A national park in the Peel Watershed would permanently protect the area, contribute to the recovery of species at risk, and support the continuation of Indigenous cultural practices for future generations

April 22, 2024                           Inuvik, Northwest Territories                   Parks Canada

On this Earth Day, in partnership with Indigenous peoples and in close collaboration with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, the Government of Canada re-affirms its commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and to restore biological diversity levels by 2050.

Today, Grand Chief Ken Kyikavichik of the Gwich’in Tribal Council, Chief Dawna Hope of the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, the Honourable Nils Clarke, Minister of the Environment for the Yukon, and the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, announced their shared commitment to explore the feasibility of establishing a new national park in the Peel Watershed, situated in the Yukon and in the traditional territories of the Gwich’in and the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun.

The Peel Watershed holds great cultural significance and is central to the traditions, cultures, and ways of life for both the Gwich’in and the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun who have been caring for these lands and waters since time immemorial. It is the habitat for the Porcupine caribou herd boasting a diverse landscape with free-flowing rivers, untouched boreal forest, and deep river canyons. The forests are essential for sustaining boreal caribou as well as other iconic Canadian species including grizzly bears, peregrine falcons, and moose. The canyons welcome an abundance of waterfowl, birds of prey, and other migratory birds each spring, and the Peel River and its tributaries hold important spawning areas for whitefish and other important fish species.

The area being considered includes the Peel River corridor, Turner Lake Wetlands, and Caribou River which are identified for permanent protection under the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan. If established, the proposed new national park would permanently protect 3,000 square kilometres of rich and diverse landscapes, an area more than half the size of Prince Edward Island, help sustain biodiversity, help fight the effects of climate change, and complement the Government of Canada’s commitment to conserving 30 per cent of lands and waters in Canada by 2030.

A national park – potentially the fourth in the Yukon Territory — in the Peel Watershed would only be created with the full support the Gwich’in Tribal Council and the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun. It would also be co-developed and co-managed with both nations as Parks Canada is committed to a system of national heritage places that recognizes and honours the historic and contemporary contributions of Indigenous peoples, their histories and cultures, as well as the special relationships Indigenous peoples have with ancestral lands and waters.

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