Yukon Land Use Planning Council denied say in Peel watershed appeal

The Yukon Land Use Planning Council has been deniedintervener statusin the appeal of the Peel Watershed case.

The decision came Tuesdayfrom the Yukon Court of Appeal.

The application to intervene was opposed by all parties involved, including the Yukon Government and the First Nation-Environmental coalition of respondents fighting the case.

Tom Berger, the senior lawyer representing the respondents, says it's too late for the council to bring its ownissues to the dispute.

"You can't step into thering unless you've got a genuine legal interest in this fight," Berger told reporters after the ruling.

The council is mandated by Yukon land claim agreementsto assist government and First Nations in negotiatingland use plans for the territory.

The council maintains it is a neutral body,suggestingboth sides in the dispute ignored protocols leading to the current impasse.

The Yukon Government is appealing a lower court finding that ruled the territorial governmentignored procedural rules when itrejectedthe First Nation endorsed plan andintroducedits own land use plan for the Peel region.

A panel of threejudges of the Yukon Court of Appeal will hear the case in August.