our stories

December 16 2024

What happened in 2024? Here’s our Year in Review

Written by Adil Darvesh, December 16, 2024

Every year, as I reflect on all that we’ve worked on, I’m always blown away by what the CPAWS team does. This year is no different. Here’s our recap of what happened in 2024.

Tu Łidlini / Ross River

In the middle of winter in early 2024, we were continuing some important work with Ross River Dena Council (RRDC). In December of 2023, our team travelled to Ross River with Josh and Kodi, two Land Guardians with RRDC, to learn more about the land and water through their eyes. It was an important opportunity to hear more about the cultural and emotional importance of Tu Łidlini, and the drastic impact that projects like Faro Mine can have on it.

We had some meaningful conversations with the Land Guardians and RRDC, which planted the seed for a canoe trip.

After months of planning from our team, we hosted our youth on-the-land trip with RRDC along the Pelly River. We travelled over 350km over 10 days from Ross River to Pelly Crossing in July, teaching skills and overcoming challenges along the way. For the trip participants, it was their first time doing a multi-day canoe trip and seeing their confidence grow was amazing.

These kinds of on-the-land trips can be so impactful, not only to the participants, but for the entire community. Ross River recently signed an agreement with the Yukon government and Parks Canada to undergo a feasibility study for an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) in their traditional territory. This exciting news will help ensure that the lands and waters can effectively continue to have the stewardship they deserve, from the people who rely on it the most. By having youth participate in these trips, they not only gain the tangible skills of being on the land, but also the opportunity to connect to landscapes which they will hopefully continue to steward for years to come.

Stay tuned in 2025 for a film from our 10-day adventure down the Pelly River!

Chasàn Chùa/McIntyre Creek

It was another huge year for Chasàn Chùa. This year, we launched the beginning of Care for the Creek, a continuation of our campaign to protect this important wildlife corridor through the heart of Whitehorse.

Care for the Creek is an effort to help repair the damage done to Chasàn Chùa by people and invasive plants. For our first event, we teamed up with the Yukon Fish and Game Management Board to host a week-long cleanup effort at Dàmäwtän (The Point).

With the help of Kwanlin Dün First Nation, Ta’an Kwäch’än Council, and the Yukon Youth Conservation Corps, we removed 17,000 pounds of tires and 13,000 pounds of scrap metal and shipped it off to the Whitehorse dump.

Throughout the same week, we also hosted public events to help educate people about the history and the potential future for this area. We had an eagle nest viewing with Yukon Wildlife Viewing, a habitat refresh with the Yukon Invasive Species Council, botanical drawing workshop with Misha Donohoe, and our community BBQ & Family Fun Day at Eagle Bay Park Lookout.

There is currently a Chasàn Chùa Steering Committee working to help establish a permanent protected area. You can read our submission to this committee here.

Your support throughout the summer for Care for the Creek helped make this inaugural event a resounding success. Stay tuned in 2025 for more opportunities to come and connect with Chasàn Chùa!

Protect the Peel

Back in 2022, the Yukon Socio-Economic and Environmental Assessment Board (YESAB) recommended that a silver exploration project, the Michelle Creek project, not proceed within the Peel Watershed. YESAB’s recommendation reflected the high environmental standard set out by the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan that we all worked so hard to achieve.

The Yukon government has disappointingly taken YESAB to court for a judicial review of their recommendation, stating that YESAB did not have the authority to recommend against this project. In fact, the Yukon government has argued in court that YESAB should “stay in its lane”.

We’re very disappointed in this decision by the Yukon government. YESAB very clearly used the Peel Plan to help inform this decision and we feel that if a project doesn’t meet the high standards that we fought for, then it shouldn’t proceed. We’re not alone in that either, as The First Nation of Na-cho Nyäk Dun, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, and the Government of Canada are going to court as intervenors, arguing that YESAB’s recommendation was fair and correct.

Instead of going to court, the Yukon government should have chosen a different path – one that promoted consultations and respectful collaboration with affected First Nations. Instead, they have chosen to challenge the validity of the land use planning process, which Yukoners have fought for years to be upheld.

