Public Comments on Peel Plan Due October 1

The Yukon government will accept public comment on the recommended Peel Watershed Land Use Plan until October 1^st. Earlier this year the Peel Planning Commission called for 80% of the watershed to be protected using a variety of conservation tools, such as parks, wilderness areas, and habitat protection areas. (See information posts below)  While Yukon NGOs and affected First Nations generally support the plan’s direction, First Nations have stated their goal of protecting 100% of the Peel watershed.

The Yukon government needs to hear from Yukoners, Canadians and global citizens who support protecting this vital constellation of wild mountain watersheds in Canada’s boreal forest.

To take action and send your letter, visit:

 www.protectpeel.ca

For more information on the recommended plan, visit:

 www.planyukon.ca

First Nations Ask Chevron to Give Up Iron Ore Leases

Two Yukon First Nations, the Nacho Nyak Dun and Tr’ondek Hwech’in, have asked Chevron Canada and the parent company, based in San Ramon California, to recognize the First Nations’ desire to prevent industrial development in the region by giving up their large block of iron ore leases next to the Snake River, in support of protecting the watershed. The company has not responded to the First Nations repeated requests.

Earlier this year, Yukon NGOs also approached Chevron to relinquish their iron ore interests and participate in a major conservation achievement.  But this summer the company said it was not interested in giving up the leases.  The remote and inaccessible Crest iron ore deposit is unlikely to ever be developed,  and in any case is a minor asset for Chevron – what advantage does the company see in ignoring the First Nations and public conservation interest, just to maintain a risky mineral property and perpetuate the conflict?

I paddled the Snake River again this summer, and was struck once more by the sheer beauty and diversity of the watershed.  During our walks into the mountains and valleys next to the river, we watched dozens of mountain caribou, Dall’s sheep ewes and lambs, and striking two-toned  blond and brown grizzly bears feeding on the slopes.  In the Mount MacDonald area, the giant dark peaks and deep valleys mottled with luxuriant bearflower meadows are the essence of the “magic and mystery“ turn of phrase often used to evoke the spirit of the Yukon.

As the Snake River nears the edge of the mountains at Iron Creek, row upon row of castellations guard the ridges.  The valley is broad now, and to the north the low horizon marks the start of the Peel plateau.  It’s here, within habitat for sheep, caribou and grizzly bears that Chevron’s Crest iron ore deposit lies. The idea of a massive open pit mine in this place, with swaths of industrial roads cut into the valleys and along the banks of the Snake River seems impossible to contemplate.  Chevron has little to gain from developing or selling this dormant mining property, but could instead show genuine corporate leadership and contribute to protecting the beauty and life of the Snake River for all time.

For more information and to take action, visit:

 www.protectpeel.ca

Following the December 2009 release of the recommended land use plan for the Peel Watershed which called for 80% protection, the Yukon government has decided to level the playing field. In a February 4 news release, the government said it “issued an immediate one-year interim withdrawal from mineral staking for all lands in the Peel Watershed Region in order to provide certainty during the ongoing regional land use planning process.”

This decision is an important success in the work to protect the globally important Peel watershed wilderness, home to the beautiful Three Rivers region. By withdrawing the area from new mineral staking, the government made the creation of a mosaic of large protected areas achievable – a goal supported by the majority of Yukoners, conservation organizations and First Nations.

Premier Dennis Fentie said, “This interim withdrawal ensures that the public, stakeholders and First Nations involved in the process can fully review and assess the plan on the basis of the current mineral claims in the region.”  The one year withdrawal applies to mineral staking, and rights for oil, gas and coal will also not be issued in the region during this period.

Also of note, the First Nation of Na-cho Nyäk Dun, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, Gwich’in Tribal Council, and the Government of Yukon have “agreed to work collaboratively towards a number of key milestones in the planning process:”

- Plan review by governments to be completed by May 2010;

- Public consultation to be completed by October 2010;

- Response to the Planning Commission by Dec. 2010.

First Nation of Na-cho Nyäk Dun Chief Simon Mervyn said, “The Parties acknowledge that the Peel watershed is important to the region’s Aboriginal peoples and has environmental, social, cultural and economic values of tremendous importance as well as having national and international values.”

