The Yukon government needs to clarify its position on the land use plan recommended for the Peel watershed, says the director of natural resources with the Tr'ondek Hwech'in Han Nation (TH).

Darren Taylor said Monday the Han Nation does not agree with the Yukon's assertion that the recommended plan is inconsistent with the aboriginal land claim agreements.

The plan is consistent with the final agreements, and it is balanced, Taylor insisted.

Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Patrick Rouble announced last Friday that his government cannot accept the recommended plan in its current forum.

Taylor said the government maintains the plan is inconsistent with the provisions for regional use planning outlined in chapter 11 of the land claim agreements, but it does not say where those inconsistencies lie.

While the Yukon has raised its objection to the recommended plan, it has not put forward what it would like to see for the Peel watershed, said the former Han chief of several terms.

Taylor said the only way for the Han Nation to respond to the Yukon's concerns is to have clarity.

He pointed out the chiefs of the four First Nations whose traditional territories reach into the Peel planning area are scheduled to meet in January to discuss the situation.

That gathering is to be followed by a meeting with the principals from the Yukon government where the parties will have an opportunity to share their vision for the Peel watershed, Taylor pointed out.

"TH has been very clear on what we want to see in the region, and so have the vast majority of Yukoners,” he said in a press release issued Monday.

"The recent views expressed by the Yukon government, however, only address the problems they perceive with the planning process and not what they'd like to see in the area.”

Taylor explained the Tr'ondek Hwech'in only learned of the government's position on the recommended plan on Dec. 13, a day before a meeting of senior representatives from each government.

The Tr'ondek Hwech'in, the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun and the Gwich'in Tribal Council have clearly stated their desire to protect the watershed from mining and other industrial development.

The land use plan recommended to the Yukon and First Nation governments in December 2009 called for vast wilderness protection.

Under an agreement signed last January, the governments were to provide a joint response on the recommended land use plan to the Peel planning commission no later than the middle of this month.

Rouble indicated in his announcement the Yukon government will continue working with the First Nations to try to produce a joint response by the end of February.