The Yukon government has imposed a one-year moratorium on new mineral staking in the Peel River watershed while it reviews a proposed land-use plan for the region.

No new subsurface mineral staking is allowed until Feb. 4, 2011, Premier Dennis Fentie announced late Thursday. Rights for oil, gas and coal will also not be issued in the Peel region.

However, work on claims that existed prior to Thursday will still be allowed.

In December, the Peel Watershed Planning Commission called for 80 per cent of lands in the Peel River watershed to be withdrawn from any industrial development.

'Buyer beware'

The recommendation is part of the commission's proposed land-use plan, which the Yukon government is currently reviewing.

"It lets everybody know what the playing field is right now. It's a kind of a 'buyer beware' sort of thing so that companies won't be coming in and spending a whole lot of money in the Peel watershed," Karen Baltgailis of the Yukon Conservation Society, which has pushed for the Peel watershed to be protected, said Friday.

"It's basically the Yukon government doing their due diligence making sure that nobody's doing any staking in an area that could become a protected area."

In a release, Fentie said the one-year land withdrawal will allow those involved in the land-use planning process — including the public, stakeholders and First Nations — to assess the commission's plan on the basis of current mineral claims in the region.

The government will work with the Nacho Nyak Dun First Nation, the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, the Tr'ondeck Hwech'in First Nation, and the Gwich'in Tribal Council on the Peel watershed planning process.

Mining chamber hopeful

The Yukon Chamber of Mines has opposed the commission's recommended land-use plan, saying it would render existing mining claims in the area worthless.

But chamber president Carl Schulze said he hopes the one-year staking moratorium will allow the government to review the plan thoroughly, and maybe even reach a plan that's more favourable to the mining industry.

"They have three choices — accept, reject or modify — so it looks like they're going to give it a good long look," Schulze said.

The Yukon and aboriginal governments are obliged, under the territory's land claim agreements, to develop a land-use plan for the Peel River watershed.

All parties have collectively promised more public consultations on the plan. Schulze said they should not turn their back on economic opportunities in the area.

"There's a lot of mineral wealth in the Peel," he said.

"With the economy being as uncertain as it is, especially now as budgets [are] starting to go into the red, we're going to have to start looking for alternate sources of revenue in the Yukon.

The government's final response to the proposed land-use plan is expected by December.