Klondike National Historic Sites State of the Sites Report 2011
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Klondike National Historic Sites parkscanada.gc.ca parcscanada.gc.ca State of the Sites Report 2010 Photos: Parks Canada Klondike National Historic Sites SIGNATURE PAGE Parks Canada Agency Mandate: “On behalf of the people of Canada, we protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada’s natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative integrity for present and future generations.” Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Parks Canada Klondike National Historic Sites (electronic resource): state of the sites report, 2010. Issued also in French under title: Lieux historique nationaux du Klondike: rapport sur l’état des lieux, 2010. PDF format. ISBN 978-1-100-17752-6 Cat. no.: R64-401/2011E-PDF Issued also in printed form. ISBN 978-1-100-17751-9 Cat. no.: R64-401/2011E State of the Sites Report of the Sites State 2010 State of the Sites Report of the Sites State 2010 2 3 ExEcUTIvE SUmmARy TAblE of coNTENTS his State of Sites Report summarizes the annual attendance is in contrast to many historic Tstate of five national historic sites managed by sites and attractions across Canada, attributable to the Yukon Field Unit in Dawson City, namely the the fact that visitors receive excellent value for their Dawson Historical Complex National Historic Site travel dollar when purchasing PCA products and Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................4 of Canada (NHSC), Dredge No. 4 NHSC, S.S. services in Dawson City. Table of Contents..........................................................................................................................5 Keno NHSC, the Former Territorial Court House Chapter 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................7 NHSC and Discovery Claim NHSC, which is co- With the implementation of the 2004 management 1.1 Setting of the Sites.......................................................................................................7 managed with the Klondyke Centennial Society. plans for the Dawson Historical Complex NHSC Chapter 2. Aboriginal Context......................................................................................................10 This collection of five national historic sites will (including the Former Territorial Court House NHSC), Chapter 3. State of the Sites........................................................................................................12 be referred to as the Klondike National Historic the S.S. Keno NHSC and Dredge No. 4 NHSC, and Sites throughout this document. In this report, with other initiatives, PCA staff have been mostly 3.1 Context.......................................................................................................................12 the Superintendent of the Yukon Field Unit will successful in meeting the corporate expectations 3.2 Commemorative Integrity............................................................................................15 report on the sites’ achievements in meeting their for the period of 2004/05 to 2009/10 as illustrated 3.2.1 Resource Condition......................................................................................17 performance expectations, in contributing to Parks in Figure 1. The outcomes contributing to the state 3.2.2 Effectiveness of Communication...................................................................20 Canada Agency’s (PCA) strategic outcome, and of the sites and PCA’s performance expectations 3.2.3 Selected Management Practices..................................................................22 in maintaining and improving the state of the sites are presented in Chapter 4. The management plan 3.3 Visitor Experience.......................................................................................................24 since the last management plans. Finally, the report goals and results that also contribute to the state of 3.3.1 Visits Indicator...............................................................................................25 will identify key issues that the sites are facing and the sites and PCA’s performance expectations are that will be considered in management planning. presented in Chapter 5. 3.3.2 Learning Indicator.........................................................................................25 3.3.3 Enjoyment Indicator......................................................................................25 The Commemorative Integrity Evaluations 3.3.4 Satisfaction Indicator.....................................................................................26 conducted for four of the national historic sites 3.3.5 Meaning Indicator.........................................................................................26 rated the resource condition, effectiveness of 3.4 Public Appreciation and Understanding......................................................................27 communication and selected management 3.4.1 Appreciation and Understanding Indicator....................................................27 practices. An evaluation was not conducted on Discovery Claim NHSC, since no site-specific tools 3.4.2 Support Indicator..........................................................................................27 and measures are in place. Resource conditions Chapter 4. Performance Rating...................................................................................................29 were rated as good for the S.S. Keno NHSC, fair Chapter 5. Management Results.................................................................................................32 for both the Dawson Historical Complex NHSC 5.1 Success Story............................................................................................................32 and the Former Territorial Court House NHSC, and 5.2 Management Plan Results..........................................................................................34 poor for Dredge No. 4 NHSC. The effectiveness of Chapter 6. Key Issues.................................................................................................................39 communication was rated good for three of the four The State of the Sites Report concludes with Chapter 7. References.................................................................................................................41 sites; the Former Territorial Court House NHSC is Chapter 6 and the key issues to be considered in vacant and under renovation and was not rated. management planning for the five sites, based on Selected management practices were rated as fair the assessments in Chapters 3 to 5. These issues for three of the four sites, with the S.S. Keno NHSC are: renewal of the visitor experience program; Report of the Sites State 2010 rated as good. These indicators and their ratings are investment in the protection and maintenance of reported in Chapter 3. Because this is the first State Level 1 cultural resources; management of Level 2 of the Sites Report for the five sites, most indicators cultural resources; revenue generation; community for visitor experience and public appreciation relations and partnerships, operating within the and understanding could not be measured, with traditional territory of a self-governing First Nation, one exception. Visitor numbers, although on the and Bear Creek Compound. decrease from 2004 to 2008, experienced a reversal State of the Sites Report of the Sites State 2010 in the trend in 2009, where visitation has increased 4 by two percent. The overall trend of increasing 5 Introduction1 Parks Canada his State of Sites Report summarizes the state of five national historic sites managed by the Yukon TField Unit in Dawson City, namely the Dawson Historical Complex NHSC, Dredge No. 4 NHSC, S.S. Keno NHSC, the Former Territorial Court House NHSC and Discovery Claim NHSC, which is co-managed with the Klondyke Centennial Society. This collection of five national historic sites will be referred to as the Klondike National Historic Sites throughout this document. This State of Sites Report assesses the sites’ efforts to maintain or improve commemorative integrity; to increase performance with respect to facilitating visitor experience and increasing public appreciation, understanding and engagement; and to ensure that steps have been taken to remain relevant to Canadians, since the last management plans. Only three of the five sites currently have management plans, namely the Dawson Historical Complex NHSC, Dredge No. 4 NHSC and the S.S. Keno NHSC, although reference is made to Discovery Claim NHSC in the management plan for Dredge No. 4 NHSC. This report also assesses the sites’ achievements towards contributing to Parks Canada Agency’s (PCA) strategic outcomes and meeting performance expectations. Finally the report identifies key issues facing the sites for consideration in the management planning. Since the five sites are thematically and geographically linked, and are managed by one administrative unit, one management plan will cover the five national historic sites. 1.1 Setting of the Sites As you drive into Dawson City, located 550 km the living community. Dawson City rose from the northwest of Whitehorse, the Former Territorial humble beginnings of a tent city built on a mud flat Court House NHSC