First Nation, Yukon and federal gov'ts agree to look into new protected area

With the Ross River Dena Council inking a new agreement with the territorial and federal governments, work to protect a vast area in central Yukon is inching forward.

"We'd like to see, you know, things moving forward, integrated, with our Kaska laws, our customs, our protocols and, you know, our governance," Ross River Dena Chief Dylan Loblaw told CBC News.

"It's important to all the nations that we keep things intact, keep things healthy and keep things for that next generation that's going to need those important lands."

The First Nation cut the trail for this to happen. A memorandum of understanding, signed on Friday, stems from the Ross River Dena Council's proposal to create an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA). IPCAs are regions defined by their high cultural and ecological importance whose control rests with Indigenous nations, and the concept dovetails with federal aspirations to conserve 30 per cent of land and water by the end of the decade. 

The proposal involves a tract that's roughly 41,000 square kilometres. That's equivalent to about eight per cent of the territory's land mass. Extending from the Pelly River valley to the Selwyn-Mackenzie Mountains along the continental divide, the area contains alpine meadows, the First Nation's group trapline and provides habitat for several sensitive species, including chinook salmon, whose numbers remain critically low, and the vulnerable Finlayson caribou herd. 

The new agreement sets in motion work to figure out how — and to what extent — land in part of Kaska country should be protected, with the Ross River Dena's IPCA proposal serving as a guide.

"Those avenues will have to be worked through," Loblaw said. "We're going to be engaging, you know, our community, our membership.

"We're happy to see some of our interests moving forward. We look forward to advancing this work and, you know, providing balance so that our ecosystems and biodiversity can continue to take care of us.

"It's crucial for the Yukon as a whole."

How will the agreement work in practice?

Enter the steering committee. Made up of two representatives from the First Nation and one each from the territorial and federal governments, the committee is tasked with asking what will likely be some tough questions. Perhaps among them include just how large the protected area should be and where development can — or should — happen (the study area excludes advanced mining exploration and development).

Another question mark is under what system should the land and water be safeguarded, be it a national park reserve, an IPCA, other land designations or a combination of all or some. National park reserves, of which there are 11 across the country, differ in that they are subject to Indigenous land claims.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) states the committee will "assess the suitability and feasibility of Crown Tools [sic] including a National Park Reserve, within these areas, that best implement the principles of a long-term committee to conservation, cultural protection and traditional land use, and where Indigenous rights and stewardship responsibilities are elevated within a model of co-governance."

The work of the committee will be consensus-driven, and, in the event of dispute, the issue will be taken up by leaders.

A report produced by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which has worked with the Ross River Dena on the issue for a decade, states the region identified by the Ross River Dena has been identified for protection since the 1960s, though on a much smaller scale.

"The main impediments to protection seem to have been settler governments' preference for industrial development rather than conservation," the report states.

Sovereignty 

For the Ross River Dena, creating an IPCA is also about self-governance, just done differently.

The Ross River Dena have long opposed settling land claims under the Yukon's Umbrella Final Agreement, which asks participating First Nations to "cede, release and surrender" rights and title over non-settlement land — or traditional territories.

Roberta Dick, a councillor with the Ross River Dena Council, said the years-long advocacy is about amplifying the voice of the community at negotiating tables, in honour of generations of knowledge-keepers.

"Our elders had predictions of this, you know, like, don't sell the land, don't sign off on any land claims negotiation. Money can't fix everything. It can't fix polluted land and water.

"By having this MOU, it kind of gives us hope that we can protect the water, the land, the animals and the people," Dick continued. "We can have more say."