildlife
Preserve
Full-time Staff
Greg Meredith, Executive Director
Randy Hallock, Operations Director
Dr. Maria Hallock, Curator
Jake Paleczny, Director of Programming
& Education
Lindsay Caskenette, Visitor Services
Administrator
Daniel Jolkowski, Animal Care & Operations
Assistant
Justine Benjamin, Animal Care & Operations
Assistant
Board of Directors
Jim Boyde, President
W.J. (Bill) Klassen, Vice-President
Dave Mossop, Past President
Nona Ilieva, Treasurer
Laura Carlson, Chair of Education Committee
and Fund-Raising Committee
Michael Kokiw, Director at Large
Ranj Pillai, Director at Large
Sharon A. Katz, Director at Large
Alexandra de Jong Westman, Director at
Large
Allan Koprowsky, Co-Ex Officio - Environment
Yukon
Darrell March, Co-Ex Officio - Environment
Yukon
7

Above Left: Baby bison - only a few weeks old. Above Right: Thinhorn sheep mother and newborn baby.
Premier celebrates
10th Anniversary at
the Yukon Wildlife
Preserve
Right: From left to right: Operations
Director, Randy Hallock; Animal
Curator, Dr. Maria Hallock; Premier
Darrell Pasloski; Minister Currie
Dixon and daughter London; Friend
of the YWP, Peter Karsten; Ex-officio
Director, Darrell March; YWP Vice-
President, Bill Klassen; Executive Director,
Greg Meredith; Director of Programming and Education,
Jake Paleczny; American Bald Eagle Foundation Interns, Emily
Warman and Mikenzie Hart, Tammie Pasloski.
Below: A Rusty Blackbird spotted at the Preserve.
When to Visit
Summer Hours (to Labour Day)
9:30am to 6:00pm: 7 Days a week
Guided Bus Tours at 10am, 12pm, 2pm & 4pm
Call 456-7300 to reserve a seat in advance.
Walk or bring your bike and cycle anytime while
open! Bring a picnic and spend the day.
Credits
Writing: Jake Paleczny, Greg Meredith.
Photos and illustrations: Jake Paleczny, Daniel Jolkowski,
Justine Benjamin, Uli Nowlan, Elaine Schiman and the Yukon
8
Wildlife Preserve. A big thanks to Uli Nowlan for providing so
many great photos of the early days!
Curious about the latest news? Visit facebook.
com/yukonwildlife or call 456-7300.
Printed on 100% Recycled Paper
Volume 9, Issue 1