An Approach to Defining Greater Park Ecosystems and Its Application to Gros Morne National Park

An Approach to Defining Greater Park Ecosystems and Its Application to Gros Morne National Park by Karl Keough (B.Comm., Mernorial University of Newfoundland, 1984) THESIS Submitted to the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies in partial fuifilment of the requirements for Master of Environmental Studies Wilfrid Laurier University 1997 O Karl Keough, 1997 National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1*1 .canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence alIowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thése sous paper or electroxiic formats. la forme de microfichelfilm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retaîns ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts hmit Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de ceUe-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author' s ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Ecosystem management is an integrative, cooperative, adaptive approach to resource management that has evolved in response to the growkg nurnber of environmental and resource problems over the past several decades. One such problem, the threat to the world's biodiversity, may be atûiiuted to the the destruction, degradation, and fragmentation of habitat resulting fiom the expanding human population, and the inability to set aside in strict nature reserves, sufficient habitat for wide-ranging mammals and My hctioning ecosystems. The Greater Park Ecosystem concept may be seen as the embodiment of ecosystem management in national parks and a response to the threat to biodiversity. A major challenge to effective implementation of such an idea is definhg the boundaries of the management unit or ecosystem Delineation of these boundaries may be guided by principles of protected area design, as weii as by previous efforts to deheate ecosystem boundaries. However, any approach used to delineate the boundaries of a Greater Park Ecosystem should be consistent with the objectives and principles of ecosystem management, both its ecological (substantive) and sociopolitical (process) aspects. In this study an evaluation of previous efforts to delineate ecosystem boundaries was carried out. It concluded, based on criteria drawn fiom the literature on ecosystem management, national parks management, and protected area design, that no single approach adequately addressed the problem of protecting native biological diversity in national parks, in the face of increasing pressures fiom beyond the park boundaries. The approach suggested in this study addresses substantive ecological concems as weii as the process of boundary deheation itself. It considers abiotic, biotic, and cultural features and processes of the park region, particuIarly those that traverse official park boundaries. The location of si@cant andfor representative features and processes guides the preliminary placement of the Greater Park Ecosystem boundary, which wiii likely change with input fiom the various stakeholders. The suggested approach addresses the process of boundary delineation by encouraging participation of aii stakeholders in the region, fostering a cooperative approach among competing resource users, and ensuring that institutional structures are appropriate. An overriding consideration is that the final boundaries encompass ;in area that is siifl3ciently large to support a minimum viable population of the most space-dernanding species in the reg ion. The substantive aspects of this suggested approach were iiiustrated in this study with reference to Gros Morne National Park in western Newfoundhnd. The resulting Greater Gros Morne Ecosystem boundaries were compared to several other alternatives which were based on the boundaries of the region's ecoregions, physiographic regions, and the Western Newfoundland Mode1 Forest. The suggested boundaries were shown to be superior to the other alternatives in terms of signifïcaut habitat characteristics, hurnan landuse, watershed integrity as well as several other measures. A preliminary assessrnent of the process components of the suggested approach, again with respect to Gros Morne National Park, reveaied that the agencies responsible for resource management in Newfoundland appear to be moving toward an ecosystem management philos0 phy. The need for greater integration, coo peration, and adaptabiiity has been widely acknowledged. From the general public, there appears to be more appreciation of the consequences of poor resource management, due primarily to the coilapse of the Northern cod fishery, greater acceptauce of new ideas, and a demand for more input fiom local groups and individuals. Despite th,the lack of alternative employment oppominities outside the extractive resource sector, and the long history of unrestricted local resource use remain barriers to widespread acceptance of the Greater Gros Morne Ecosystem concept. 1am gratetùl to aii who have provided acadernic, fiunciai, and emotional support towards this research. In particular 1 would like to thank a number of individuais and organhtions, without which it couid not have been completed. Thanks to my supervisor, Scott Slocombe, for steering me in the right direction when necessary, for his helptùl comments and suggestions dong the way, for his patience, and for his general guidance throughout this process. To my cornmittee member, John Theberge, for his helpfùl comments on my initial proposal and on my fkt draR 1 would like to acknowledge Dr. Alvin Simms and the Department of Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland for unrestricted access to their GIS lab and the software 1 needed to complete my research, and also to Paul Brett and Conrad Power who were always available to answer the many GIS questions 1had. 1 would like to acknowledge the staKat Gros Morne NationaI Park, particularly Doug Anions, for king available for questions and for providing information on the park and surrounding region. To the Canadian Wildlife Service (Dartmouth and St. John's), Newfoundland Forest Service, Forestry Canada, NewfoundIand Mines and Energy, and the Lands Branch of the Department of Environment and Lands for providing digital map information. 1 wish to acknowledge the hciaiassistance provided by WidLaurier University and the SchooI of Graduate Studies of Memorial University of Newfoundland. 1 would Like to thank Renee for her helpfùl comments on rny kst drafi and my parents for their unwavering encouragement of ail my educational pursuits. Finally, a special thank you to my wife Darlene, for her always insightful comments, but mostly for her constant love, encouragement, and patience. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract........................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgrnents ........................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents............................................................................................................ v .................................................................................................................. .. List of Tables vil... List of Figures................................................................................................................ VIH 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................. 1 A .Research Problem and Objectives ...................................................................................... 3 B. Methodology.................................................................................................................... -4 C . Overview .......................................................................................................................... 5 1. Ecosystem Management: The New Paradigrn .......................................................................... 6 2. National Park in Canada................................................................................................... 10 3 . Greater Park Ecosystems.................................................................................................... 10 1. The Greater Gros Mome Ecosystem ...................................................................................... 11 II . Literature Review.................................................................................................... 14 A . Ecosystem Management................... .. ......................................................................... 14 1 . Evolution of the Ecosystem Concept ..................................................................................... 15 2 . Evolution of Ecosystem Management................................................................................... 16 3. Current Thinking ................................................................................................................ 18 B. National Parks in Canada............. ... ..........................................................................

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