See www.peel.planyukon.ca to read the highlights of the recommended Peel Watershed plan.

Wild Rivers of the Yukon’s Peel Watershed: A Traveller’s Guide

… is your complete source for planning a trip to the Yukon’s vast north-eastern wilderness – and learning more about the natural and cultural history of this inspiring landscape. Published in 2008 by Juri Peepre and Sarah Locke, the book is available from Yukon outdoor and bookstores (Mac’s Fireweed, Up North Adventures), Mountain Equipment Co-op (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto), and on-line from www.yukonbooks.com.

Wild Rivers is an essential companion to help you navigate the Three Rivers country (the Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume), as well as the Peel, Hart, Ogilvie, Blackstone and Rat rivers. This well illustrated field reference will be a welcome gift for your friends or family who are thinking about a future northern canoeing or hiking trip.

The book features detailed river descriptions, maps, landscape and historic photos, tips on river travel in the Peel region, and engaging descriptions of the flora, fauna, geology, human history and conservation story. For more information, see About Our Book posted in the right margin.

Contact Us

To order the book directly from the authors, send a cheque or money order payable to Juri Peepre, 1575 Windermere Loop Road, Windermere, BC, V0B 2L2. Price: $24.95 + $1.19 GST + Shipping = $32.00 CDN. For more information, phone 250-688-1005, or post your comment or question in this blog.

Recommended Plan Calls For Watershed Protection Emphasis

Excerpt from the Peel Watershed Land Use Plan, Dec. 3, 2009 -

“We heard that the Peel Watershed is unusual. Not just in the Yukon, but in Canada and in the world. Other places are beautiful, other places have animals, and other places have rivers and wetlands and mountains and tundra. Our planning area has these assets in abundance, but that’s not what makes it so unique. The really important asset of the Peel country is that it is extensive, undeveloped, and largely devoid of roads. In short, it is beautiful, rich, and wild, and therefore both unusual and unusually valuable – as it is.”

After tabling a flawed draft plan earlier this year, the Peel Watershed Planning Commission today delivered a much improved recommended land use plan that moves far closer to what the great majority of the Yukon public, affected First Nations, conservation and tourism organizations have been advocating – protection for the Peel watershed! While it’s too soon to comment on all the plan details, the Commission created a workable framework that sets out a compelling and credible vision for the future – including protection for the Three Rivers country and a majority of the greater Peel watershed. As the Plan states, “a conservative, cautious plan preserves society’s options.” See www.peel.planyukon.ca to read the full recommended plan.

Plan Highlights:

- Special Management Area (SMA) status for about 80% of the Peel watershed. SMAs are land use zones that can be converted into legally protected areas such as parks, wildlife management areas, wilderness preserves and other types of conservation lands. SMAs are the basic tool for protection in the Yukon under the First Nation land claim agreements. Integrated Management Areas make up about 20% of the plan. This means that 80% of the Peel has a protection emphasis, an outcome that truly reflects this region’s global conservation importance.

- the entire Snake watershed, a key habitat for the Bonnet Plume woodland caribou herd, and one of the Yukon’s premiere canoeing and scenic mountain landscapes, recommended as a fully protected area within an SMA, without allowance for industrial road access.

- the Wind, Bonnet Plume and Hart watersheds included as SMAs, but in this case, recommended for a mosaic of conservation tools such as habitat protection area, or watershed protection. These recommendations mean that the well known Three Rivers country plus the Hart River have a fighting chance to have their free ranging wildlife and boreal ecosystem integrity protected for all time.

- several other large and ecologically important areas such as the upper Blackstone watershed, Richardson Mountains and Turner Lake wetlands recommended for wilderness protection. The total area recommended for full protection status within the SMA zone is about 31% of the whole planning area.

- the Plan says that all further mining claim staking in the SMA zones, (about 80% of the Peel watershed), should cease. In these areas the Plan recommends that no new roads be allowed, without a formal plan amendment, and further that the so-called Wind River Road (a winter access trail) no longer be considered an existing industrial access road.

- the Plan recognizes existing mining claims and oil and gas leases, but access should only be allowed by air, or through a specific plan amendment approved by the parties. This recommendation does not preclude corporations from voluntarily relinquishing their claims for the public good – a precedent already well established in the Yukon and elsewhere.

