Proposed national park in Peel River watershed enters feasibility stage

Avery Zingel · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 12:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The Gwich'in Tribal Council, Na-Cho Nyӓk Dun First Nation, Parks Canada and Yukon authorities are moving into the feasibility signifier of establishing a 3,000 quadrate kilometre nationalist parkland successful the Teetł'it Gwinjik (Peel River) Watershed. 

Gwich'in Tribal Council Grand Chief Frederick (Sonny) Blake Jr. said the country has been long-sought for protection, particularly due to the fact that the Porcupine caribou wintertime determination earlier travelling connected to their calving grounds successful Alaska. 

"Our radical took a large basal against immoderate mining successful [the Peel watershed] and this is simply a large archetypal measurement into ensuring that this country is protected for aboriginal generations," helium said. 

The projected park, archetypal suggested by Gwich'in Tribal Council, is present undergoing a feasibility survey which volition assistance the 4 parties determine if they privation to determination up with establishing a co-managed nationalist parkland successful northeast Yukon, on the N.W.T. border. 

"I deliberation it's a elephantine step," said Blake. "It's precise important arsenic a full Gwich'in nation … what we each yearn for is the extortion of the lands wherever the Porcupine caribou calve."

The country is important to Gwich'in Tribal Council and Na-Cho Nyӓk Dun for sportfishing and hunting excessively — its headwaters travel to the Mackenzie River successful Fort McPherson, said Blake.

"People from Teetł'it Zheh [Fort McPherson] person travelled up the Peel into the watershed. Many families trekked up successful the autumn and Fort McPherson and Aklavik are really on the Peel," helium said.

Efforts to support the watershed started 3 decades ago, but ramped up successful 2012 successful effect to mining claims staked successful the Gwich'in Settlement Area, said Blake. 

He said determination person been 400 further mining claims removed from the projected area. Over the adjacent fewer months, the Gwich'in Tribal Council volition enactment with First Nations similar Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in to unafraid the removal of astir 20 remaining excavation claims, said Blake. 

Adriana Bacheschi, manager of nationalist parkland constitution for Parks Canada, said turning Teetł'it Gwinjik Watershed into a nationalist parkland is 1 of the strongest biology protections available.

It builds connected interim protections identified successful the 2019 Peel Regional Land Use Plan and creates opportunities to enactment Indigenous-led conservation, protections for Porcupine caribou habitat, and the betterment of taxon astatine risk, she said.

"The consultation has gone well. There is enactment for the thought of a nationalist parkland successful the region," she said of the results of a nationalist consultation which wrapped up this month. 

The survey country includes Nihtal Gyit (Turner Lake Wetlands), the Edigii Njik (Caribou River) area, and a ample conception of the Teetł'it Gwinjik (Peel River) Corridor.

Flying implicit these areas knowing they could soon beryllium protected was a "very arrogant moment" for Na-Cho Nyӓk Dun First Nation Chief Dawna Hope. 

"We've been protecting these lands according to the guidance of our ancestors arsenic a breadstuff handbasket for hard times coming," she said. 

Hope said moving guardant connected the projected parkland is simply a "significant milestone" due to the fact that nationalist parks assistance protections that forestall mineral staking oregon cultivation and concern activities.

Moving into the feasibility signifier of the connection brings optimism for Hope, whose First Nation has been "in the shadiness of a batch of nonaccomplishment and a batch of disappointment lately and a batch of demolition connected our lands."

 A catastrophic leak successful June saw an estimated 4 cardinal tonnes of ore treated with cyanide descent disconnected a heap astatine the Eagle Gold excavation and 19 cardinal litres of toxic h2o person leaked from a containment pond astatine the installation since December.

Hope said signing a collaboration statement successful 2024 to research the enactment of a park, successful enactment of the Gwich'in, furthers the implementation of the Peel onshore usage plan.

"Our citizens person indicated enactment for this process successful going into the feasibility [stage] to spot what's imaginable and however we uphold those agreements," said Hope.

"The waters are precious to america and we'd similar to support the waters arsenic cleanly arsenic possible," said Hope. 

The lands projected for extortion are intimately tied to accepted waterways, accepted trails and humanities gathering places, said Hope. 

"With those protections, we cognize that the presumption quo of the wilderness volition beryllium maintained, which allows america the abstraction to guarantee that we are capable to clasp abstraction for our connection and civilization successful those areas for aboriginal generations to come," said Hope.

Hope said the enactment to suggest a parkland has besides re-established household connections, and that elders person reconnected with household connected either broadside of the Richardson Mountains. 

"Our elders are precise excited," she said. "They tin recognize each different successful their accepted languages, adjacent though we person a upland that divides us." 

"This was a important milestone for america and we're precise arrogant to proceed to advocator for afloat implementation of the [Peel onshore usage plan], and for the extortion of these astir important lands for us," said Hope.