The Case for Protection
CPAWS-Yukon has a bold vision for new protected areas in the northeast Yukon’s Peel River watershed. For more than a decade, CPAWS-Yukon and its partners have worked on conservation assessments, raising public awareness about the awe-inspiring wilderness of the Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume watersheds, known as the “Three Rivers.”
We presented our conservation proposal for protection of the Three Rivers wilderness to the Peel Watershed Regional Planning Commission, whose responsibility it is to consider the interests of all Yukoners and Canadians in planning for the future of the Peel Watershed.
Our Vision
Proposed Conservation Strategy for the Peel River Watershed (A Proposed Biosphere Reserve)
(Click image for an enlarged view.)
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Our goal is to protect and conserve the wilderness of the Three Rivers and the ecological integrity of the greater Peel watershed.
To achieve this CPAWS proposes wildland areas in the Three Rivers watersheds, including territorial park protection for the Snake River drainage. We call for special conservation zones in the remainder of the Peel watershed to protect critical wetlands, sensitive river corridors and other important biological and cultural features. Taken as a whole, the Peel watershed is an exceptional candidate for a “biosphere reserve,” where conservation supported by local communities, can contribute to a lasting economy that respects the region’s way of life and is sustained by an intact ecosystem.
This focus on wildland conservation within the Peel watershed reflects many of the protected area proposals put forward during the past 20 years by First Nations, territorial governments, local renewable resource councils, and non-government organizations such as the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). It is also consistent with the Canada-wide effort to conserve the boreal biome and protect key landscapes within the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. The proposal protects a representative part of 4 major realms in the Peel watershed – boreal forest, rugged highlands of the northwestern cordillera, Beringia, sub-arctic (taiga) plateaus and plains. It also and embodies the Mackenzie Mountains and Peel Plateau Ecoregions, which are not yet adequately represented in the Yukon protected areas network.
Why Protect It?
The Peel watershed and Three Rivers wilderness are globally important, and vital to northern conservation. Some key values to protect include:
- intact mountain watersheds and wilderness on a vast scale, with fresh clean waters, rare in the world;
- pristine mountain boreal ecosystem, a benchmark of Canadian significance, with a full complement of predator and prey species;
- largest intact woodland caribou herd in the Yukon, a species vulnerable elsewhere;
- 25% of Yukon’s Peregrine Falcons breed in the Peel watershed;
- large critical wetland areas, of territorial significance, used by waterfowl for staging and nesting;
- refuge for large carnivores such as grizzly bears, wolves, wolverine, species that require large wilderness to survive.
Wilderness, or traditional homeland, as viewed by many aboriginal peoples, is an integral part of the North; it has intrinsic and spiritual value now and for the future. Conservation provides lasting community and economic benefits, supporting traditional land uses such as harvesting, and sustaining cultures and local ways life – while allowing new industries and job opportunities based on wildland conservation to flourish.
Scientific Rationale
The Science Behind the Proposal
Dr. Jim Pojar applied current research to develop a scientific rationale for protection of three intact, mountain-boreal watersheds - the Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume - with connecting conservation lands.
We propose a conservation strategy that includes core protected wilderness areas in the Three Rivers watersheds, along with special conservation zones in the Greater Peel watershed to protect critical wetlands, sensitive river corridors and other important biological and cultural features. The core wilderness area is approximately 30,000 km2, big enough to support species and ecological processes that depend on intact ecosystems, and a sufficiently large theatre to accommodate the drama of climate change.
The CPAWS proposal is similar to the scale of protected lands in the Muskwa-Kechika area of northern BC, and is in line with the conservation plan the Deh Cho First Nations have proposed for their territory in the Nahanni region of the Northwest Territories.
We submitted this scientific case for Peel Watershed protection to several parties including the Peel Watershed Planning Commission that will be making land use recommendations for the future of this watershed by 2009.
Economics and Environment
Economics and conservation go hand in hand
In the Yukon, we can have an economy where we draw from the resources of the land while making sure our “natural capital” remains intact. Pristine wildlands, free ranging wildlife and clean mountain rivers such as those of the Peel watershed are becoming rare in North America and around the world. We believe we have a responsibility to pass these wonders of nature on to future generations – moreover they are an important economic asset today for nearby communities.
For these reasons and more, CPAWS-Yukon is making the economic case for conservation in the Peel watershed. Land use planning provides communities with an opportunity to thoroughly consider the broad range of economic development opportunities available. Land use planning that supports conservation areas will protect natural assets required for a diverse and strong local economy.
Protected areas make a valuable contribution to a diverse economy. By providing local employment and fostering related businesses, protected areas can directly benefit the local economy and support long-lasting economic development.
For example, 2006 was a record year for the number of visitors to the Wind River. Did you know that by a conservative estimate of numbers of existing commercial and private canoe or raft trips on the Hart, Wind, Bonnet Plume and Snake Rivers, users spend up to $850,000 per year? If visitor use increased by 50% (a reasonable number with careful management), well over 1 million dollars would be spent per year – just on river trips.
And there’s more. Existing spending on guided hunting, which also depends on wilderness, is estimated to range from $1.5 to $1.8 million annually. Neither of these estimates include visitor spending on products that feature the wilderness and wildlife of the Peel watershed and Three Rivers, for example books, art, outdoor equipment or photography. There is much potential for further development of products related to the natural features of the Peel watershed, which in turn could be a significant source of income for small community businesses.
International Significance of the Peel Watershed
International Significance from the Perspective of Parks, Recreation and Conservation
Report prepared by: Michael J.B. Green, Stephen McCool and James Thorsell, in collaboration with UNEP-WCMC, Igor Lysenko and Charles Besançon
March 2008
A study was commissioned by the Yukon Parks Branch of the Department of Environment, Government of Yukon to assess the international significance of the Peel Watershed's wilderness quality with respect to its biodiversity and recreation values.
It examines the watershed at Arctic and continental (North America) scales, as well as in more detail as a river basin to conclude that the Hart river watershed and adjacent unfragmented areas represent core wilderness. The report adds that the Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume watersheds also afford wilderness values, including biodiversity, that complement and in some cases exceed those in the Hart watershed.
The report recommends that the Peel Watershed Planning Commission give serious consideration to protecting the wilderness and biodiversity values of the Peel watershed in perpetuity through formal protected area designations and other available mechanisms.
This is a critical document that will inform decision-makers and start to balance the scales of interest in the Peel watershed. Findings, conclusions and recommendations are intended to inform national policy-making and the local Peel Watershed Planning Commission that will be making land use recommendations for the future of this watershed by 2009.
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