Keeping our parks healthy

Thunder Head, Lake Superior; Photo by Francine Mercier

Safeguarding ecological integrity is the legislated first priority for the managers of Canada’s national parks. Despite this fact, these national treasures are facing incredible internal and external threats that seriously compromise their ability to provide a healthy home for wildlife.

In 1998 a government-appointed panel of experts travelled to a series of representative national parks to see firsthand the problems and stresses that threaten our national parks. In a two-part report released in spring 2000, the panel concluded that virtually every national park was under significant ecological stress.

Nature Canada believes there are three steps to saving Canada’s national parks:

1. Stop new development in all national parks and, in some cases, remove structures and activities that were permitted in the past.
2. Work with provinces to ensure any development of land adjacent to a national park is sustainable and does not threaten park values.
3. Ensure park staff has the resources and capacity to do ecological research and to implement effective solutions that contribute to ecological integrity.

Nature Canada is working to stop threats to existing parks like Jasper, Gros Morne, PEI, and Pukaskwa.

In 2002 the Mining Association of Canada and Nature Canada (under its former name the Canadian Nature Federation) co-sponsored a study to examine the extent and nature of mining activities and impacts on Canada’s national parks.