- the plan is very explicit in its direct links to the First Nation land claim agreements, and therein lays its real strength. The Yukon government insisted that the plan follow these agreements.

Wild Rivers of the Yukon’s Peel Watershed: A Traveller’s Guide

… is your complete source for planning a trip to the Yukon’s vast north-eastern wilderness – and learning more about the natural and cultural history of this inspiring landscape. Published in 2008 by Juri Peepre and Sarah Locke, the book is available from Yukon outdoor and bookstores (Mac’s Fireweed, Up North Adventures), Mountain Equipment Co-op (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto), and on-line from www.yukonbooks.com.

Wild Rivers is an essential companion to help you navigate the Three Rivers country (the Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume), as well as the Peel, Hart, Ogilvie, Blackstone and Rat rivers. This well illustrated field reference will be a welcome gift for your friends or family who are thinking about a future northern canoeing or hiking trip.

The book features detailed river descriptions, maps, landscape and historic photos, tips on river travel in the Peel region, and engaging descriptions of the flora, fauna, geology, human history and conservation story. For more information, see About Our Book posted in the right margin.

Contact Us

To order the book directly from the authors, send a cheque or money order payable to Juri Peepre, 1575 Windermere Loop Road, Windermere, BC, V0B 2L2. Price: $24.95 + $1.19 GST + Shipping = $32.00 CDN. For more information, phone 250-688-1005, or post your comment or question in this blog.

Will the Planning Commission & Yukon Government Listen to the Public?

According to poll results released in the Yukon last week by three non-government organizations, the great majority of Yukon people support a large protected area in the Peel watershed wilderness. The poll, commissioned by the Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-Yukon), the Yukon Conservation Society (YCS) and the Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon (TIAY) shows that 78% of Yukon people seek full protection for more than half of the watershed.

According to a news release by the sponsoring groups, the poll found that “75% of Yukoners feel that the main priority in the Peel watershed should be protection of the environment, wildlife and wilderness. The public is following the issue, with 71% of Yukoners responding that they are aware of the discussions about the future of the Peel Watershed.”

“The poll shows that 91% of Yukoners think roads should not be allowed in any river corridors or important wildlife and wilderness areas in the Peel Watershed. It also shows that 72% of Yukoners think roads would have a major impact on the health of wildlife populations.”

In the news release, YCS Executive Director Karen Baltgailis said the poll “shows that Yukon people believe that the only way to protect the incredibly valuable wilderness and wildlife we have in the Peel is to have large areas that are fully protected from roads and industrial development.” Supporting this view, the poll revealed that 91% of Yukoners feel that road access should be limited or not allowed anywhere in the watershed, with 41% of these stating that roads should not be allowed anywhere in the Peel basin.

The draft land use plan released earlier this year by the Peel Watershed Planning Commission recommended grandfathering in all the existing mining claims – more than 10,000 in all, effectively negating efforts to legally protect the land. In strong contrast to this approach are the 58% of Yukoners who feel that all mining claims in the area should be removed, with compensation offered only to those who staked claims before the planning process started. Claim staking increased by 500% after the start of land use planning in 2004.

Political reaction to the poll was mixed, with Elaine Taylor, Minister of Environment, distancing herself from the obvious public support for conservation by saying the integrity of the planning process was important and that the Peel Planning Commission would consider the poll results. These comments contrast with the earlier direct interference in land use planning by Premier Fentie, who suppressed Department of Environment information critical to the planning process. The Liberal leader, Arthur Mitchell, declined comment, while the former leader of the NDP, Todd Hardy, said the government “has no option but to ensure that critical areas of the Peel watershed are protected.”

The final plan recommendations of the Peel Watershed Planning Commission are expected later this fall.

A Traveller’s Guide to the Peel Watershed

Wild Rivers of the Yukon’s Peel Watershed: A Traveller’s Guide, is your complete source for planning a trip to the Yukon’s vast north-eastern wilderness – and learning more about the natural and cultural history of this inspiring landscape. Published in 2008 by Juri Peepre and Sarah Locke, the book is available from Yukon outdoor and bookstores (Mac’s Fireweed, Up North Adventures), Mountain Equipment Co-op (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto), and on-line from www.yukonbooks.com.

