Rod Taylor, the outgoing chair of the territory's tourism industry association, will challenge for the leadership of the Yukon Party, the Star learned today.

After considerable thought, spurred by the urgings of many Yukoners, he decided to take a run at Premier Dennis Fentie's job, Taylor said today.

"I'm not considered a Yukon Party insider so there are issues as to whether or not the party would support me,” said Taylor, who purchased a membership at the party's annual general meeting on April 16.

There, Fentie continued to dodge media questions about his political future, which caused Economic Development Minister Jim Kenyon to declare his candidacy last week.

Now Taylor, the owner of Uncommon Journeys and the chair of Tourism Industry Association Yukon (TIAY) for the past five years, has tossed his hat into the ring.

Taylor had not aligned himself with any political party in the territory before April 16. He said he would officially announce his intentions at a press conference this week, and plans to make the Peel watershed a central issue in his campaign.

"It's a balance that needs to be struck,” said Taylor. "I don't care what party you're in, everybody wants to see the ball rolling.”

On the issue of protection of the 68,000 square kilometre swath of wilderness in the northeast corner of the territory, Taylor said consideration must be given to both industry and the ecological significance of the watershed.

"I think we need to do both, and I think we can,” he said.

While the Peel Planning Commission recommends 80 per cent protection, affected First Nations want the entire watershed off-limits to mining, TIAY has consistently called for a "balanced approach” in which 40 per cent – namely the Snake, Wind and Bonnet Plume rivers – are preserved.

Today, Taylor offered his personal opinion on managing the Peel, certain to be an election issue when Yukoners go to the polls to elect a new government, no later than Nov. 14.

"I believe we should have some protection in that area, but how much is the question, and what is that going to cost us?” Taylor said. "Let's be honest ... what are economic opportunities we give up?

"But then there's a completely other, larger issue. What are direct costs to all of us if we protect some of the areas?

"Does it come from health care, or education? Once a final decision is made, we don't want to be in a position where we say, ‘If I had only known this, I would've thought differently.”

According to the Yukon Chamber of Mines, exploration work in the Peel has all but dried up two years ago as the planning moved into its final stages and the environmentalist lobby ramped up its public relations campaign.

Between 2000 and 2008, the chamber said the region contributed $48 million to the economy, and mineral claims and other resource dispensations grew from 2,500 to more than 10,000.

Taylor said the process must be respected, presenting a kind of Fentie-lite position as the premier has not bowed to pressure from opposition parties which urge the government to support the planning commission's recommendations.