Yukon gov't raises fines for absentee campsite squatters

The Yukon government is stepping up its efforts to discourage people from reserving choice campsites by parking vehicles in them well in advance of busy weekends.

The practice is most common at campgrounds near communities, and especially at the Marsh Lake and Wolf Creek campgrounds in the Whitehorse area.

In the past people have complained that others have left trailers in choice campsites on a Monday and not returned until Friday after work.

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That also prevents tourists from using campgrounds close to Whitehorse mid-week, even though nobody is actually using the sites.

There was a potential $50 fine in place last summer for people who left a campsite unused for more than 72 hours.

The government said in a release that it also conducted a survey last summer that generated more than 1,300 responses.

It says more than 90 percent of respondentswanted the 72 hours decreased to 24 hours, and 88 percent wanted the fine to be higher than $50.

As a result, this summer,the fine will be $200 fine for leaving campsites unattended for more than 24 hours.

The acting director of the Yukon Parks Branch, Carrie Mierau, said fines are likely still a ways off, and officers will attempt to use education as a deterrent instead.

That could include notes left on vehicles by park rangers or in-person discussions with campers.

Mierau's also encouraging Yukoners to go farther afieldto find less used campgrounds.

"We're talking about 10 or 15 that are really quite busy and oversubscribed, but to draw people away [from those campgrounds]to what they might not have discovered and some hidden gems that are further out that are not as busy," she said.

Mierau says people can learn more about those gems by typing 'Yukon campground availability' into a search engine like Google to find awebpage with more information about the territory's campgrounds.

Campgrounds in the Yukon begin opening on May 11, with all of them expected to be open by May 18.