The recommended Peel plan is a victory for the wilderness – not totally –  but quite soundly, says the vice-president of the Wilderness Tourism Association.

Tourism operator Blaine Walden said since day one he's been participating in the Peel watershed land use planning exercise and representing the interests of the association.

The planning commission really had no choice but to recommend the level of protection that it did, given the unique characteristics of the region and the enshrined commitment to give the values of Yukon first nation people special consideration, he said.

"It's a pretty big day,” Walden said Thursday afternoon, after spending the day going through the 200-plus pages of recommendations. "It's really good, and I was quite pleased.

"It was clear this area was special and needed to be considered as a unique area and the commission certainly came around to that.”

The six-member commission – three members appointed by the Yukon government, and three by the first nations – recommended that 80.6 per cent of the Peel planning area be off-limits to road and further staking of mineral claims.

The commission recommended existing mineral claims be allowed to remain, but are to be accessed only by air.

Scores of recommendations were made by the planning commission. The key recommendations for the Yukon Chamber of Mines are those that have, in the chamber's eyes, removed the entire planning area to mining, and not just the 80.6 per cent.

Walden said from a wilderness tourism point of view, the recommendation would have included the removal of the 8,000 mineral claims, but he can live with the air-only access as a compromise.

The Peel watershed, he insisted, is indeed unique, and the commission recognized that.

There are no roads through what is an ecosystem that is largely intact, with robust and stable wildlife populations, the planning commission indicates in its recommendations.

Walden said allowing roads, even just one, would lead to the beginning of the end of the Peel's pristine nature.

Industry would have one believe that roads can be built with little impact, and removed once they've served their purpose, he said.

In fact, Walden suggested, never in the history of the universe has a road to resources been built and removed. Roads, he said, breed more roads, as accessibility to the hinterland becomes less expensive and easier for companies to expand their search for resources.

"The Peel plan is the right decision, and I think they have it right,” he said. "If they did not go this way and we started punching roads in there, it would be the end of the area.

"The way it is now, it is going to remain the way it is.”

Walden also dismissed the suggestion by Carl Schulze, president of the mines chamber, that the Peel and the amount of wilderness protection will cast a template for future regional planning exercise.

Walden said each region has its values, and those values will be reflected in the individual land use plans, just as the wilderness value of the Peel has been upheld.

When it comes to the southeast corner and the Watson Lake region, he said, there's a good chance the value of the forest resources will stand out in the plan.

In Kluane country, with Kluane National Park already in place, the focus could be different, he said.

"This was a special area,” he said of the Peel. "It was a special case and it is not going to set a precedent in my opinion, and in the opinion of the stakeholders I am familiar with.”

Walden believes a key turning point in the exercise was the past summer's opinion poll conducted by the Yukon Conservation Society, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Association and the Tourism Industry Association.

The poll showed the large majority of Yukoners wanted maximum protection for the Peel watershed, and it emphasized to the commission how dear to the heart Yukoners felt about the issue, he said.

Walden also countered the argument by industry that the Peel is needed for the economy it will create.

The tourism sector and big game outfitting industries are also solid contributors, he said.

"When it comes to wilderness tourism, this is what we should be calling the mother lode,” said Walden.

"This is probably the most critical area in the Yukon for the future of tourism and wilderness tourism.”

Walden said he's not concerned right now that the Yukon government will balk at the recommendation.

The government, he said, has insisted it is respecting the land use planning exercise, as it was created under the territory's aboriginal land claim agreements, which is appended to the Constitution of Canada.

The commission, he said, emphasizes through its recommendation that its findings are consistent with the Umbrella Final Agreement's requirement to give the values of Yukon Indians elevated consideration during the regional planning exercises.

Walden said he hopes the Yukon Party government continues with its stated respect for the process established by the umbrella agreement.

"For the government not to endorse this, or just not deal with it is not in the public's best interest, and it is not in their best interest because this is what the public asked for.”

The conservation society and the Tourism Industry Association have also embraced the recommendation as a win for the majority of Yukoners and the pristine wilderness values of the Peel.

The documents were delivered yesterday to the Yukon government and three affected first nations. The four governments must now consult with each other.

It will be primarily up to the Yukon government to accept, reject or recommend changes to the document, as 97 per cent of the planning area is territorial Crown land.

Three of four first nations whose traditional territories make up the Peel watershed, including the Teelit Gwitchin of the Northwest Territories, have called for total protection of the planning area.

The Yukon Party government is seen by many as a pro-mining and pro-development government.

Premier Dennis Fentie was accused last winter of forcing his parks branch to water down its written submission to the planning commission.