It will be impossible to please all governments who are party to the Peel land use planning exercise, says the newly-appointed chair of the planning commission.

Dave Loeks said this morning the Peel Watershed Planning Commission met Wednesday for the first time since it delivered its recommended land use plan to the Yukon and four First Nation governments in December 2009.

The commission's six members reviewed the official government responses to their recommendation which were provided by the five governments late last month, Loeks pointed out.

He said just as it was with the plan recommended 15 months ago, the amount of land to be protected from development and the type of road access allowed in the planning region are the key issues.

Rewriting the plan to make it easier to read and implement, as was requested by all parties, won't be an issue, nor will addressing technical matters raised, he told the Star.

Clearly, Loeks said the question of land and access remains at the very heart of the dispute over the future of the Peel watershed.

Equally obvious is the commission's inability to please everybody, or even find a patch of common ground, he said.

The chair emphasized the First Nations are calling for 100 per cent protection of the 68,042 square kilometres, and not just the 80 per cent identified in the recommended plan.

Though the Yukon government has not specifically said how much area it wants open to development, it has indicated it wants to see a more balanced approach to land use to ensure the interests of development are provided for, Loeks pointed out.

He said reducing the amount of land recommended for wilderness protection would go against the positions of the First Nations, while increasing it would be contrary to the government's stance.

"The commission can't do both,” he said. "Right now, it has conflicting positions that it has to make a judgment call on.

"Those are the real difficult questions, or the substantive issues; the amount of access and the amount of development activity permitted.”

Loeks said how the commission will deal with the same conundrum it faced in its initial recommendation remains to be seen.

The five governments, he pointed out, had a year to review and discuss the recommended plan amongst themselves but were still not able to reach a compromise.

Loeks said the commission does not have to change its original recommendation, and could decide to stand by it on the same grounds on which it made the recommendation in the first place.

In the December 2009 recommendation, the six members of the commission said it was not possible to please all interested parties.

They wrote the commission chose to go with a pro-conservation plan at this point, but suggested technology in the future may allow for greater development opportunities while minimizing impact.

Two new members were appointed to the commission Wednesday. Connie Buyck was appointed to replace Albert Genier, the former chair, and Robert Bruce was appointed to take the place of Marvin Frost.

Loeks said he believes the commission can come up with a final recommended plan by early July, as requested by the five governments.

The governments have scheduled another round of public consultation once the final recommendation is received, and have committed to making their final decision this fall.

The regional planning exercises are provided for in the Yukon's aboriginal land claim agreements. The agreements say if consensus cannot be reached on land use planning, the government which owns the land in question will have the final say.

Almost all of the Peel planning region, 97 per cent, is territorial Crown land.