The bar at the Gold Rush Inn in downtown Whitehorse will be hopping next week.
Located smack dab between two week-long open houses on the Peel land use plan – one hosted by the Yukon government, the other by conservation groups - the Gold Pan Saloon may serve as a much-needed refuge.
Both public events will run for five straight days from Nov. 26 to Nov. 30.
Both will be open for business from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Both will provide details on the Peel commission’s final recommended plan that protects 80 per cent of the watershed.
Both will also have information on the government’s new “concepts” that protect virtually nothing, but their maps will be as different as night and day.
All the areas the government has painted green, to imply protection, have been turned to brown on the conservation groups' maps.
They accuse the government of "greenwashing" and say brown more accurately represents the industrial activity that would be allowed.
The Wind and Bonnet Plume River region is a case in point.
It's green on government maps even though new mineral claims as well as oil/gas and coal dispositions would be allowed to blanket the region. Roads, railways and pipelines could run down the valley's corridors and bridges could span the rivers.
Government officials will be on hand in the General Store meeting room to discuss these colour questions and other Peel issues.
Conservation groups are holding their daily information sessions in the hotel's Parlour Room.
They're also planning a midweek gathering in the larger Town Hall, beside the General Store, on Wednesday, Nov. 28 between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. There'll be a microphone set up so people can speak their minds and hear what others have to say.
Given that they're hoping to fill the place with 300 people for the occasion, saloon managers may do well to whip up a Snake River shooter or a McLusky Creek cocktail to add to their offerings.
A couple of banjo players to pluck a few chords of that Deliverance theme song might also be in order.
With last call for the public input fast approaching at the end of February, this final round of community consultations on the Peel stands to play a pivotal role in the watershed's future.
Refreshments will be served.
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