Thank you to the hundreds of you came out to rally in Whitehorse, Mayo, Dawson City, Fort McPherson, and Tsiigehtchic in support of this recommendation, and in support of the Peel Plan.

We’re expecting a ruling by the judge in early 2025, and we will keep you updated as we get more information.

Northern Tutchone Region/Beaver River Watershed

We got some more positive news from the Northern Tutchone region when the Yukon Supreme Court had sided with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun (FNNND) over the Yukon government’s approval of a project by Metallic Minerals. The judge ruled that the Yukon government failed to properly consult the First Nation and did not adhere to their treaty obligations.

This important ruling should set a strong precedent going forward about constitutes appropriate consultations between the Yukon government and First Nations. This will hopefully play a large role in how projects are approved going forward in the territory.

It also gave us at CPAWS Yukon an opportunity to celebrate with the community of Mayo. We joined the community in June for a canoe skills workshop during their Indigenous People’s Day celebrations. This full day event helped us strengthen our connections and give back by teaching some skills and playing some games on the water.

Promptly after this skills day, Joti Overduin, our Outreach Manager, and Malkolm Boothroyd, our Campaigns Coordinator, set off on a week-long canoe trip on the Stewart River.

In collaboration with FNNND, Joti and Malkolm took this opportunity to collect water samples from creeks and streams along the river, report species at risk sighting, and take photos and videos to help us highlight the beauty of Tsé Tagé (Beaver River in Northern Tutchone).

Reform Mining / Eagle Mine disaster

Minto Mine, near Mayo

Image of Minto Mine, near Mayo.

The heap leach failure at Victoria Gold’s Eagle Mine this year could go down as one of the largest mining disasters we’ve faced.

In late June, we heard news of a major landslide at Eagle Mine, just north of Mayo. Over the next few weeks, as we listened to the technical briefings it became clear that the subsequent heap leach failure also meant that untreated toxic chemicals were being released into the environment – most notably cyanide. Unfortunately, this was not the first failure from this mine.

It was frustrating to see the lack of urgency and transparency from Victoria Gold as this disaster unfolded and we were glad to see the Yukon government get approved by the Ontario Supreme Court to put the mine into receivership.

Instances like this further highlight the need for meaningful reform of our outdated and defective mining legislation. How many more “unprecedented” disasters do we need before we set a higher precedent for the land, water, and wildlife?

As the work to clean up Eagle Mine continues, our thoughts are with FNNND and members of the community who will have to deal with the impacts of this for years to come.

We’ve joined the calls for the Yukon government to hold a public inquiry into this disaster, which you can sign on to here.

Arctic Refuge / Porcupine Caribou Herd

Op-ed we’re taking the U.S. government to court over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Our Campaigns Coordinator, Laurence Fox, joined members from the Arctic Defense Coalition and Gwich’in Steering Committee in Washington, D.C in January 2024, where they held a conference to layout the future of the campaign. In those meetings, Laurence had the opportunity to meet and connect with others across the border who have been working diligently for protection of the Porcupine Caribou Herd.

This year, however, a new Trump administration was voted in, and the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was released, allowing for the implementation of the second, legally required lease sale currently scheduled for Jan 9.

Of all the outcomes possible, however, there is some good news in that the current U.S. government has chosen the most industry-restrictive path towards lease sales in the Arctic Refuge. Nevertheless, CPAWS maintains that there should be NO lease sales and NO development in the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd. We will continue to work with our environmental allies, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, and the Gwich’in Steering Committee to safeguard “the sacred place where life begins”.

Events

We’re so grateful for all of you who showed up and participated in our numerous events this year. In total, we hosted or helped organize over 12 events throughout 2024. From beading, art exhibits, movie premieres, rallies, and guided walks, you showed up and supported our conservation work rain or shine. Here are some of the major events we had:

2 beading events hosted by Anne Mease

People of Chasan Chua Art Exhibit by our Conservation Intern Yataya van Kampen

Peel Lunch and Learn hosted by Joti Overduin

Medicinal Pland Walk and Talk hosted by Anne Mease

Trails and Tales of the Copper Belt with Tim Green

Voices from the Wind River

Life of the Boreal walks in Chasan Chua

5 Care for the Creek public walks and talks, including a community BBQ

It’s always such a pleasure getting to meet so many of you and learning a little bit more about why you care about wild spaces so much.

