They came, they saw, they puzzled

“What the hell is a RUWA?”

That’s what one clearly irritated wag wanted to know after wandering into the Yukon government’s open house on the Peel watershed land use plan, from the next door Gold Pan Saloon, and leafing through the public comment questionnaire.

Sure enough, the first of its four questions reads: “The RUWA designation’s purpose is to actively manage all land uses while protecting the values of the area. Do you have any suggestions on how the RUWA designation can achieve this goal?”

He had a point.

Even when told it stood for Restricted Use Wilderness Area, the guy remained perplexed because, of course, that didn’t mean anything to him either.

Did RUWA allow industrial development or not? What exactly was being restricted – mining, caribou, canoeists?  Would roads and bridges be allowed? If so how could that still be called wilderness?

And why was RUWA coloured green?

Granted it’s a lighter shade of green, but green nevertheless and that alone made him deeply suspicious.

After a quick trip around the room – making brief pit stops at the “values” and "concepts" stations - he circled back toward the exit, shrugged his shoulders and headed back to the bar none the wiser.

He was one of about 250 people who passed through the doors of the government’s five-day open house at Whitehorse’s Gold Rush Inn this week.

Many stayed a bit longer, studying the maps and prodding officials for details, but more than one was surely tempted to head straight for the next watering hole to digest all the land use planning gobbledygook.

The government’s asking people whether or not they support the final recommended plan. Released in 2011 by the Peel planning commission, the 200 or so page document, jam-packed with details, maps and photos, distilled from seven years of research and consultation, concludes 80 per cent of the region should be protected.

The government’s also using this consultation period to float a new and different vision for the watershed. Despite its generous use of green, its four proposed plans, hastily drawn up by its bureaucrats over a few months, provide for almost no protection anywhere.

Government land use planner Jim Bell, who is heading up the consultations, said he’s pleased with the response to the Whitehorse open house.

He was impressed by how much people knew about the final recommended plan.

Most of the questions he fielded were about the government’s new concepts, ranging from roads and river corridors to mineral claims and the true meaning of green.

The Wind and Bonnet Plume River region, which the government has designated RUWA, garnered the most attention. Not only is it heavily used by wilderness travellers, it’s also where many of the 8,400 existing mineral claims are located.

Few wanted to play “pick a new concept” regardless of their leanings on the contentious issue.

“I’m actually sort of surprised,” said Bell. “I thought people might focus on one of these [the four concepts] but I’m actually surprised no one has said ‘Oh yeah, this is the way you should go or that’s the way you should go.’ "

Although the government's collecting feedback until Feb. 25, visitors were invited to leave their mark by jotting down a few words on giant sticky notes and pasting them up on the flip chart pages situated around the room.

Of the 100 or so notes tacked up over the week, only about a half dozen suggested opening the Peel to industrial development. The vast majority supported protection while some simply used the opportunity to pose their questions publicly.

All other comments sent to the government - whether by mail, fax, phone or email - will not be released to the public until after the consultation period closes in three months.