Peel River Watershed - our natural heritage has local & global value CurrentCurrent ProtectedProtected AreasAreas inin thethe YukonYukon andand NeighbouringNeighbouring JurisdictionsJurisdictions
About 14% of Yukon in permanent protected areas
3 National Parks account for 7.6%
All remaining protected areas established through First Nations land claim agreements A vision for the future… IntactIntact watershedswatersheds withwith thethe fullfull varietyvariety ofof lifelife foundfound inin thethe mountainmountain borealboreal regionregion Working Towards a Peel Watershed Planning Commission AnAn importantimportant partpart ofof thethe NorthNorth’’ss culturalcultural heritageheritage A history of trade, travel & community use in the Peel Guide-outfitting, trapping, prospecting are on-going activities… UseUse ofof thethe PeelPeel watershedwatershed isis evolvingevolving…… LocalLocal peoplepeople andand visitorsvisitors fromfrom aroundaround thethe worldworld People come to experience the beauty & wilderness – hiking, paddling, hunting, or wildlife viewing… The Peel watershed inspires art, music, photography, stories & writing
What are the conservation values? CPAWSCPAWS FieldField SurveysSurveys && CommunityCommunity tripstrips
• Habitat and vegetation surveys • Fish & wildlife observations • Grizzly bear habitat assessment • Mapping of conservation values PeelPeel RiverRiver watershedwatershed
From the Selwyn & Wernecke Mtns to the Richardsons: one of the North’s great boreal watersheds… Blackstone Uplands Ogilvie Mountains PeelPeel PlateauPlateau Turner Lake Area - One of Yukon’s 50 Critical Wetlands Fort McPherson Plains Peel Canyon Peel River Main-stem WindWind RiverRiver watershedwatershed BonnetBonnet PlumePlume watershedwatershed SnakeSnake RiverRiver watershedwatershed VastVast alpinealpine areasareas……
MountainMountain borealboreal forestsforests…… PristinePristine watershedswatersheds && aquaticaquatic habitathabitat
IntactIntact LargeLarge MammalMammal EcosystemEcosystem Bonnet Plume Woodland Herd overlaps with range of Porcupine Barren-ground Herd
SpecialSpecial EcosystemEcosystem ElementsElements
Beringia Wetlands
Raptors Caribou
ConservationConservation && EconomicEconomic DevelopmentDevelopment JobsJobs inin guiding,guiding, research,research, culturalcultural interpretation,interpretation, renewablerenewable resourceresource management,management, backcountrybackcountry services,services, newnew businessesbusinesses ……
Three Rivers Journey and Gathering
…a compelling case for conservation & a network of protected areas in the Peel watershed CPAWS Conservation Values Atlas…available for use
PreviouslyPreviously IdentifiedIdentified AreasAreas ofof HighHigh EcologicalEcological ValueValue
PreviousPrevious studiesstudies havehave identifiedidentified keykey wetlandwetland andand wildlifewildlife areasareas inin thethe PeelPeel watershedwatershed asas candidatescandidates forfor protectionprotection FirstFirst NationNation TraditionalTraditional TerritoriesTerritories
PeelPeel watershedwatershed mainlymainly inin thethe territoriesterritories ofof thethe NachoNacho NyakNyak dundun andand TetlTetl’’itit GwichGwich’’inin,, withwith aa portionportion ofof thethe territoriesterritories ofof thethe VuntutVuntut GwitchinGwitchin andand TrTr’’ondekondek HwechHwech’’inin ExistingExisting ProtectedProtected AreasAreas
BonnetBonnet PlumePlume HeritageHeritage RiverRiver offersoffers nono legallegal protectionprotection
PeelPeel watershedwatershed isis notnot yetyet representedrepresented byby protectedprotected areasareas –– tremendoustremendous opportunityopportunity YellowstoneYellowstone toto YukonYukon RegionRegion RoadRoad densitydensity inin Y2YY2Y areaarea ProtectedProtected AreasAreas inin thethe Y2YY2Y RegionRegion