As we look forward to 2025, I can’t wait to continue building on all the efforts from this year. Until then, however, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

February 12 2021

Mining should Respect Land Use Planning, Not Race Against It

CPAWS Yukon Blog, BlogDawsonRegion, our stories mining

A ram’s horn, in a valley north of Dawson by: Malkolm Boothroyd
Written by: Maegan McCaw, Conservation Coordinator, and Randi Newton, Conservation Manager

While planning has been underway in the Dawson Region since 2019, hopes of protecting areas and setting thresholds on development have been pitted against a steady stream of staking and mineral development. The most recent example is the proposed Coal Creek quartz exploration project, which sits in Tr’ondek Hwech’in traditional territory, 85 km north of Dawson City in a large area of intact wilderness.

The Coal Creek project is just the latest in a slew of projects that threaten to undermine the promise of the Dawson Regional Land Use Plan and broader commitments to land use planning and co-management in the Umbrella Final Agreement. Because of this, CPAWS Yukon is asking the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Board to reject or pause its assessment of the project until the land use plan is complete. Just last month, CPAWS asked for a similar pause on the Antimony Creek quartz exploration project, perched only 2.5 km from Tombstone Territorial Park.

Land use planning is a powerful tool for bringing people together and creating a sustainable future for the territory’s land, waters, wildlife and people. Embedded in the Umbrella Final Agreement, regional land use planning provides a vision and a roadmap for Yukoners and First Nations to protect, use, and manage land and resources. Planning can protect areas that are ecologically or culturally important, and can also set out areas where development is allowed at certain thresholds.

A ram, north of Dawson by Malkolm Boothroyd

The Coal Creek project involves a lot of air traffic (up to 700 helicopter and 60 fixed-wing aircraft flights annually), which is known to disturb sheep and caribou, ultimately lowering their weight and reproductive success. This is all to support quartz exploration activities targeting copper, cobalt, gold and silver across the 63 km2 Monster property. Exploration activities are proposed to occur over 10 years, and include drilling, trenching, soil sampling, trail construction and line cutting. ATVs and 4×4 vehicles will be used at first but, if exploration reveals a large deposit, an access road will likely be constructed. The proponent, Go Metals Corp, has revealed few details about future access roads but also estimates 15 km of new on-claim roads would need to be constructed.

These activities would cut into a large, undisturbed wilderness area that supports healthy wildlife populations and sustainable hunting, trapping, and outfitting activities. This area is important habitat for grizzly bears, moose, sheep, caribou, and raptors, and is a top candidate to be protected by the Dawson Land Use Plan. If this project is approved, it is likely to degrade this large wilderness area through habitat fragmentation, disturbance – both from ground and air-based activities – and access, which increases the feasibility for other mineral exploration programs and increased hunting pressure. What’s more, don’t forget that mineral exploration work has the potential to lead to an open pit or underground mine, depending on the quality of the mineral deposits detected. Is that what we want in one of the least disturbed areas of the Dawson region?

Questions like this are meant to be answered through the Dawson Land Use Planning process, in line with the intent of the Final Agreements, not by a race against the clock.

If you think development like this should be paused until the Dawson Regional Plan is complete, there are two things you can do:

Let YESAB know you think the project should be deferred until the Dawson Land Use Plan is complete. Click here to be taken to the project page, and then click on “Add a Comment”. You can simply write in a comment or upload a letter. Comments are due February 17. If you need more information, you can read our full submission.
Provide input on the draft Yukon Mineral Development Strategy. This strategy is a chance to reimagine mining in the territory, and could put a stop to incompatible development going ahead of land use planning. CPAWS has an info page with links to send a letter or take the survey. Input is due February 22.