Wild Rivers is an essential companion to help you navigate the Three Rivers country (the Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume), as well as the Peel, Hart, Ogilvie, Blackstone and Rat rivers. This well illustrated field reference will be a welcome gift for your friends or family who are thinking about a future northern canoeing or hiking trip.

The book features detailed river descriptions, maps, landscape and historic photos, tips on river travel in the Peel region, and engaging descriptions of the flora, fauna, geology, human history and conservation story. For more information, see About Our Book posted in the right margin.

Contact Us

To order the book directly from the authors, send a cheque or money order payable to Juri Peepre, 1575 Windermere Loop Road, Windermere, BC, V0B 2L2. Price: $24.95 + $1.19 GST + Shipping = $32.00 CDN. For more information, phone 250-688-1005, or post your comment or question in this blog.

Wild Rivers of the Yukon’s Peel Watershed: A Traveller’s Guide, is your complete source for planning a trip to the Yukon’s vast north-eastern wilderness – and learning more about the natural and cultural history of this inspiring landscape. Published in 2008 by Juri Peepre and Sarah Locke, the book is available from Yukon outdoor and bookstores (Mac’s Fireweed, Up North Adventures), Mountain Equipment Co-op (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto), and on-line from www.yukonbooks.com.

Wild Rivers is an essential companion to help you navigate the Three Rivers country (the Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume), as well as the Peel, Hart, Ogilvie, Blackstone and Rat rivers. This well illustrated field reference will be a welcome gift for your friends or family who are thinking about a future northern canoeing or hiking trip.

The book features detailed river descriptions, maps, landscape and historic photos, tips on river travel in the Peel region, and engaging descriptions of the flora, fauna, geology, human history and conservation story. For more information, see About Our Book posted in the right margin.

Contact Us

To order the book directly from the authors, send a cheque or money order payable to Juri Peepre, 1575 Windermere Loop Road, Windermere, BC, V0B 2L2. Price: $24.95 + $1.19 GST + Shipping = $32.00 CDN. For more information, phone 250-688-1005, or post your comment or question in this blog.

Peel Watershed Draft Plan Released: The Peel Planning Commission released the “Draft Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan” this past spring, and the public comment period has now ended.  The Yukon government has a further month to comment; then the Commission will release its recommended plan in the fall. Visit www.peel.planyukon.ca to download the full plan or summary brochure.

The draft Peel Watershed plan unleashed an unprecedented public response, with a strong majority of Yukon organizations and the public calling for more protection.

Latest News

After repeatedly insisting that the Yukon government was not interfering in the arms-length planning process, an access to information request revealed that Premier Dennis Fentie was misleading the public. Here are excerpts from the Yukon News by James Munson and Richard Mostyn:

“Premier Dennis Fentie and one of his ministers interfered in the arm’s-length Peel Watershed Land-Use Plan despite repeated claims cabinet would stay out of it, according to internal documents obtained by the Yukon News. Pro-conservation advice intended for the planning commission was suppressed after Fentie made an “irate” call to a senior Environment official about a 22-page brief supporting ecological protection of the Peel.

The Peel should be protected, not mined, according to a shelved Environment document. After Fentie’s call, Environment officials substantially watered down the department’s submission. A vague four-page document was submitted to the Peel Watershed Planning Commission instead.

The commission, which wanted detailed feedback from several government departments on its various land-use ideas in early spring, believed it was getting unfettered technical advice.

“We’re dismayed and we’re deeply disappointed that we haven’t gotten those views and we’d really appreciate receiving them,” said commissioner Dave Loeks. “We find it very disquieting because we’ve been operating on good faith with the government,” he said.

“The Peel River Watershed is one of the last remaining pristine—yet still accessible—wilderness watersheds on the planet,” reads a deleted section from the fish and wildlife branch.

The commission’s current draft plan for the Peel is illegitimate, conservationists said after learning Fentie meddled in the process.

“The commission is supposed to be arm’s length and without political interference,” said Rod Taylor, president of the Yukon Tourism Industry. “Clearly the process is flawed,” said Taylor. “If the commission is making decisions based on missing information—that the most important department in the entire process has been unable to give because of a political line—that’s wrong.

