New national park proposed for Yukon's Peel watershed region

For years, it was at the centre of a prolonged legal battle over land use planning — now, the Peel watershed region in the Yukon could become home to a new national park.

"This is such a rich ecosystem, but it's also been our homeland for thousands of years. And it's important for us to protect that," said Ken Kyikavichik, grand chief of Gwich'in Tribal Council, which is leading the initiative.

"By it being a potential national park, it also allows us to tell our story."

On Monday, a feasibility study for the park was announced by the Gwich'in Tribal Council, along with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dün, and the governments of Canada and the Yukon.

The national park, if established, would comprise about 3,000 square kilometres of protected land in the Peel River corridor, Turner Lake wetlands and Caribou River areas, within the traditional territories of the Gwich'in and the Na-Cho Nyak Dün. Those areas were set aside for permanent protection under the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan.

The Peel Watershed plan was signed in 2019 after years of legal battles over how much of the area should be off-limits to development. The dispute ended with a Supreme Court of Canada decision in 2017 that was heralded as a victory for the three First Nations that fought the case.    

"The Peel is an area of unparalleled cultural and spiritual value for my people, and the Peel is our place for refuge and inspiration. We've been defending that area for quite some time," said Chief Dawna Hope of the Na-Cho Nyak Dün.

According to a joint news release on Monday from Parks Canada, the Yukon government, and the two Indigenous governments — the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Na-Cho Nyak Dün — the new park would be co-developed and co-managed by the First Nations.

Kyikavichik said the idea has been talked about for decades.

"It does allow us to advertise the Teetł'it Gwinjik, or the Peel River as it's now known, as a place that people can have as a destination for tourism activities," Kyikavichik said.

"It also allows us to provide some employment for our people."

Kyikvichik said the park's head office could be in Fort McPherson, N.W.T., which is near to where the Peel River flows into the MacKenzie River. He said many of the details about the park have yet to be worked out. 

"We're not expecting a lot of hurdles. What we found through this process thus far is a lot of commonalities with the parties at the table, and the desire and a common objective to establish protections in this area," he said.

"It's not like we're starting from square one. There's been a lot of discussions, a lot of dialogue back and forth, and we're anticipating to hit the ground running and be able to get this done, hopefully in a couple years."