Yukon watershed the size of New Brunswick becomes a flashpoint between environmentalists and miners

The Toronto Star profiles Peel River in the Yukon, a growing sources of contention between miners and environmentalists:

For some 67,000 stunning square kilometres, there are no parks or marked trails, no campgrounds or RV hookups, only isolated hunting camps, and the wild plants and animals that live in one of Canada’s most diverse ecosystems.

Human visitors number only in the hundreds each year, mainly paddlers and hunters who venture into the remote region in canoes or on horseback and float planes.

The region is rich in iron ore, gold, uranium, zinc and other minerals as well as oil and natural gas.

Mining companies have several camps on the edge of the watershed, waiting for the green light from the Yukon’s government to rush in, clear roads and start digging.

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