The Yukon government's rejection of the land use plan recommended for the Peel River watershed is not being well received, for the most part.

The Yukon Chamber of Mines has welcomed the news, but that's about it for support for last Friday afternoon's government announcement.

The Liberals and New Democrats have nothing but sharp criticism for the Yukon Party's position on the recommended plan, as do the Yukon Conservation Society and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS).

And the Tr'ondek Hwech'in Han Nation of Dawson City says the Yukon needs to clarify exactly what it doesn't like about the 300-page document recommended a year ago by the six members of the Peel Watershed Planning Commission.

Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Patrick Rouble announced the government cannot accept the recommended plan in its current form.

The proposed plan, the government maintains, is inconsistent with the Yukon's aboriginal land claim agreements, and is far too complicated.

The Yukon, however, will continue meeting with the four affected First Nation governments in the hopes of reaching consensus by the end of February on a joint response to the plan recommended by the commission, the minister indicated.

The parties were originally scheduled to provide their response to the planning commission no later than the middle of this month.

The commission recommended vast wilderness protection inside the 68,042 square kilometres.

First Nations and the pro-wilderness camp welcomed the recommendation. The mining industry condemned it as a death knell for mining and industrial development inside the region.

Rouble announced the moratorium on staking new mineral claims inside the planning area will be extended for another year, until Feb. 4, 2012.

The extension will provide the parties with enough time to provide their responses to the plan and give the commission time to review those responses before issuing its final recommendation, the minister indicated.

The moratorium also applies to issuing new oil and gas leases.

Rouble pointed out companies and individuals with existing mineral claims will still be allowed to work and access those claims.

Several critics of the government's decision say it appears the Yukon Party's position isn't even close to the wilderness conservation the three most affected First Nations want to see in a land use plan for the Peel.

"Obviously, the Yukon government isn't on the same page as the First Nations, and the public,” said Karen Baltgailis, the conservation society's executive director.

She said the Yukon Party seems to want road access throughout the Peel watershed, and it appears it feels there is too much area protected in the recommended plan.

The government's position is not a reflection of what was intended in the land use planning objectives set out in the territory's aboriginal land claim settlements, she suggested.

Baltgailis said she believes the First Nations expected to have meaningful input into planning.

It seems the government feels land use planning is about compromise, she said.

It's important, Baltgailis insisted, to look at the Yukon as a whole when developing regional plans.

Mining and exploration in the territory is booming right now – without any activity in Peel watershed, she noted.

Baltgailis emphasized it's the only vast area with no roads, and the sole area which can be protected in a natural state.

When the time comes to planning the Whitehorse region, she said, there's absolutely no chance for large, protected areas because of the many competing interests.

The Peel watershed is different, is unique, and should be recognized as such, Baltgailis said.

The chamber of mines, on the other hand, suggested in a press release Monday that land use planning is about compromise.

"The Yukon Chamber of Mines firmly believes that decision-making taking place in any government-led process must be founded on the principle of balance, fairness, and law,” reads the release.

It goes on to say, "The result of the Peel plan – and of future Yukon land use plans – must achieve a positive contribution to the long-term viability and sustainability of Yukon's social, cultural and economic systems, while maintaining and respecting the natural environment.”

Mike Wark, the chamber's executive director, said this morning the chamber has maintained all along that the recommended plan in its current form is "neither fair nor balanced.

"We believe a fair and balanced plan would include all users,” he said.

The chamber of mines, Wark said, has been providing input throughout the planning process regarding a balanced and responsible approach to managing land use in the watershed.

From CPAWS' point of view, however, it's clear the Yukon government is not prepared to entertain the plan recommended by the Peel commission, Mike Dehn, the society's executive director, indicated in a release Monday.

Society member Gill Cracknell suggested comments attached to the government's announcement suggest dialogue between the Yukon and the First Nations would be all but impossible.

"Yukon government is emphasizing the importance of ‘effective and collaborative plan implementation' in their press release,” Cracknell says in the society's release.

"However, the comments appended to the government's release can only be seen as an attempt to undermine the Recommended Plan and the Planning Commission.”

CPAWS and the conservation society spearheaded a public campaign promoting maximum wilderness conservation inside the Peel watershed, which included extensive support from the Yukon's Wilderness Tourism Association.

The association also issued a press release condemning the Yukon government's decision to reject the recommended plan.

"It's obvious now the government has not heard a word the tourism industry has said,” Blaine Walden, the association's vice-president, said in this morning's release. "It's really a betrayal of the land use planning process.”

Walden suggested the Yukon government's position to open up the Peel planning area to development flies in the face of the commission's recommendation which came after years of research and public consultation.

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