“The process is flawed to the point where Yukoners’ best interests aren’t being protected and that’s wrong. It’s a heavily redacted version of the commission’s scenario-two option”, said Yukon Conservation Society executive director Karen Baltgailis.

Only 11 per cent of the Peel is protected. And the contentious Three Rivers region, where the mining and wilderness tourism industries have clashed for years, is theoretically open to development because all mining clams in the region will be grandfathered.

“It went from being a reasonable scenario with protection—as Environment has supported—to a draft plan where not even a single watershed is protected,” said Mike Dehn, executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Yukon chapter.

Draft Plan Issues

For a response and more information on the draft plan issues, see the May 5, 2009 blog post below. For a complete copy of the draft plan, go to www.peel.planyukon.ca

Help Protect This Boreal Mountain Wilderness

Read “Peel Watershed – Yukon’s wilderness a gift to the world”

A commentary by Juri Peepre, that appeared in the Yukon News, March 20.

http://www.yukon-news.com/news/12073/

Watch the latest Peel watershed video: “It’s Your Decision”

Posted by CPAWS-Yukon.

http://www.cpawsyukon.org/three-rivers/protect-peel-now.html

Wild Rivers of the Yukon’s Peel Watershed: A Traveller’s Guide, is your complete source for planning a trip to the Yukon’s north-eastern wilderness – and learning more about the natural and cultural history of this inspiring landscape. Published in 2008 by Juri Peepre and Sarah Locke, the book is available from Yukon outdoor and bookstores, Mountain Equipment Co-op (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto), and on-line from www.yukonbooks.com.

Wild Rivers is an essential companion to help you navigate the Three Rivers country (the Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume), as well as the Peel, Hart, Ogilvie, Blackstone and Rat rivers. This well illustrated field reference will be a welcome gift for your friends or family who are thinking about a future northern canoeing or hiking trip. For more information, see About Our Book posted in the right margin.

NEWS UPDATE (April 29, 2009): The Peel Planning Commission has released the “Draft Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan.” Visit www.peel.planyukon.ca to download the full plan or summary brochure.

The draft plan fails to address the strong public call for a high level of protection in the pristine watersheds of the Peel – in fact, the plan does not propose full legal protection for any of the key tributaries, such as the Snake, Wind, Bonnet Plume or Hart rivers. The draft plan allocates just over 11% of the watershed for full protection, most of this previously identified through Gwich’in land use plans covering the plateau country of the lower Peel. None of the Three Rivers are slated for protected area status. Instead the draft plan calls for designation of a “general wilderness zone” where new mineral claim staking would be curtailed, but where the 10,000 existing mineral claims would be grandfathered, and (this is the kicker) new industrial roads would be permitted into the heart of the Wind, Bonnet Plume and Snake watersheds. This is not a progressive land use or conservation plan; it’s a clever way to continue business as usual in the Peel watershed under a cloak of green language.

This deeply flawed approach to “future” conservation would rely on hypothetical Yukon government willingness to withdraw further lands from mineral claim staking, yet not ask them to create significant new parks or protected areas – a very unlikely scenario. The “wilderness conservation zone” is akin to urban “open space” zones, which are usually allocated to industry or other development as opportunities arise. The net result of the draft plan would be a large industrial development zone in the core of the Peel watershed. This plan must be sent back to the drawing board and re-worked to provide for full protection of entire watersheds, similar to those proposed in earlier planning scenarios. It’s hard to fathom, after the depth of scientific and cultural information alongside public wishes, why the Planning Commission failed to identify strong protection for even one of the premiere tributaries in the Peel watershed.

See background details on the planning scenarios and conservation issues below. A full analysis of the draft plan will be posted here in early May.

