Ottawa is looking to set aside a portion of the Peel River basin for the nation’s next national park.
An announcement was made on April 22 as part of Earth and Gwich’in Day celebrations. The park would sit in the Yukon portion of the Gwich’in Settlement Area and be shared with the traditional lands of the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun.
“We are thrilled at the prospect of permanently protecting our homelands in the Teetl’it Gwinjik (Peel River) Watershed,” said Gwich’in Tribal Council Grand Chief Ken Kyikavichik. “The Gwich’in have lived in these areas for thousands of years and we continue to exercise our traditional ways of subsistence and living out on these lands. As we work to reconnect our future generations to this vital landscape, it is our intention that a national park can assist in reconciling our relationship with Canada by sharing this unique ecosystem to Canada and abroad through preservation and the creation of a land-based economy in our traditional territory.”
The areas being considered — the Peel River corridor, Turner Lake Wetlands and Caribou River — has already been identified for permanent protection under the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan (PWRLUP). If the plan to establish the park goes forward, approximately 3,000 square kilometres — more than half the size of Prince Edward Island — would be protected. The plan falls under the federal government’s aim to protect 30 per cent of Canada’s wilderness by 2030 to help mitigate climate change. The idea to create a new national park came out of development of the PWRLUP.
The Peel Watershed covers an area of approximately 74,000 square kilometres.
“The collaboration accord we are celebrating today is an important expression of our commitment, with the governments of Canada, Yukon, and the Gwich’in Tribal Council, to jointly implement the Peel Watershed Land Use Plan,” said Dawna Hope, chief of First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun First. “It is vindication for all the work of our Elders and citizens in negotiating the Nacho Nyak Dun Final Agreement and tirelessly advocating for protection of the Peel — all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.
“As we have said so often over the past 20 years, the Peel is an area of unparalleled cultural and spiritual value for our people. It is our place of refuge. We look forward to collaborating with our Gwich’in cousins and the Governments of Canada and Yukon to co-manage the lands in the Peel in a way that ensures those lands are respected and protected for all time.”