Conservation remains the keyword in planning for the future of the Peel watershed.

The Peel Watershed Planning Commission released its Final Recommended Plan to the public late Monday afternoon. Now, it's up to the Yukon government to decide what to do.

The final blueprint, which the commission has been working on for four months, recommends that 80 per cent of the watershed be protected under a Conservation Area.

This is roughly same number the commission recommended in the plan it submitted – which was later rejected – to the government in 2009. Affected First Nations have been clear that they want 100 per cent of the watershed protected.

The difference with the new plan, though, is that the chunk of protected land is divided into two regions: one which is to have permanent protection and one that can be reviewed periodically and altered if need be.

The remaining 20 per cent is classified as "the working landscape”, where the industrial development would occur.

"It is a conservative approach,” David Loeks, the commission's chair, told the Star this morning.

"When you're asked to serve the public interest and this public is divided, the responsible approach is to provide as many options for the future as you can.”

This, said Loeks, is the same logic the commission has been using since it began working on the plan six years ago.

Loeks said the areas with interim protection, or what the commission calls a "Wilderness Area”, allow for more flexibility should "something change” in the area.

"Imagine someone found the mother of all goodness in Kluane Park,” said Loeks. "Well, you could access it if you change the legislation, but it would be quite the uphill climb.”

A Wilderness Area should not be developed based on our current knowledge, Loeks said. Rather, it allows for a periodic review to ensure the balance between protecting the environment and ensuring sustainable development is where it should be.

Loeks said the permanently protected areas are regions Yukoners have most closely attached their wilderness values to.

"More is less, these are the places people have identified as the core of what is important to them,” said Loeks.

This includes the Snake, Wind and Bonnet Plume rivers, as well as the base of the Peel River. Two proposed National Historic Sites – Tshuu tr'adaojiich'uu and Teetl'it njik – are also within the area to be permanently protected through legislation.

Although issuing new rights and building new roads in the Conservation Area is not allowed, existing mineral claims and leases could be developed.

When the commission was created in 2005, there were 2,400 claims staked. One year ago, that number had jumped to 10,000.

"It's important to note that a lot of this happened after the planning process was initiated,” said Loeks. "A large portion of them seemed to be hurrying in.”

The number of existing mineral claims has now lowered slightly to around 8,420.

As for new roads in the "working landscape”, or what is know as the Integrated Management Area, the Commission still recommends they be temporary and public use should not be allowed.

Loeks said complete reclamation of road after it's constructed is possible.

"It's quite realistic if taken seriously, but you have to have the budget for it,” he said. "If you do build a road, we're saying, ‘Reduce the impacts much as you possibly can.'”

The commission also recommended that a sub-regional management plan for the Dempster Highway Corridor be completed and any wheeled off-road vehicle use should be limited to specific locations within the region.

Loeks said the commission did respond to the government's request to provide more clarity and is more streamlined and user-friendly. Where it became increasingly difficult, he said, was dealing with the government's request to conserve less land.

"We weren't given enough reason as to where and why,” said Loeks. The comission, under restrictions around budget and what they are mandated to do under the Umbrella Final Agreement (UFA), were not given the option to go "way back to the drawing board” with this Final Plan, said Loeks.

"We were left with a rude choice at the time when the division was getting even more stark,” he said. "You can't please everyone, you just can't.”

Loeks believes the commission dealt with the First Nations' request for 100 per cent protection of the Peel watershed as best as it could in the forward of the Final Plan.

It reads that the ecological integrity of the Integrated Management Areas are capable of accommodating responsible resource development, as long as best management practices and full restoration of disturbed sites and roads are carried out.

Loeks also emphasized that under the UFA, the commission's overall direction was to foster sustainable development.

The Peel Watershed Planning Commission submitted the Final Recommended Land Use Plan to the Yukon government and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun and the Vuntut Gwitchin, Tr'ondek Hwech'in and Gwich'in Tribal Council Monday morning. The plan went live on the commission's website late in the afternoon.

The commission's work is now done, but Loeks has high hopes for the government's next steps.

"I hope the government accepts it, and accepts it entirely,” he said.

"This plan meets the objectives, and I would challenge anyone to come up with a position they say is more responsible. Any place you take a stance, someone is going to argue against you.”

Neither Premier Darrell Pasloski nor Patrick Rouble, the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, were made available to comment on the Final Plan before press time this afternoon.

See tomorrow's Star for reaction and more details from a commission news conference set for later this afternoon.