Help Protect This Boreal Mountain Wilderness

Read “Peel Watershed – Yukon’s wilderness a gift to the world”

A commentary by Juri Peepre, that appeared in the Yukon News, March 20.

http://www.yukon-news.com/news/12073/

Watch the new Peel watershed video: “It’s Your Decision”

Posted by CPAWS-Yukon.

http://www.cpawsyukon.org/three-rivers/protect-peel-now.html

Peel Planning Commission Begins Work on

Preferred Scenario for the Watershed’s Future

In January, 2009, after more than four years of work and extensive consultation, the Peel Watershed Land Use Planning Commission released three planning scenarios for the Peel region. The public comment period for these scenarios closed on February 28, and the Commission is now working on a preferred scenario to be released later this spring.

The planning options range from fully protecting about 54% of the Peel watershed, encompassing all or parts of four major tributaries (Scenario 2), to protection of about 16% that would save the Bonnet Plume watershed, and part of the upper Snake River (Scenario 1). Conservation science literature points to the need to protect 35-75% of boreal landscapes to maintain ecological integrity, resilience and intact predator-prey ecosystems. Visit www.peel.planyukon.ca to read the report and see the maps for each Scenario.

Scenario 2 is the strongest and most balanced proposal that would protect the Hart, Wind, Bonnet Plume and the upper Snake River watersheds, while leaving a large portion of the surrounding region open to appropriate development. However, Scenario 2 must be improved to fully protect more of the lower Snake River watershed – a scenic and ecologically critical area, essential to support a viable conservation and tourism-based economy. See a summary review of the other Scenarios in the February 8 blog posted below.

Learn more and take action.

Your voice is important. Go to www.cpawsyukon.org and follow the Three Rivers links to learn more about the campaign to protect the watersheds and wildlife of the Peel. Write a letter to the Peel Planning Commission and Yukon government to express your support for protection.

For more information on why the Peel should be protected, see our Peel Conservation Background. You’ll also find more information on the Peel Planning Commission’s work in the blog postings below

Wild Rivers of the Yukon at Risk

From Changes to Navigable Waters Protection Act

Since 1882, Canadians have had a right to self-propelled navigation on wild rivers by such means as canoe, kayak and raft. The Navigable Waters Protection Act requires that any bridges, booms, dams or causeways are subject to a review of their environmental impacts and effects on navigation. The Harper government now has changed the Act without public scrutiny by burying the legislation in the 2009 federal budget bill.

According to the Canwest News Service, (February 11, 2009), the University of Ottawa-Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic, “concluded the amendments would allow “unfettered discretion” by the federal transport minister to exempt projects or waterways from environmental oversight.” These changes could affect the future ecological integrity and free-flowing nature of wild rivers in the Yukon’s Peel watershed.

Learn more and take action:

http://cpaws.org/news/archive/2009/02/cpaws-announces-position-on-pr.php

Wild Rivers of the Yukon’s Peel Watershed: A Traveller’s Guide, is your complete source for planning a trip to the Yukon’s north-eastern wilderness – and learning more about the natural and cultural history of this inspiring landscape. Published in 2008 by Juri Peepre and Sarah Locke, the book is available from independent outlets and on-line from www.yukonbooks.com . Wild Rivers is an essential companion to help you navigate the Three Rivers country (the Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume), as well as the Peel, Hart, Ogilvie, Blackstone and Rat rivers.

This well illustrated field reference will be a welcome gift for your friends or family who are thinking about a future northern canoeing or hiking trip.  For more information, see About Our Book.

Peel Watershed Planning Commission Releases Scenarios for Future

After more than four years of work and extensive consultation, the Peel Watershed Land Use Planning Commission has released three planning scenarios for the Peel region. Unfortunately, the Commission hurt the credibility of the planning process by first releasing two scenarios based on broad public consultation, then posting an impromptu third scenario after a private meeting with the mining industry – a perverse scenario that reflects the mining industry’s opposition to any protected areas in the Peel watershed. See www.peel.planyukon.ca for maps and plans.

The planning options range from fully protecting more than 54% of the Peel watershed, encompassing all or parts of four major tributaries (Scenario 2), to protecting about 16% that would save the Bonnet Plume watershed, and part of the upper Snake River (Scenario 1). The third late-comer scenario would protect only the upper part of the Snake and Bonnet Plume watersheds and some of the Hart River caribou herd range, leaving vast areas of the Peel basin open to unfettered free entry mining and oil and gas development.

Conservation science points to the need to protect 35-75% of boreal landscapes to maintain ecological integrity, biodiversity, resilience, and predator-prey ecosystems.

