Battle over Peel River watershed heads to court – The Globe and Mail
Thomas Berger, a prominent Vancouver lawyer who is an authority on northern development and aboriginal policies, is headed to court on a major case that involves an iconic wilderness area and questions of native rights.
Set to open in Yukon Supreme Court next Monday, the case pits Mr. Berger’s clients, Yukon First Nations and environmental groups, against the Yukon government in a fight over the future of the Peel River watershed.
At stake is the issue of how much of the sweeping, dramatic wilderness in the northeast corner of the Yukon should be protected from development and what authority the government has over the lands.
Karen Baltgailis, Peel Watershed Co-ordinator for the Yukon Conservation Society, said the area became the focus of a heated land-use debate about a decade ago, when aboriginal groups and environmentalists began campaigning to have it protected.
