A relic from Chevr<strong>on</strong>’s oilexplorati<strong>on</strong>s, a rusted-out fueltower is now a rub for grizzlies.Nearby, a found fossil is a relicfrom a different era (BOTTOM).Peel and its tributaries. In 1929, Camsell’s journeys inspiredhim to start The Royal Canadian Geographical Society(which gave birth to this magazine).Mary hopes to find <strong>the</strong> deposit Camsell described <strong>on</strong>this secti<strong>on</strong> of river: a small stream mouth stacked highwith oxidized, ir<strong>on</strong>-rich nodules. Pulling over at a likelylookingalluvial c<strong>on</strong>e <strong>on</strong> an outside wall, we are greeted bywhat seems to be <strong>the</strong> fossil trove heralded by Camsell:brachiopods, amm<strong>on</strong>ites and o<strong>the</strong>r molluscs; trilobites,coral fans, worms and <strong>the</strong>ir tracks. A scattered brilliance oforganic art. “Wow, look at <strong>the</strong>se things,” laughs Mary,turning <strong>the</strong> sharp, ochre impressi<strong>on</strong>s in her hands. Hiking<strong>the</strong> creek, we discover more fossils, gaining an understandingof how <strong>the</strong> nodules have washed down over time to crackopen and accumulate in such an improbable pile.Back at <strong>the</strong> canoes, <strong>the</strong> omnipresent wind howls into <strong>the</strong>corner, lifting sandstorms from <strong>the</strong> towering walls andencouraging us to depart before <strong>the</strong>seslap us in <strong>the</strong> face with c<strong>on</strong>tact-lensfindingaccuracy. Behind, we leave <strong>on</strong>eof <strong>the</strong> watershed’s many pale<strong>on</strong>tologicaltreasures. Perhaps not as impressiveas <strong>the</strong> mammoth tusks Blaine famouslyplucked from <strong>the</strong> banks of <strong>the</strong> upperPeel, but of enduring scientific interestn<strong>on</strong>e<strong>the</strong>less.By <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> day, <strong>the</strong> cany<strong>on</strong> isin shadows. When <strong>the</strong> <strong>Snake</strong> finally debouches into <strong>the</strong>Peel, it is with little fanfare o<strong>the</strong>r than a str<strong>on</strong>g eddy line toChevr<strong>on</strong>’s leftover trashencourages hunters totreat <strong>the</strong> site as <strong>the</strong>ir ownmodern-day dump.be ridden carefully north. Having already received five majorrivers, <strong>the</strong> Peel here is already huge. A few kilometres far<strong>the</strong>r,al<strong>on</strong>g a sweeping wall of sediment towering 100 metresabove <strong>the</strong> water, we arrive at Taco Bar.Marked by a protected eddy channel that’s easy for aplane to taxi <strong>on</strong>, Taco Bar (so named for <strong>on</strong>e pilot’s revereddinner creati<strong>on</strong>s) is <strong>the</strong> pickup point for those with nodesire to tack <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> extra four-day paddle to FortMcPhers<strong>on</strong>. It’s also <strong>the</strong> terminus of Canadian Parks andWilderness Society’s 2003 Three <strong>River</strong>s Journey, duringwhich 18 artists, writers, journalistsand photographers made three simultaneousjourneys down <strong>the</strong> Wind,B<strong>on</strong>net Plume and <strong>Snake</strong> rivers. Afterweeks <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> water, <strong>the</strong>y were met <strong>on</strong>Taco Bar by members of <strong>the</strong> Gwich’inFirst Nati<strong>on</strong>, who welcomed <strong>the</strong>paddlers with a feast. Creative worksgenerated from this journey wereassembled into a touring show thatattracted internati<strong>on</strong>al attenti<strong>on</strong> due to <strong>the</strong> unique culturaland ecological values of <strong>the</strong> watershed.56 CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC JUNE 2011
Avoiding a rough patch,Anth<strong>on</strong>y and Walden line <strong>the</strong>rapids of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Snake</strong> (LEFT).From <strong>the</strong>ir Otter aerie, <strong>the</strong>yview <strong>the</strong> Stewart <strong>River</strong>meandering through <strong>the</strong>Yuk<strong>on</strong> wilds (BOTTOM).Staking a claim for a watershedThe Peel <strong>River</strong> watershed land-use process grinds as slowlyas Mount MacD<strong>on</strong>ald’s glaciers in nor<strong>the</strong>rn Yuk<strong>on</strong>.In December 2009, after seven years of c<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong>s,<strong>the</strong> independent Peel Watershed Planning Commissi<strong>on</strong>recommended that 80.6 percent of <strong>the</strong> regi<strong>on</strong> be withdrawnfrom staking and protected and that 19.4 percent becomeIntegrated Management Areas, where mineral, gas and oilcould be accessed <strong>on</strong>ly if <strong>the</strong>re were no significant envir<strong>on</strong>mentaldeterrents. That winter, a round of public c<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong>revealed more than 90 percent support for <strong>the</strong> plan.In February 2010, <strong>the</strong> commissi<strong>on</strong> received a formalresp<strong>on</strong>se to its recommendati<strong>on</strong>s from First Nati<strong>on</strong>s andYuk<strong>on</strong> governments. There were no surprises. First Nati<strong>on</strong>sfelt <strong>the</strong> proposal was inadequate, insisting <strong>on</strong> 100 percentprotecti<strong>on</strong>. The government said 80.6 percent protecti<strong>on</strong>was far too much and sent <strong>the</strong> commissi<strong>on</strong> back to <strong>the</strong> drawingboard. The mining lobby was equally unimpressed.