OnlyOnly 44 significantsignificant protectedprotected areasareas inin thethe northernnorthern regionregion ofof Y2YY2Y ProtectedProtected AreasAreas andand SustainableSustainable CommunitiesCommunities
WeWe havehave roomroom forfor bothboth protectedprotected areasareas andand responsibleresponsible industryindustry
SustainabilitySustainability meansmeans aa twotwo--prongedpronged approachapproach toto ourour useuse ofof landland andand resourcesresources –– protectionprotection andand responsibleresponsible useuse
NorthNorth AmericanAmerican ContextContext AreaArea ofof InterestInterest
SignificantSignificant naturalnatural valuesvalues PrimarilyPrimarily wildernesswilderness VeryVery localizedlocalized developmentdevelopment FewFew roadsroads FewFew peoplepeople Small communities Mostly First Nations Connection to the land
“…to sustain the ecological and cultural integrity of the Canadian boreal forest region, in perpetuity” -Boreal Framework
“… to maintain in perpetuity the wilderness quality, and the diversity and abundance of wildlife and the ecosystems on which it depends while allowing resource development and use in parts …” - Preamble from the MK Act Source: BioScience, February 2004 / Vol.54 No.2, pp.123-138 TheThe visionvision onon thethe groundground
SuccessSuccess willwill bebe inin thethe formform of:of: ParksParks andand ProtectedProtected AreasAreas
SpecialSpecial ManagementManagement AreasAreas PlannedPlanned && PacedPaced DevelopmentDevelopment CulturalCultural IntegrityIntegrity HealthyHealthy CommunitiesCommunities ParksParks && otherother ProtectedProtected AreasAreas BigBig wildernesswilderness IntactIntact ecosystemsecosystems WatershedsWatersheds oror majormajor portionsportions ofof AbundantAbundant wildlifewildlife && biodiversitybiodiversity EcologicalEcological integrityintegrity ParksParks && otherother ProtectedProtected AreasAreas BigBig wildernesswilderness IntactIntact ecosystemsecosystems WatershedsWatersheds oror majormajor portionsportions ofof AbundantAbundant wildlifewildlife && biodiversitybiodiversity EcologicalEcological integrityintegrity
PeregrinePeregrine FalconFalcon BreedingBreeding AreasAreas
25%25% ofof YukonYukon’’ss breedingbreeding populationpopulation inin thethe PeelPeel watershedwatershed ForestForest CoverCover
ForestForest covercover alongalong PeelPeel mainmain stemstem andand tributarytributary valleys,valleys, andand inin thethe PeelPeel PlateauPlateau FlywaysFlyways
HighHigh birdbird diversitydiversity forfor thisthis latitude,latitude, sincesince birdsbirds flyfly downdown Mackenzie,Mackenzie, thenthen upup thethe PeelPeel watershedwatershed CaribouCaribou HerdsHerds andand SedimentarySedimentary BasinsBasins
SedimentarySedimentary basinsbasins andand oiloil andand gasgas activityactivity overlapoverlap inin portionsportions ofof thethe PeelPeel watershed,watershed, potentiallypotentially affectingaffecting BonnetBonnet PlumePlume woodlandwoodland cariboucaribou herdherd andand PorcupinePorcupine CaribouCaribou herdherd PeregrinePeregrine FalconFalcon andand SedimentarySedimentary BasinBasin
OilOil andand gasgas activityactivity couldcould affectaffect criticalcritical PeregrinePeregrine FalconFalcon breedingbreeding areasareas inin thethe peelpeel watershedwatershed EcoregionsEcoregions
PeelPeel watershedwatershed hashas portionsportions ofof 66 ecoregionsecoregions
HighHigh biologicalbiological diversitydiversity duedue toto differentdifferent characteristicscharacteristics ofof thesethese 66 ecoregionsecoregions
Mountain,Mountain, plateauplateau andand lowlandlowland ecosystemsecosystems