If you find a fossil, you must inform the Yukon Palaeontology Program. Contact:
Dr. Grant Zazula
Yukon palaeontologist
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 867-667-8089 or toll free 1-800-661-0408 ext. 8089.
Cellphone: 867-332-8980
You have found a fossil, now what?
If you find a fossil:
- Leave it where it is.
- Record its location and take a photo if possible.
- Contact us and the appropriate First Nation if you are on their Traditional Territory.
We manage and care for many of the territory's fossil resources. We hold them in public trust so that they can be available for research and public interpretation.
For more information on Yukon's fossils, email the Yukon palaeontologist at [email protected].
Information for research institutes
Under the Historic Resources Act, it's prohibited to collect fossils without a permit. If you are from a qualified research institute and are interested in collecting fossils in Yukon, you need a Scientists and Explorers License.
For questions about getting a Scientists and Explorers License, email s&[email protected] or phone 867-667-3660, or toll free 1-800-661-0408 extension 3660.
If you are mining in Yukon you are likely to find a fossil. Much of Yukon's fossil collection exists thanks to the efforts of our mining partners.
If you find fossils on your mine, you must:
- inform the Yukon Palaeontology Program at 867-667-8089 or [email protected];
- inform the Manager of Mining Lands at 867-633-7952;
- put fossils and bones aside, and keep them protected from the weather; and
- wait for the Yukon Palaeontology Program that will come to collect the fossils.
Contact the Klondike field station
We maintain a field monitoring station in the Klondike gold fields. If you find fossils, contact the field station staff and they will come to you! The field station operates every summer, from the 1st week of June to the 3rd week of September.
Elizabeth Hall
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 867-667-8880 (winter only)
Cellphone: 867-332-8981
Contact the Yukon palaeontologist
Dr. Grant Zazula
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 867-667-8089
Cellphone: 867-332-8980
Best-management practices for mining in fossil-rich areas
Miners have been finding fossils since the Klondike Gold Rush. Read our best-management practices for preserving and reporting fossils in Yukon mines.
- Best management practices for fossils at Yukon placer mines.
- Yukon placer mining best management practices for heritage resources.
Acts and regulations that protect fossils
In Yukon, fossils are protected and managed under the Historic Resources Act. The Quartz and Placer Mining Land Use Regulations also address the protection of fossils and palaeontological sites.