Peel Watershed
The Recommended Peel Watershed Plan is strong on conservation -THANKS TO YOU!
View lots of stunning photos and the Na-Cho Nyak Dun and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nations’ video at www.protectpeel.ca.
Add your name in support of establishing the biggest protected area in North America!
The campaign for permanent protection of the Peel watershed now has a web-based Statement of Support for you to back the First Nations who want to protect the Peel watershed. Please take a few minutes to visit the site and add your name to the list of supporters!
You can also learn about threats to the watershed, the importance of the Peel in the face of climate change, how protecting the Peel watershed will help ensure the survival of the Porcupine Caribou Herd, and much more.
The overwhelming support of Yukon people for major protection in the Peel gave the planning commission the social license to produce a strong conservation plan.
The Yukon Conservation Society and CPAWS-Yukon are partners in a campaign to protect one of the last vast intact natural areas in North America: the 68,000 km2 Yukon portion of the Peel River watershed. If we achieve our goal of protecting the Peel watershed, the result will be a protected area 10 times the size of Banff National Park, doubling the area protected in the Yellowstone to Yukon region since Y2Y was officially established in 1997.
2011 will be a critical time for our Peel campaign: the affected First Nations are in the final stage of consultations with Yukon government, the Planning Commission will produce its Final Recommended Plan, and Yukon government will decide how much of the watershed to protect.
The Yukon Consevation Society and CPAWS - Yukon have developed a website devoted to protecting the peel - www.protectpeel.ca - it's worth a visit!!!
Are you paddling in the Peel this summer? Why not help us publicize its beauty and importance by emailing us a paragraph or two about your trip and a couple of photos? We’ll feature these Peel paddling reports on our www.protectpeel.ca website. Email your reports to the Yukon Conservation Society. Thank you and happy paddling!
The Government of Yukon has 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. Read more here.
We want to share a good news story about support for YCS’ work to protect the Peel watershed!
Check out the Small Change Fund, press “give” on their home page, then scroll down to see great projects (Including ours) that Small Change Fund is helping to promote. Nacho Nyak Dun First Nation has a posting for their work to protect the Peel too.
Not only that, but through the Small Change Fund, LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, has donated $5,000 to YCS’ work protecting the Peel watershed. Our Peel campaign may even be on the lid of their “Charity Pot” hand and body lotion!
There's a good article in the spring 2010 issue of Kanawa, Canada's Paddling Magazine, about the Wind River. With the kind permission of Kanawa the article can be read here.
Background on the Peel Watershed Plan
On December 2, 2009, the Peel Watershed Planning Commission released their Recommended Plan for the Peel Watershed. The Recommended Plan calls for protection of 80% of the watershed. This is a huge step forward for conservation in the region, giving Yukon people a strong basis for demanding that the Yukon government maintain the Peel as a globally significant pristine area.
The Recommended Plan will now undergo consultations between the Yukon and affected First Nation governments. The Tr’ondek Hwech’in and Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nations are calling for full protection of the entire watershed, and Yukon government needs to hear that the public supports them.
Highlights of the Peel Watershed Recommended Plan:
- Special Management Area (SMA) status is recommended for 80% of the Peel Watershed under a variety of protection designations. This includes the Snake, Bonnet Plume, Wind, and Hart River watersheds. No surface access would be permitted in these SMA’s without a plan amendment.
- Several other culturally and ecologically important areas such as the Turner Lake wetlands are recommended for full protection.
- Existing mineral claims would continue to exist, even in protected areas, but exploration would be limited to air access.
We thank the Peel Watershed Planning Commission for their hard work and commitment to fulfilling the vision of sustainable development that is articulated in the Umbrella Final Agreement.
