News Release

CPAWS Yukon Proposes A Way Forward on Protected Areas

Says Minister of Environment Jim Kenyon Is Misleading Public on Protected Lands

April 29, 2003 – Whitehorse – CPAWS-Yukon says Minister of Environment, Jim Kenyon, has misled the public with his wildly inaccurate statements in the legislature on the amount of land that is protected in the Yukon. Minister Kenyon and Premier Dennis Fentie’s inconsistent and confusing policies on conservation have hurt public confidence in the government’s ability to protect the environment, according to CPAWS.

“It’s one thing for the Yukon government to suspend work on the Yukon Protected Areas Strategy, it’s quite another to make false claims about the state of conservation in the Territory,” said Juri Peepre, Executive Director of the Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

“In the absence of clear territorial government leadership on conservation, CPAWS-Yukon has proposed A Way Forward for Protected Areas in the Yukon. It’s time for the Yukon government to stop the posturing and misinformation campaign, and get on with the task of protecting the Yukon's wildlife, wetlands and fragile ecosystems - that's what the majority of the public expects."

“CPAWS-Yukon does not support developing a new protected areas strategy – we’ve been in that game since 1990. We have all the tools we need, including the terms of the Umbrella Final Agreement, a range of land use planning processes, and the conservation standards already outlined in the Yukon Protected Areas Strategy. Now, we just need leadership by all governments, mandated boards and councils, and communities, to apply them in a way that makes sense in each region. CPAWS supports a community-based approach to conservation, supported by partnerships and the expertise of a range of organizations.”

CPAWS says it’s not productive for the Minister of Environment to be quoting deceptive information on protected areas. It says the tactic deflects attention from the fact that there is still a lot of work to be done in the Yukon to complete a network of conservation lands.

“The Minister claims 20% of the Yukon is protected – this is wrong, as clearly outlined in the latest State of the Environment Report. Fully protected lands in the Yukon account for approximately 9.8%, with an additional 2.2% in conservation lands that allow for controlled industrial development. I’m not sure where the Minister’s inflated numbers are coming from. We suspect they may include lands such as highways, towns, and temporary land withdrawals where mining is not allowed now,” said Peepre.

“The government numbers game is not helpful, but we’ve done the math. Even if all the proposed Special Management Areas were protected today, the total would not exceed 15%, far short of the 20% claim that the Minister suggests is leading the country. In any case, previous surveys have shown the majority of Yukon people want far more of our forest ecosystems protected.”

CPAWS has asked for a meeting with Premier Dennis Fentie to discuss A Way Forward on Protected Areas. The Society has distributed the discussion paper to organizations throughout the territory.

Juri Peepre
CPAWS Yukon Chapter
Telephone: (867) 393-8080
E-mail: cpaws@cpawsyukon.org