There are no communities within the Yukon's PWPR although it is within the Traditional Territories of, and extensively utilized by, four First Nations: The Na-cho Nyak Dun, the Tetlit Gwich'in, the Vuntut Gwitchin and the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in.

These people, along with the now gone Tukudh Gwich’in, have lived and travelled in the region for millennia; some of the earliest evidence of humanity in Canada is within Vuntut Gwitchin territory at Bluefish Caves.

[3] The Yukon part of the watershed contains six major tributaries to the Peel; from west to east: the Ogilvie, Blackstone, Hart, Wind, Bonnet Plume and Snake Rivers.

[7] The Peel Watershed is home to relatively undisturbed populations of wildlife, including moose, Dall Sheep and Fannin Sheep, Barren Ground (the Porcupine herd) and Northern Mountain Woodland Caribou ( the Hart, Clear Creek and Bonnet Plume herds) and Yukon's only boreal caribou.

Because of the relative abundance of these animals, their predators also thrive and there are healthy populations of Wolves, Wolverines, Grizzlies and Black bears.

[8] This part of the world is going to feel some of the most extreme effects of climate change; by 2100 it is projected that average temperatures could be 10-15 degrees warmer.

Such strategies as these focus on retaining characteristics of landscapes and regions in order to allow ecological systems to respond on their own to accelerated climate change and other evolving stresses.

The Peel River stands at an ecological crossroads, connecting boreal forests, arctic tundra, and alpine habitats.

[12] Probably the best way that we can manage natural systems so as to ensure resilience to climate change is through protecting large habitat areas and links between different ecosystems.

[16] It aims to do this by maintaining intact large scale landscapes that will focus on grizzly bears, birds and fish as indicator species of ecosystem health.

Even partial protection would be a significant conservation gain given future potential ecological upheaval through climate change and the fragmentation of habitat in the southern part of the Y2Y region.

A Planning Commission consisting of members nominated by First Nations and Yukon Government was formed on October 15, 2004, to guide the process.

These uses include, but are not limited to, traditional use, trapping, recreation, outfitting, wilderness tourism, subsistence harvesting, and the exploration and development of non-renewable resources.

In the remaining 19.4%, "non renewable resource-use opportunities … can be…encouraged subject to key land-use and environmental management considerations, including enhanced community consultation where specified".

[17] In November 2012, the Yukon government presented a set of counter-proposals which would allow for a much higher level of industrial development in the area than envisioned by the Final Recommended Plan.

To date, no significant extraction of mineral resources has taken place within the PWPR, with the exception of gravel pits for construction and maintenance of the Dempster Highway.

This industry generates $2–3 million a year and can continue indefinitely as long as there are large areas of wilderness to support wildlife.