Land use planning underway for Yukon's Beaver River watershed

The Yukon government and theNa-ChoNykDun First Nation are gathering public comments to formulate a land use plan for the Beaver River watershed region in north-central Yukon.

The 5,048-square kilometre planning area, northeast of Mayo, is considered pristine wilderness, with abundant wildlife andit's also home to ATAC Resources' Rackla Gold project.

A planningcommittee, made up of government and First Nation representatives,was recently in Keno City, Mayo, and Whitehorse, to collectinformation about the area.

"One of the key characteristics of this area is that it's pristine wilderness," said LesleyCabott,co-chair of the Beaver River Watershed Land Use Planning Committee.

"There hasn't been a lot of access, a lot of travel to it. And there's also not a lot of information."

Cabottsays the Yukon government has committed to doingsome work in the area this year, collecting informationabout moose and fish habitat, as well as its geological potential.

B.C.-based ATAC Resources wants to build a65-kilometreall-season tote road through the region, to access its Tiger gold property. The proposed road would run from a point near Keno City northeast to theexploration site, and would require eight bridges and 38 culverts.

Two years ago, the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board (YESAB) office in Mayo recommendedapproval for an all-season gated road. Theoffice recommended that the road be monitoredbyATAC Resources, to assess the effectiveness of access controlsand compare changes to moose and moose habitat over a longer time span.

But there needs to be a land use plan in place before the road can be authorized. The planning committee is aiming to have the plan completed by March 2020.

'We need to really understand the region'

The proposed roadruns through Na-Cho Nyk Dun traditional territory.

"A lot of people submitted concerns about impacts to traditional ways of life, loss of wilderness outfitting, trapping," said RandiNewton, conservation coordinator for Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Yukon.

"It looks like the first step with this plan is to get a good understanding of the region and what people are valuing and then to decide if a road is appropriate or a future development is appropriate."

Newton says she hopes there is some weight to the land use plan, and that it's more than just a checkmark in abox.

She doesn't want the planning processto be rushed, but also saysshe doesn't want it to takeyears like thePeel Watershed plan.

"We need to really understand the region and how development can impact it, before we make decisions," saidNewton.

Construction of the proposed road wouldtake approximately two years at an estimated cost of $11 million.