“The area we’re talking about is huge,” says ClaireDerome, president of <strong>the</strong> Yuk<strong>on</strong> Chamber of Mines.“It’s 15 percent of <strong>the</strong> Yuk<strong>on</strong>, which would add to <strong>the</strong>14 percent that is already protected. You’d jump tohaving close to 30 percent of <strong>the</strong> Yuk<strong>on</strong> set aside. Thisis way bey<strong>on</strong>d anything that exists in Canada.”This fall, <strong>the</strong> commissi<strong>on</strong> will produce its finalplan, which will go out for yet ano<strong>the</strong>r round of publicc<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong>, <strong>the</strong>n be sent back to governments forfinal approval.The slow pace may prove helpful to c<strong>on</strong>servati<strong>on</strong>ists. TheYuk<strong>on</strong> is again experiencing a boom; this summer expects tosee a rash of new claims and increased work <strong>on</strong> establishedclaims outside <strong>the</strong> Peel <strong>River</strong> watershed, mostly due to <strong>the</strong>str<strong>on</strong>g price of gold and demand from China.This much activity elsewhere in <strong>the</strong> Yuk<strong>on</strong> may make itmore widely palatable to set aside a large, intact wilderness.“The Yuk<strong>on</strong> is in <strong>the</strong> middle of <strong>the</strong> largest mining boom inhi<str<strong>on</strong>g>story</str<strong>on</strong>g>,” says Mike Dehn, executive director of <strong>the</strong> CanadianParks and Wilderness Society’s Yuk<strong>on</strong> Chapter. “Given howwell <strong>the</strong> ec<strong>on</strong>omy is doing, it’s hard to justify <strong>the</strong> government’splans for <strong>the</strong> Peel.”L.A.Today, <strong>the</strong>re are no elders <strong>on</strong> Taco Bar to greet us, thoughbear, moose and wolf tracks are abundant and insects legi<strong>on</strong>.We spend a last, subdued evening around a driftwood fire,sharing tea and river stories, <strong>the</strong> melancholy of finalitytempered by accomplishment. We retreat to our tents thinkingwe will have a leisurely morning, time to take <strong>on</strong>e lastsip from this cup of splendid isolati<strong>on</strong>.The plane, however, shows up at 7 a.m., hours early ina bid to beat an approaching fr<strong>on</strong>t. We haven’t even hadcoffee but pack, load and take off in a time frame that canhappen <strong>on</strong>ly in <strong>the</strong> North. Winging back to Mayo, weskim jackknifed grey waves and colourful troughs <strong>on</strong> a seaof empty mountains. First glimpses of a cabin or anairstrip elicit flashes of annoyance, as if <strong>the</strong>se tracingsviolate our experience. Misplaced as such zealotry is, it sayseverything about <strong>the</strong> importance of protecting intactlandscapes and watersheds. We instinctually crave <strong>the</strong>c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong>s <strong>the</strong>y offer.In <strong>the</strong> end, we’re back at <strong>the</strong> beginning, to <strong>the</strong> questi<strong>on</strong>asked by those who purport to want to protect watersheds:what is wilderness? Is it no human footprint or very little?Does l<strong>on</strong>g use and transient habitati<strong>on</strong> by First Nati<strong>on</strong>squalify or disqualify?Without c<strong>on</strong>sensus, we look to nature, where <strong>on</strong>e thingis clear: whatever <strong>the</strong>answer, it cannot c<strong>on</strong>tradictfirst principles ofecosystems or involve <strong>on</strong>lypiecemeal protecti<strong>on</strong>. Amine may benefit society,but <strong>on</strong>ly as l<strong>on</strong>g as <strong>the</strong>resource or changingec<strong>on</strong>omics of demandlast. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, a minecomes with both envir<strong>on</strong>mental and ec<strong>on</strong>omic price tags for<strong>the</strong> inevitable cleanup. But true wilderness, <strong>the</strong> type that <strong>the</strong>Earth doesn’t make anymore, offers wealth in perpetuity.“The Peel is still raw and wild, unlike anywhere else in <strong>the</strong>country,” wrote James Muns<strong>on</strong> in <strong>the</strong> Yuk<strong>on</strong> News in August2010. “Development would end that forever. Forever can’tbe mitigated.”Leslie Anth<strong>on</strong>y is a writer based in Whistler, B.C., and<strong>the</strong> author of <strong>Snake</strong>bit: C<strong>on</strong>fessi<strong>on</strong>s of a Herpetologist.Photojournalist <strong>Fritz</strong> <strong>Mueller</strong> lives in Whitehorse.To comment, e-mail please editor@canadiangeographic.ca orvisit www.canadiangeographic.ca/watersheds.58 CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC JUNE 2011