The Yukon Fish & Game Association (YFGA) is pleased to present the report The Interaction Between
Thinhorn Sheep and Wildland Fire in the Yukon: A Summarized Literature Review (Shifting Mosaics,
2025). This important work was commissioned by the Yukon Wild Sheep Foundation (YWSF) and
completed by the research team at Shifting Mosaics Corporation, led by Ecosystem Scientist Dr. Sonja
Leverkus (PhD, RPBio, RPF, PAg, EP). It brings together decades of science, Indigenous knowledge, and
management experience to better understand how fire shapes the landscapes that thinhorn sheep
depend upon.
Thinhorn sheep are an iconic Yukon species - valued for their cultural importance, their role in healthy
northern ecosystems, and their place in the territory’s identity. Conserving these animals and the
habitats that sustain them is critical to ensuring that future generations can continue to see sheep on
the mountain. The YFGA strongly supports the YWSF’s commitment to thinhorn sheep conservation, and
that is why we are publishing this report here with their permission. By sharing this report, we hope to
broaden understanding, encourage collaboration, and highlight the importance of innovative
management strategies that honour both western science and traditional knowledge.
