PEEL WATERSHED
Protect the Peel supporter Bobbie Jo Greenland-Morgan says the Yukon government should admit defeat and return to working with First Nations to finalize a land use plan for the New Brunswick-sized swath of land.

Bobbie Jo Greenland-Morgan of Aklavik, who organized a Protect the Peel rally last January protesting the Yukon government's plan for the Peel River Watershed, is disappointed in the Yukon Government's plans to appeal Yukon Supreme Court ruling that quashed its plan which would open 79 per cent of the watershed to development. She hopes to organize another rally encouraging the government to withdraw its appeal. - photo courtesy of Wyatt Morgan

Her comments come shortly after the government announced plans to appeal a Yukon Supreme Court ruling that quashed its land use plan for the Peel River Watershed that would have opened 79 per cent of the region to development.

"We knew it was going to happen but there was some little hope I had that maybe they wouldn't," said Greenland- Morgan, who previously organized a Protect the Peel protest and fundraiser in her hometown of Aklavik. "Premier (Darrell) Pasloski and the Yukon government continue to claim they have good working relationships with Yukon First Nations but I don't see it."

In his decision, released Dec. 2, Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale directed parties to return to the final consultation stage and discuss the Final Recommended Plan put forward by the Peel Watershed Planning Commission following seven years of consultations.

That ruling would have meant the government would not have been able to open more than the proposed 20 per cent of the watershed to development, as its request to up that number came too late in the process.

In light of the ruling, Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Scott Kent said the government concedes that the "process should have worked differently" but still takes issue with the remedy laid out by the court because it robs it of control.

"Public governments must have the final say about what happens on public land," said Kent. "With the number of land-use plans yet to come we need to ensure that at this point we have clarity that . we do have that authority."

The government has been clear that its main issue with the plan drafted by the commission is the lack of economic balance.

The Yukon government's plan called for 29 per cent of the area to be protected, significantly less the 80 per cent set out under the plan drafted by the commission.

Veale ruled in his decision that the government cannot consult on this particular aspect or the issue of access.

"We feel that again not being able to make modifications based on those two important aspects really ties us extremely close to the recommended plan from the commission. So, essentially, we're being asked to approve a plan that we don't approve of," said Kent.

Greenland-Morgan said she's disappointed in the government and frustrated by its contradictory actions.

In early December, Yukon premier Darrell Pasloski spoke in defence of First Nations when federal Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt said they weren't governments under the Umbrella Final Agreement. That same agreement outlines protocol for developing land use plans, such as the one for the Peel.

"On the one hand you're saying we have these rights and then on the other hand you're arguing (against) those rights," she said. "The Final Recommended Plan involved everybody and the reasoning they're giving to appeal is they're arguing there was no democracy in that?"

Yukon First Nations and environmental groups who launched the lawsuit remain unphased by the government's plans to appeal and are confident the court will once again rule in their favour.

"We will defend the Peel as well as the principles of our Final Agreements, and the land use planning process promised to us in exchange for ceding aboriginal title to 95 per cent of our traditional territory," said Roberta Joseph, chief of the Tr'ondek Hwech'in. "We ask that First Nations and non-First Nations people alike stand with us as we continue to fight to protect the Peel and preserve the integrity of our modern-day treaties."

Change can be made if people come together, said Greenland-Morgan adding she too hopes residents of all backgrounds and from all areas will continue to rally in support of the Peel.

"A lot of people think it's just in that area, how does that affect you? Well, it affects all of us. Everything is connected, everything flows. Water doesn't stay in one place," she said.

Robert Alexie Sr. was born in a camp in the Peel Watershed in 1934 and as a teen spent five or six months a year travelling the area. It's where he learned to hunt, trap and survive on the land.

Every day, pictures of the Peel drift through his mind. Even as he ages and trips become harder, he is determined to visit the area that has brought him such joy throughout his life.

"A lot of memories go back to that time," said Alexie, who currently lives in Fort McPherson. "I don't want nothing to go wrong up the Peel . I'd like to see the water flowing as long as I live and as long as my grandchildren can use it and as long as this world lasts."