Erosion threatens historic Fort Selkirk, Yukon

One of Yukons most significant historic sitesis at risk of washing away.

Yukon government officialssay the riverbank at Fort Selkirk is eroding.

Weve been working at that site since the 1980s, and we really have it in a beautiful condition, says Bruce Barrett, with the Yukon department of tourism and culture.All the buildings have been stabilizedand they're all accessible to people, so I think it's a priceless site.

Barrett says the erosion problem was discovered in the last decadeand it's happening faster than was first thought.

The department is hiring engineers to figure out how to prevent buildings at Fort Selkirk from falling into the Yukon River.

From my point of view, as someone with a bit of a vested interest in these things, I think it's worth it whatever you have to spend"

The river bank receded by about a metre-and a halfbetween 2012 and 2013.

In August, it was just a few metres from the Anglican school house, Yukon's oldest known log building.

The building was moved as a precaution, but Barrett says that's just a temporary fix.

Fort Selkirkis located at the confluence of the Yukon River andPellyRiver. It ishistorically significant as a Hudson Bay Company trading post inthe1850sandlater as a hub for the Northwest Mounted Police and Anglican missionaries. But the site was a First Nations meeting place, long before that.

The town was abandoned in the1950sas roads made their way North, andsternwheelertraffic declined.