Peel Regional Land Use Plan Final Consultation What we heard report Prepared for the Senior Liaison Committee Prepared by Stantec Date: February 18, 2019 202 – 107 Main Street, Whitehorse, YT Y1A 2A7 PEEL REGIONAL LAND USE PLAN: FINAL CONSULTATION – WHAT WE HEARD Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ I ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... IV 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 WHY ARE WE HERE? ................................................................................................... 1 1.3 CONSULTATION METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 3 1.3.1 Community Meetings .....................................................................................3 1.3.2 Stakeholder Meetings .................................................................................... 3 1.3.3 First Nation Government Submissions ........................................................... 4 1.3.4 Questionnaire ................................................................................................. 4 1.3.5 Formal Written Submissions........................................................................... 4 1.4 SPECIAL NOTES ABOUT THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS ......................................... 4 1.4.1 Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Campaign ....................................... 4 1.4.2 Woodbridge High School, Irvine California ..................................................... 5 1.4.3 Potential for Duplication of Input ..................................................................... 5 2.0 CONSULTATION DETAILS ........................................................................................... 6 2.1 COMMUNITY MEETINGS .............................................................................................. 6 2.2 STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS ........................................................................................14 2.3 GOVERNMENT AND OTHER FEEDBACK ...................................................................22 2.4 YUKON LAND USE PLANNING COUNCIL SUBMISSION ............................................23 2.5 PUBLIC SUBMISSIONS ................................................................................................23 2.5.1 Questionnaire ............................................................................................... 23 2.5.2 Formal submissions ..................................................................................... 28 3.0 WHAT WE HEARD .......................................................................................................29 3.1 SUPPORT FOR THE FINAL RECOMMENDED PLAN ..................................................29 3.2 LAND USE DESIGNATIONS .........................................................................................30 3.2.1 Conservation Areas ...................................................................................... 30 3.2.2 Integrated Management Areas ..................................................................... 34 3.2.3 Overall Areas ............................................................................................... 35 3.3 LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT UNITS ...........................................................................36 3.3.1 General ........................................................................................................ 36 3.3.2 LMU #3 Central Ogilvie ................................................................................ 36 3.3.3 LMU #4 West Hart River .............................................................................. 36 3.3.4 LMU #5 Blackstone River ............................................................................. 36 3.3.5 LMU #6 Hart River ....................................................................................... 37 3.3.6 LMU #7 Dalglish Creek ................................................................................ 37 3.3.7 LMU #8 Wind and Bonnet Plume Watersheds ............................................. 37 3.3.8 LMU #13 Peel Plateau West ........................................................................ 37 3.3.9 LMU #15 Peel Plateau East ......................................................................... 37 3.3.10 LMU #16 Jackfish Creek Lakes .................................................................... 38 3.4 GENERAL MANAGEMENT DIRECTION ......................................................................39 PEEL REGIONAL LAND USE PLAN: FINAL CONSULTATION – WHAT WE HEARD 3.4.1 Environment ................................................................................................. 39 3.4.2 Social (Heritage and Culture) ....................................................................... 41 3.4.3 Economy ...................................................................................................... 41 3.5 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS INDICATORS .......................................................................48 3.6 PLAN IMPLEMENTATION AND REVIEW .....................................................................49 3.6.1 General ........................................................................................................ 49 3.6.2 Variances, Amendments, Reviews and Conformity Checks ......................... 50 3.6.3 Ongoing Reporting and Monitoring ............................................................... 50 3.6.4 Comments About Protected Areas ............................................................... 51 3.6.5 Existing and Future Mineral Claims .............................................................. 52 3.7 SUPPORT FOR FIRST NATION ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS ..................................53 3.8 PROCESS COMMENTS ...............................................................................................54 3.8.1 General Regional Planning Comments ........................................................ 54 3.8.2 Comments on the Previous Peel Planning Process ...................................... 54 3.8.3 This Consultation Process ............................................................................ 55 3.9 OTHER COMMENTS ....................................................................................................57 3.9.1 Comments about Mapping, Naming and Data .............................................. 57 3.9.2 Document Improvements ............................................................................. 57 4.0 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................58 LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A COMMUNITY MEETING NOTES APPENDIX B STAKEHOLDER MEETING NOTES APPENDIX C STAKEHOLDER SUBMISSIONS APPENDIX D GOVERNMENTS AND OTHER FEEDBACK APPENDIX E QUESTIONNAIRE APPENDIX F FORMAL SUBMISSIONS PEEL REGIONAL LAND USE PLAN: FINAL CONSULTATION – WHAT WE HEARD Executive Summary This report presents a summary of the input received during the final round of consultation with affected communities, stakeholders and the public on the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan held in October and November 2018. This Plan, once adopted, will provide direction for managing land and resources in the Peel Watershed. Chapter 11 of the Yukon First Nation Final Agreements sets out a process for affected First Nations and Yukon government to work together on regional planning. For the Peel watershed planning region, the land use plan was developed jointly by five Parties: The Government of Yukon, First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, Tr‘ondëk Hwëch‘in, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, and the Gwich’in Tribal Council. The Parties appointed a Planning Commission to develop the Plan and work got underway in 2004. In 2009 the Commission released a Recommended Plan and after significant consultation with the public, a Final Recommended Plan was issued in 2011. First Nations supported the Final Recommended Plan, but the Government of Yukon did not. In January of 2014 the Government of Yukon rolled out a Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan for non- settlement land that differed significantly from the Commission’s Final Recommended Plan. Shortly thereafter the First Nation Parties to the Peel Plan challenged the Government of Yukon’s Plan in court, asserting that the Government of Yukon had not followed the land use planning process set out in Chapter 11 of the Final Agreements. For the next four years the Peel litigation wound its way through the courts. In December of 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada settled the issue. The Court quashed the Government of Yukon Plan and directed the Parties to return to the final consultation and approval stage of the process. Further, the Court directed the Parties to host a final round of community consultation and consider any minor modifications to the Plan that might be required to reflect changing circumstances. In 2018, all five Parties signed a letter of understanding that confirms a commitment to work collaboratively to complete, approve and implement a Regional Land Use Plan for the Peel Watershed that reflects the objectives of the Final Agreements. Each of the Parties selected someone