Mount Robson Park Management Plan
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Mount Robson Park Management Plan Part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site March 2011 This management plan replaces the 1992 Mount Robson Provincial Park Master Plan. Mount Robson Park Management Plan Approved by: Date Mount Robson Park Management Plan – March 2011 Acknowledgements BC Parks would like to thank all those who put time and effort into developing, commenting and preparing this management plan. Whether you represent an organized group or are an interested individual, your comments and suggestions are very helpful. BC Parks would also like to thank members of the Simpcw First Nation for their contributions. Specifically, Joe Jules and Harry Jules spent a significant amount of time compiling Simpcw’s interests and suggested changes. In addition, a number of government staff and contractors put time into the preparation of this management plan. Staff from the Ministry of Environment provided professional knowledge and advice. Compass Resource Management Consultants and PRW Consulting Services also contributed to components of the management plan. Mount Robson Park Management Plan – March 2011 i Mount Robson Park Management Plan – March 2011 ii Executive Summary Mount Robson Park is one of British Columbia’s oldest and best known provincial parks. In recognition of its natural heritage and its outstanding value to humanity through its contribution to the protection of the largely undisturbed wilderness of the Rocky Mountains, it is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. Although there is a major transportation corridor running through the middle of the park, the park contributes significantly to the protection of representative examples of British Columbia’s diverse ecosystems. Mount Robson Park protects a variety of landscape features and offers diverse recreation opportunities. It serves an important tourism role for travellers on the Yellowhead Highway, and is a destination mountain wilderness park for visitors and regional residents. It conserves special features such as the headwaters of the Fraser River, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies (Mount Robson), the deepest cave in North America north of Mexico (Arctomys Cave) and the Yellowhead Pass National Historic Site. Recognizing that environmental, social and economic considerations need to be considered in the park’s management, an ecosystem-based management approach will be used in Mount Robson Park. The development of the management plan occurred over a three-year period between 2006 and 2009 and incorporates a set of performance measures to guide BC Parks in the implementation of the management plan. A key initiative proposed in Mount Robson Park is to develop a cultural interpretation program with supporting infrastructure to be operated by the Simpcw First Nation. This facility will provide socio-economic benefits to the Simpcw First Nation while providing a high quality cultural experience for park visitors. This management plan updates the 1992 Mount Robson Provincial Park Master Plan. The management direction provided in this management plan will assist park managers to conserve the values in Mount Robson Park for people to enjoy today and into the future. Mount Robson Park Management Plan – March 2011 iii Mount Robson Park Management Plan – March 2011 iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements __________________________________________________________________________ i Executive Summary _________________________________________________________________________ iii 1 Introduction __________________________________________________________________________ 1 1.1 Management Plan Purpose ____________________________________________________________ 1 1.2 Management Planning Process ________________________________________________________ 1 1.3 Background Summary ________________________________________________________________ 1 1.4 Relationship to Other Planning Processes ________________________________________________ 2 1.5 Relationship with First Nations _________________________________________________________ 4 1.6 Relationship with Local Governments and Communities ____________________________________ 5 2 Park Attributes ________________________________________________________________________ 6 2.1 Provincial and Regional Context ________________________________________________________ 6 2.2 Roles of Mount Robson Park __________________________________________________________ 7 2.3 Management Issues ________________________________________________________________ 11 3 Management Direction ________________________________________________________________ 12 3.1 Vision Statement ___________________________________________________________________ 12 3.2 Ecosystem-Based Management _______________________________________________________ 12 3.3 Aquatic Ecosystems _________________________________________________________________ 15 3.4 Terrestrial Ecosystems ______________________________________________________________ 18 3.5 Cultural Heritage Values _____________________________________________________________ 23 3.6 Tourism and Recreation Management __________________________________________________ 27 3.7 Management Services _______________________________________________________________ 37 3.8 Visitor Information _________________________________________________________________ 38 3.9 Land Uses and Interests Management __________________________________________________ 39 3.10 Existing Alienations and Encumbrances ______________________________________________ 40 3.11 Fraser Headwaters Designated Wildland Area _________________________________________ 43 3.12 Zoning _________________________________________________________________________ 43 4 Performance Measures ________________________________________________________________ 53 Appendix A: Biogeoclimatic Zone Representation _______________________________________________ 54 Appendix B: BC Parks Zoning Framework ______________________________________________________ 55 Appendix C: Appropriate UsesTable __________________________________________________________ 57 Appendix D: Performance Measures __________________________________________________________ 59 Figure 1: Regional Context Map ...................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2: First Nations Consultative Areas Map ............................................................................................. 10 Figure 3: Boundary Extension ........................................................................................................................ 42 Figure 4: Proposed Fraser River Headwaters Designated Wildland Area ....................................................... 45 Figure 5: Zoning Plan ..................................................................................................................................... 49 Figure 6: Core Visitor Area Zoning Plan ......................................................................................................... 50 Figure 7: Yellowhead Pass West Zoning Plan ................................................................................................. 51 Figure 8: Yellowhead Pass National Historic Site East Zoning Plan ................................................................ 52 Figure 9: Adaptive Management Process ...................................................................................................... 53 Mount Robson Park Management Plan – March 2011 v Mount Robson Park Management Plan – March 2011 vi 1 Introduction 1.1 Management Plan Purpose This management plan defines the role of Mount Robson Park in the British Columbia protected areas system and establishes objectives and strategies to guide management and development. This management plan replaces the 1992 Mount Robson Provincial Park Master Plan and draws from various documents and reports including the Mount Robson Park background reports (1991 and 2006), the Mount Robson Ecosystem Based Management Plan (1996, updated 2001), and the Forest Health Strategy for Mount Robson Park (updated 2005). 1.2 Management Planning Process The management planning process occurred between the summer of 2006 and the summer of 2009. The background report was drafted in November 2006 and formed the information resource base for the production of the management plan. A series of consultation sessions with park use permit holders, individuals and organizations that expressed an interest in the management planning process occurred in the summer and fall of 2006. Public open houses were conducted in February 2007 and the draft management plan was posted on the BC Parks website for review and comment in Spring 2007 and Fall 2008. First Nations consultation occurred throughout the management planning process and the Simpcw First Nation contributed to the content. 1.3 Background Summary Mount Robson Park was established in 1913 to protect the mountains in the vicinity of Mount Robson for public enjoyment. It was the second provincial park established in the province. In 2000, 5,956 hectares were added to the park in the Swift Current Creek area expanding the size of the park to more than 224,000 hectares. The park lies in the central Rocky Mountains on the Alberta-British Columbia border, next to Jasper National Park, 300 kilometres east of Prince George and 450 kilometres west of Edmonton (see Figure 1). The Yellowhead Pass, located on the east side of the park, provides a key trans-provincial