Scenario 1 would protect the Bonnet Plume Canadian Heritage River, but it only encompasses a small part of the upper Snake River and leaves out the Wind and Hart watersheds altogether. This scenario falls far short of conservation measures that would ensure the protection of wilderness and cultural values, ecological integrity and wide-ranging wildlife species. It would not meet the basic goals and objectives set out by the Planning Commission.

Scenario 2 is a strong and more balanced proposal that would protect the Hart, Wind, Bonnet Plume and the upper Snake River watersheds, while leaving a large portion of the surrounding region open to appropriate development. However, Scenario 2 needs to be improved to fully protect more of the lower Snake River watershed – a beautiful and ecologically critical area, one that is essential to support a viable conservation and tourism-based economy. Some less important areas slated for protection within Scenario 2 could be conserved with strict zoning and regulations, but more of the Snake watershed is deserving of full protection.

Scenario 3, with an incoherent patchwork of land use zones and a sorely inadequate area identified for protection, is not a credible planning option for the Peel watershed. It fails basic scientific and common sense tests that would meet our minimum conservation responsibilities in this remarkable region.

The Commission is seeking public comments until the end of February 2009, as it prepares to select a preferred scenario for the future of this wild and biologically diverse region. Two First Nations – the Nacho Nyak Dun and the Tetl’it Gwich’in – have agreed to work together on conservation in the Peel watershed.

Check out a great new short video on the Peel Watershed: “Its Your Decision” posted by CPAWS-Yukon.

http://www.cpawsyukon.org/three-rivers/protect-peel-now.html

Learn more and take action.

Visit www.peel.planyukon.ca for a brochure on the planning options, a report on the planning scenarios, and a full set of maps. Fill in the Planning Commission’s questionnaire on your preferred scenario for the future of the Peel watershed.

Your voice is important. Go to www.cpawsyukon.org and follow the Three Rivers links to learn more about the campaign to protect the watersheds and wildlife of the Peel. Write a letter to the Peel Planning Commission to express your support for fully protecting at least 50% of the watershed.

For more information on why the Peel should be protected, see our Peel Conservation Background. You’ll also find more information on the Peel Planning Commission’s work in the blog postings below

See also: Peel conservation background information

The Peel Watershed Planning Commission has launched its process to develop land use scenarios in the Yukon’s Peel watershed. This will lead to preparation of the recommended land use plan in 2009. For more information, visit www.peel.planyukon.ca

According to the Commission’s press release in October 2008,

“Considerable research has been needed to paint a picture about resource values and interests in the Peel. With that now complete, we look forward to engaging the public in a fair and transparent approach to create a land-use plan that will serve Yukoners and all Canadians well into the future”.

“The current Scenarios phase is aimed at understanding current land-use interests, resource values and potential development into a set of options for preparation of a Draft Land-Use Plan over the next six months.”

In September 2008, the Commission released the Resource and Conservation Priorities Assessment reports.

Download these reports at:

www.peel.planyukon.ca/downloads/downpldo.html

What is the Planning Commission?

The Peel Watershed Planning Commission will recommend a draft regional land use plan for the Peel watershed. The Commission has six public members nominated by the Na-cho Nyak Dun, the Gwich’in Tribal Council, a joint Yukon Government/Vuntut Gwitchin nominee, a joint Yukon Government/ Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in nominee and two Yukon Government nominees.

The stated goal of the Peel Watershed Land Use Plan is “to ensure wilderness characteristics, wildlife and their habitats, cultural resources, and waters are maintained over time while managing resource use. These uses include, but are not limited to, traditional use, trapping, recreation, outfitting, wilderness tourism, subsistence harvesting, and the exploration and development of non-renewable resources.”

To comment on Peel Watershed Planning:

Peel Watershed Planning Commission

307 Jarvis Street, Suite 201
Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 2H3
Tel: (867) 667-2374
Fax: (867) 667-4624
Toll free: 1-866-353-2374
Email: info@planyukon.ca

To support Peel Watershed Conservation work:

Contact the Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society to take action, and to find out more about the public perspective on conservation values in the Peel watershed. www.cpawsyukon.org