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| AV俱乐部 history professor Claire Campbell is the editor of A Century of Parks Canada, 1911-2011. (Nick Pearce Photo) |
Parks Canada marks 100 years in 2011 and, in those 100 years, has been successful in creating a network of more than 40 beloved parks from coast to coast to coast.
Originally, the federal agency known originally as the Dominion Parks Branch was charged with the protection, care and management of national parks. But decades in, it morphed into a tourist bureau of sorts, responsible for marketing these magnificent landscapes as destinations. Throughout the century, Canada鈥檚 national parks鈥攁nd Canadians鈥� connection to them鈥攈ave been strongly tied to Canadian identity.
鈥淚t was the first time in history that a country had created an agency devoted to managing its national parks,鈥� says Claire Campbell, associate professor of history and Canadian Studies at AV俱乐部. It would be five more years before the Americans followed suit.
Shifting focus
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But through the agency鈥檚 shifting focus, environmental protection has sometimes been an afterthought, observes Dr. Campbell, the editor of an upcoming book on Canada鈥檚 national parks, (University of Calgary Press). Essays in the book explore a variety of issues, ranging from the tensions between the local cottage community and the federal agency in the establishment of Saskatchewan鈥檚 Prince Albert National Park in the 1920s, to the resistance of Acadian families to leave their homes as New Brunswick鈥檚 Kouchibouguac National Park was being established almost 50 years later.
In the 1960s, she notes, Canada鈥檚 national parks had been 鈥渙versold鈥� and were so popular that 鈥渢hey were getting exhausted.鈥� Banff, which became Canada鈥檚 first national park in 1885 predating the national system, 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 bear up under its popularity.鈥� By the 1980s, the park鈥攖he crown jewel of the national park system鈥攚as besieged by problems including over-commercialization, burgeoning population growth and the displacement of wildlife. In 1988, the Canada Parks Act was amended to make ecological integrity the first priority in park management decisions.
Of course, Banff is by no means the only national park under pressure. Prince Edward Island National Park comprises several high-traffic cultural attractions, such as Green Gables, and encompasses several locations on the island, leading to the habitat fragmentation for its wildlife. Nova Scotia鈥檚 Kejimukjik National Park is far from a pristine wilderness; it鈥檚 been besieged by airborne pollutants, including those causing acid rain, and pesticide use in the surrounding area. And Waterton Lakes National Park鈥斺�漺here the mountains meet the prairie鈥濃�攈as been developed to the point that every valley has either a road or a hiking trail. Despite the environmental issues facing the parks, Parks Canada's history is important because it represents a wealth of experience鈥攐f "lessons learned"鈥攁bout managing the natural environment.
Conundrum
More recently, says Dr. Campbell, there seems to be a swing back to the original thinking behind Parks Canada鈥檚 creation. 鈥淣ational parks were not imagined as a way of preserving nature from people, but as reserving nature for the people鈥檚 use,鈥� she writes in the book鈥檚 introduction. Perhaps this is not so surprising, she adds, noting the Canada of 2011 is predominantly urban with a large immigrant population. 鈥淭hese people won鈥檛 instinctively look and see their cultural identity tied to Banff or Georgian Bay,鈥� says Dr. Campbell, whose own interest in sustainability was nurtured by childhood summers spent on the shores of Georgian Bay. 鈥淭his relationship with natural spaces needs to be cultivated.鈥�
And that鈥檚 the conundrum wrestles with: maintaining ecological integrity while inviting Canadians to come and visit.
鈥淗ow do you balance these competing forces?鈥� she asks. 鈥淢aking these beautiful spaces available to Canadians but not having them love them to death?鈥�
SEE ALSO: Tails from de Trailz in Dal News, Nov. 30, 2010