A lawsuit was filed last week against the Yukon Government on behalf of two Yukon First Nations and two Yukon environmental organizations following the government’s controversial decision to open 71 percent of the Peel River watershed to industry development.
The watershed is home to several classic northern river trip dream destinations, including the Wind River, Snake River and Hart River, and the region is one of the last remaining, ecologically-intact wilderness watersheds left in North America, according to experts.
Following a constitutionally mandated process under Yukon land claims agreements and seven years of research and consultation, the Peel Watershed Planning Commission produced a final plan that recommended the permanent protection of 55 percent and interim protection for an additional 25 percent of the 67,500 square kilometer Peel River Watershed.
Although the Commission’s plan is supported by the affected First Nations and has wide public support, on January 21, 2014 the Yukon Government adopted its own unilaterally developed plan for the region, which opens up most of the watershed to roads and industrial development. Yukon Government’s plan leaves 71 percent of the watershed open for mineral staking and industrial development. In the `protected areas` identified by the Yukon Government, which cover just 29 percent of the watershed, all-season roads would be allowed in order to develop existing mining claims.
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Chief Eddie Taylor spoke about what the Peel River Watershed means to his people. “As our elders say, the Peel Watershed is our church, our university and our breadbasket. It sustains our spirit, our minds and our bodies. It is as sacred to us as it was to our ancestors, and as it will be to our grandchildren.”
“The fresh water that the seven rivers of the Peel Watershed provide is by far the most valuable resource within the Peel,” Chief Taylor added.
“Seventy-five per cent of the Yukon is open to mineral staking,” said CPAWS Yukon Executive Director Gill Cracknell. “To compensate for the fragmentation and disturbance resulting from industrial development on the rest of the landscape, we need to set aside large areas for wildlife, cultural uses, tourism and climate change adaptation. The Peel region is one of the last remaining, ecologically-intact wilderness watersheds left in north America. There needs to be real protection, not postage stamp areas riddled with roads and mines.”
Learn what you can do to help protect the Peel with the Yukon Conversation Society.
