The Development of Adaptive Management in the Protected Areas of the Foothills Model Forest November, 2000 Michael A. den Otter Socio-Economic Research Network Canadian Forest Service Northern Forestry Centre 5320-122 Street Edmonton, Alberta T6H 3S5 The Foothills Model Forest History Series This Report is one of a series of the Foothills Model Forest/ Weldwood of Canada Ltd. project: Case Study of Policies and Practices Leading to Adaptive Forest Management Reports and Products in the Series include: Volume 1: A Hard Road to Travel: Land, Forests and People in the Upper Athabasca Region Before 1955 Examines the history and ecology of the largely unmanaged “state of nature” that existed before 1955. Volume 2: The Hinton Forest: A Canadian Legacy – Building a Sustainable Forest Management Program 1955-2000 Examines the history and description of forest management on a historic and renowned forest. Includes an extensive chapter on silviculture practices. Volume 3: The Evolution of Forest Management Agreements This report, using the Hinton Agreement as its core reference, examines the evolution of forest management agreements, a unique Alberta invention tested and developed at the Hinton sustainable forest management area. Volume 4: The Development of Adaptive Management in the Protected Areas of the Foothills Model Forest Examines the evolution of adaptive management in Jasper National Park, William A. Switzer Provincial Park and Willmore Wilderness Park. Volume 5: Learning from the Forest: The Evolution of Adaptive Management at Hinton, Alberta A summary document capturing the highlights of the other reports in the series for a broader audience. Funding for this project has been provided by Weldwood of Canada Ltd., Foothills Model Forest and the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta. Abstract Adaptive management is a type of natural resource management that includes anticipating change, feedback and adjustment loops, and rapid learning for managers. The effectiveness of adaptive management is examined in three protected areas of the Foothills Model Forest; Jasper National Park, William A. Switzer Provincial Park and Willmore Wilderness Park. Qualitative evaluation methods are used, including personal interviews and document review. Results demonstrate that a region may experience several types of management regimes in its history. Jasper National Park has gone from practicing reactive management to nearly active adaptive management. William A. Switzer Provincial Park has employed a type of passive adaptive management while Willmore Wilderness Park has tended to reactive management. Barriers to adaptive management include lack of agency vision, insufficient policy structure, political power and bureaucratic complexity that prevent the free flow of information within and among organizations. The Foothills Model Forest may offer some hope in reducing these barriers by bringing together the various agencies. Disclaimer The views, statements and conclusions expressed, and the recommendations made, in this report are entirely those of the author and should not be construed as statements or conclusions of, or as expressing the opinions of the Foothills Model Forest, or the sponsors of the Foothills Model Forest. Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1.1. Potential Benefits of the Study...................................................................................... 2 1.1.2. Potential Limitations of the Study................................................................................. 3 1.2. STUDY SITE........................................................................................................................... 3 1.3. STUDY APPROACH ................................................................................................................ 6 1.4. REPORT ORGANIZATION ....................................................................................................... 7 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................ 9 2.1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 9 2.2. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................ 10 2.3. ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT................................................................................................... 11 2.3.1. Types of Adaptive Management .................................................................................. 13 2.3.2. Summary of Adaptive Management ............................................................................ 15 2.4. SOCIAL FORCES IN PROTECTED AREAS MANAGEMENT....................................................... 16 2.4.1. Politics in Protected Areas ......................................................................................... 17 2.4.2. Agency Autonomy........................................................................................................ 20 2.4.3. Internal Institutional Barriers..................................................................................... 24 2.5. SUMMARY........................................................................................................................... 26 3. METHODS .............................................................................................................................. 27 3.1. EVALUATION RESEARCH..................................................................................................... 27 3.2. RESEA RCH STRATEGY......................................................................................................... 28 3.2.1. Background Research ................................................................................................. 28 3.2.2. Specifying the Program’s Goals ................................................................................. 29 3.2.3. Research Design ......................................................................................................... 29 3.2.4. Data Collection........................................................................................................... 32 3.2.5. Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 33 3.2.6. Interpretation.............................................................................................................. 34 3.3. ETHICS ................................................................................................................................ 35 4. THE EVOLUTION OF POLICY AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT........................... 36 4.1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 36 4.2. JASPER NATIONAL PARK..................................................................................................... 36 4.2.1. Pre-Park Developments and Park Establishment. 1810-1907.................................. 37 4.2.2. The Early Years of Jasper Park. 1907-1930.............................................................. 39 4.2.3. The Growing Park. 1931-1960.................................................................................. 44 4.2.4. The Changing Environment. 1960-1972..................................................................... 50 4.2.5. A Slow Transition. 1972-1988 .................................................................................... 54 4.2.6. A New Era. 1988-1999................................................................................................ 57 4.3. WILLIAM A. SWITZER PROVINCIAL PARK........................................................................... 61 4.4. WILLMORE WILDERNESS PARK .......................................................................................... 68 5. DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................................... 73 5.1. MEETING THE CRITERIA OF ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT ....................................................... 73 5.2. TYPE OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICED ................................................................................... 77 5.2.1. Jasper National Park .................................................................................................. 78 5.2.2. William A. Switzer Provincial Park ............................................................................ 82 5.2.3. Willmore Wilderness Park .......................................................................................... 84 5.3. CHALLENGES TO ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT ....................................................................... 84 5.4. THE FOOTHILLS MODEL FOREST......................................................................................... 91 6. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 93 6.1. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT............................................................. 93 6.2. ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT IN THE FOOTHILLS MODEL FOREST ........................................... 94 6.3. POLICY SUGGESTIONS