I would like to respond to Sebastian Jones’s Jan. 9 letter and point out some misinformation, as he can’t even get facts right - even in the town that he lives in. And people are supposed to believe he knows best what to do with the Peel watershed?
1: I am not a member of the Dawson District Renewable Resource Council and have not been for quite some time.
2: In my letter I said nothing about domestic sheep. (Can we stick with the program at hand, Sebastian?)
3: You cannot stake on First Nation Class A lands (Nor would I. I have a lot of respect for First Nations and their class A and B lands) and my reference to it was to give some perspective on the sheer size of the Peel plan.
4: If mining is to be allowed in the Peel watershed, then why is there a ban on staking within that boundary? (and if they allow mining with no road access, it is comparable to giving a starving person an all-you-can-eat buffet and not letting them eat!)
It baffles me as to why someone who obviously hates mining as much as you seem to, why would you move to and live in a mining town? If you were up on your history you would know Dawson City started with mining, always has been and still is a mining town. (You are free to leave any time you like. Heck! Give me a call, I’ll even come help you pack!)
You say roads are so bad - then you must walk through the bush to get everywhere you go? Because you wouldn’t even be able to fly out of here (Dawson City) if it was not for roads since the fuel for the planes gets hauled in on these roads. (So how long does it take you to walk to Whitehorse, Mister Environmentalist? )
Mining is a huge part of the Yukon peoples’ income and should be taken more serious than you let on - even your job is supported by it. If there was no mining and exploration, there wouldn’t be a need for a conservation society because Dawson and several other communities would not exist in the Yukon!
More than likely, no Klondike Highway would exist - they would be flying supplies into Moosehide just like they do for Old Crow. Mayo and Ross River would probably be the same.
Most businesses in the Yukon benefit from mining in some way. You say 80 per cent of Yukoners are for this… I say bull! In your group of conservationists maybe.
I have talked to a lot of working Yukoners that don’t really know what the Peel issue is all about. Most are sick of hearing your side and just ignore anything to do with it and most do not agree with the amount of protection that you are going after.
And since when is a park a land-use plan as you are pushing for the 80 per cent protection? You also state that mining would devastate the Peel. Did Loki devastate Dawson and kill the Klondike River? No!
Has Minto devastated the Yukon River? No! If it wasn’t for the sign on the highway, most people wouldn’t even know it existed! And the same with the Wolverine mine!
Joe McIntyre
Dawson City