Want to stay in the loop?

Sign up for our e-newsletter to stay up to date on all our work!

December 12 2018

Peel consultations are over. What’s next?

CPAWS Yukon Blog, BlogPeelWatershed, our stories blog, consultations, Peel

Header Image: Peter Mather
Written by: Adil Darvesh, Communications Coordinator

It’s taken seven years to get to this point, but we’ve finally reached the end of the consultations on the Peel Watershed Final Recommended Plan. Congratulations to everybody who submitted their comments and participated in this important democratic process! Submissions closed in November, and now many of you may be asking: “What happens next?”.

In the coming weeks, Stantec (the firm responsible for collecting and analyzing the submissions) will release a report highlighting how many submissions were received, and what was said in those submissions. The parties of Na Cho Nyak Dun, Vuntut Gwitchin, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, Gwich’in Tribal Council, and the Yukon Government will use this document to help them decide whether they want to accept the Final Recommended Plan as written, make minor modifications to the Final Recommended Plan to accommodate the responses from the submissions, or reject the Final Recommended Plan (which Yukon Government has said won’t happen). CPAWS Yukon and the Yukon Conservation Society have asked that the Final Recommended Plan be improved by protecting 80% of the watershed permanently now (rather than leaving 25% of the protected region to be ‘interim protection’, revisited at a later date).

Once the Plan is finalized, it will become the Peel Watershed Land Use Plan, and work will begin on creating an implementation (management) strategy for the Peel.

CPAWS Yukon and YCS hope that the Yukon Government will also extend the current ban on development and the staking of mineral claims in the Peel Watershed, until management plans have been completed.

Stay tuned for updates from CPAWS Yukon and YCS along the way!

For more information on the Peel Watershed visit www.protectpeel.ca

March 2 2018

Ottawa’s $1.3 billion commitment shows wilderness conservation a serious priority

CPAWS Yukon Blog, our stories 2018, budget

Header Image: Peter Mather

Not often have we been excited about a federal budget.

Earlier this week, that all changed. On Tuesday, the Liberal government committed a historic $1.3 billion to protecting our country’s land and water. For us, a non-profit dedicated to protecting the Yukon wilderness, this is huge news.

CPAWS was part of the Green Budget Coalition that urged the federal government to prioritize the health of Canada’s ecological systems by making a historic commitment to conservation. Earlier this year, 116 parliamentarians signed an open letter to the Finance Minister Bill Morneau supporting these recommendations, including Yukon MP Larry Bagnell.

The government listened. What’s now clear: our country is making protecting our land and water a priority. This unprecedented investment will support Canada’s efforts to achieve its UN commitment to protect at least 17% of our land and 10% of our ocean by 2020. Our vast, iconic wild spaces are what we take so much pride in, and we are one of the last countries left on earth to that still has the opportunity to protect significant swaths of wilderness, like our beloved Peel Watershed.

Tuesday’s $1.3 billion commitment is a legacy investment. It’s a statement that the government wants to look past short-term gains to invest in the long-term health of our planet. It’s an investment in the next generation, and the generation after that.

For the first time, the budget is allocating specific funds to support conservation efforts by Indigenous governments, provinces and territories. This cost-shared model is what’s already used for sectors like infrastructure, climate change mitigation and health care.

In the Yukon, this means the territorial government will receive the support it needs to invest in new parks and protected areas, bring Land Use Planning back on track and overall, ensure the ecological integrity of our incredible wilderness.

It also means that there will be support for First Nations governments in the Yukon to lead their own conservation efforts, with the possibility of Indigenous Guardian Programs that have proven so successful in places like B.C.’s Gwaii Haanas National Marine Park Reserve.

We’re looking forward to learning more about what this funding means and how it will be broken down in Canada and in the Yukon. Our territorial budget also came out this week and we didn’t see much in terms of funding for conservation. We hope the Yukon government soon follows in the footsteps of Ottawa’s commitment to protecting our wilderness.

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna for pushing our country to be an international leader in conservation. Take a moment to thank them yourself!