A Watershed Moment for the Yukon’s Peel

Those select NOLS courses that have the opportunity to
travel down one of the rivers in the remote Peel Watershed in the northern
Yukon can rest assured this world-class wilderness will retain its character
for many years to come. In December 2009, the Peel Watershed Planning
Commission finalized its Recommended Land Use Plan, and those businesses and
organizations hoping for strong conservation recommendations are pleased.

According to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Yukon
Chapter, “the Recommended Plan calls for protection of 80.6% of the Peel
Watershed,” by designating Special Management Areas and using a variety of
protection management tools. This was an unexpected outcome, as there were
signs midway through the process that the plan might pave the way for dramatic
landscape changes that would encourage mineral and energy industrial
development.

Five wild rivers feed into the Peel, defining an intact,
untrammeled watershed ecosystem with numerous unique and valuable properties.
The renowned Three Rivers are among these: the Wind, the Snake, and Bonnet
Plume. The Bonnet Plume, in fact,
has already been designated a Heritage River by the Canadian Government. The
Blackstone River, accessible from the Dempster Highway, is a popular river
recreation destination. And the Hart River, the most remote in the system,
flows through Beringian landscapes, an ecosystem untouched by the last ice age.