Dawson Regional Planning Commission Update – June 17, 2020

We hope that you and your family are staying healthy during this time – the Dawson Regional Planning Commission would like to share a quick update with you on some of our progress this spring.

Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the Commission continues on in their mandate to craft a land use plan for the Dawson region that will achieve the objectives of Chapter 11 of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Final Agreement. Members of the Commission are in unanimous agreement that we conduct our work in a manner that is open and transparent, and it is important to us that we remain accountable to the public as we progress.

Accordingly, we will host a Commission Meeting accessible to the public in July. The format will depend on the advice of the Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, but we are exploring various options, and will provide details when available.

In addition, Commission staff have been busy working on the following key planning items:

  • The Dawson Planning Region Resource Assessment Report (RAR) is now complete and available on our website (click here). This edition of the RAR has been updated from the original 2013 version with the assistance of the Yukon Land Use Planning Council and technical staff from Yukon Government and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in. The report has also been updated based on feedback we received from the public and planning partners in the fall of 2019 and winter of 2020. Thank you to those people and groups who took the time to submit comments to us! A special thanks goes out to Nicole Percival (Yukon Land Use Planning Council) whose work on this report was excellent.
  • Staff are working to incorporate recent survey information received from the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Land Stewardship Framework Program as well as an online youth survey we conducted this spring. This information will be incorporated into the final Issues and Interests Report and In Your Words Summary Report of Public Engagement.
  • Staff has received feedback from the Yukon Government and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in on the Commission’s Draft Plan Goals and Objectives and will be summarizing this information for the Commission to review at its next meeting.

As always, we remain dedicated to seeking input, feedback, and guidance from the public and plan partners us as we work towards achieving our objectives. Please let us know if you have any questions.