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ThefuturedevelopmentoftheYukon-NWTPeelwatershedhasbecomealegalbattlegroundforFirstNationsandtheYukonGovernment.17TuesdayMarch42014ByMARYWALDENItlllikelybeshortsweetandsimplebuttherstYukonSupremeCourtappearanceforthePeelwatershedlanduseplanchallengenextweekmaydrawacrowdnevertheless.TheMar.11casemanage-mentconferenceisachanceforthelawyerstodiscusspro-ceduralmatterswiththejudgeincludinghowtheywantthecasetomoveforwardandthepossibletimeframe.Themandatorymeetingbeginsat400p.m.attheWhitehorsecourthouse.Typi-callytheseconferencesonlylast10to15minutes.TheNa-choNyakDunTrondekHwechinYukonConservationSocietyandCPAWS-YukonaresuingtheYukongovernmentforalleg-edlyviolatingthelanduseplanningprocessspelledoutintheirmodern-daytreaty.TheylaunchedthesuitinJanuaryafterthegovern-mentpushedasidethenalrecommendedPeellanduseplanpreparedbythePeelcommissionandreplaceditwithoneofitsownmaking.Thecommissionsplanwouldprotect80percentofthewatershedwhilethegov-ernmentsplanopensmostoftheregiontoindustrialdevelopment.RepresentedbylandclaimslawyerThomasBergerthetwoFirstNationsandtwoen-vironmentalgroupswantthecommissionsplandeclaredasthebindingblueprintforthewildernessregion.Initsrecently-ledstate-mentofdefencetheYukongovernmentdeniesitdidanythingwronginthewayithandledthePeelplan.Itsaysitfollowedthepro-cessforlanduseplanningandmadeitcleartothePeelcommissionin2011thatitop-posedlarge-scaleprotection.Aletterfromthen-EnergyMinesandResourcesMinis-terPatrickRoubleadvisedthecommissionthatthede-fendantYukongovernmentwasseekingmodicationstotherecommendedplanandthatthecommissionre-evaluatesomeoftheplansrecommendationsitsays.ThenalplanhadtopavethewayforpossibleresourcedevelopmentandnewaccesswroteRoublewhohassinceretiredfrompoliticsandnowchairstheYukonLandUsePlanningCouncil.TheYukonalsomaintainsthatthelastroundofpublicconsultationsonthePeelin2012-13metthelegalrequire-mentsoflanduseplanning.Thegovernmentintro-ducednewconceptsandlandusedesignationsalong-sidethecommissionsnalrecommendedplanforthepublictoconsider.Atalltimesduringitsconsultationitclearlystatedthatitwasconsultingonboththenalrecommendedplanaswellasproposedmodi-cationstothatplanwhichwouldaddressthetwomod-icationspreviouslyidenti-edinMinisterRoubleslet-terofFebruary212011thathadnotbeenaddressedbythecommissionreadsthestatementofdefence.Itsaysitoptedforanopenhouseformatasopposedtotownhallmeetingsbecauseitfeltdealingone-on-onewithgovernmentofcialswouldbelessintimidatingforthepublic.Whenrequesteditsrep-resentativesfacilitatedpre-sentationsinatownhallformatandalsoundertookpresentationswithrespecttothedefendantsproposedmodificationstothefinalrecommendedplanitsays.Underthetermsofthenalagreementsthegovernmentsaysithaseveryrighttore-jectormodifythatpartoftherevisedplanrecommendedbytheregionallanduseplanningcommissionafterreconsideration.TheYukonGovernmenthashiredBClawyerJohnHuntertoleaditslegalteam.HisbackgroundincludesAb-originalrightscasessuchasthe2004HaidadecisiononthedutytoconsultwhereherepresentedforestrygiantWeyerhaeuser.AlthoughlawsuitscanbesettledoutofcourtatanytimealongthewayifthePeelcaseproceedstotrialitsexpectedtobethreeorfourmonthsbeforethecourtcansqueezeitintoitsbusyschedule.Decisionsusuallytakeanothertwotothreemonths.TheNWTsGwichinTribalCouncilisnotpartofthiscourtactionbutplanstolaunchitsownsuitbasedonitscomprehensivelandclaimagreement.Despitethelegaluncer-taintysurroundingthePeelregionthegovernmentsnewplanisnowineffect.Ithasliftedafour-yearbanonnewmineralclaimstak-ingandrenewedarelieforderformostofthe8400activeclaims.Thatmeansclaimholdersdonthavetodo100worthofworkorpayinlieutohaveanotheryearaddedontotheclaimslife.Meanwhileconserva-tionistshavesetupalegaldefencefundtohelpfi-nancetheircase.AWhite-horsefamilydonatedmorethan5000andabenefitconcertraisedanother4000.InAprilBradCaribouLegsFirthplanstorunfromInuviktoWhitehorsewithlettersofsupportforPeelprotectiontotheYukongovernment.PeellawsuitslatedforbriefcourtdebutinYukonPoliticsFirstNationsPhotoMaryWalden