Mountain National Parks – Management Planning

The protection of natural and cultural resources and park landscapes are core to the reason for the park's existence, and maintaining and restoring ecological integrity is the first priority in park management. Parks Canada's approach to conserving these important aspects will be guided by an understanding of and respect for significance of place and natural and cultural values. Knowing that uncertainties exist, Parks Canada's ecosystem management, conservation and restoration initiatives will be built on the best available science and Indigenous knowledge, in support of a precautionary, adaptive approach that provides for evolution of management policies and practices based on the monitoring of outcomes.

National Parks and national historic sites provide exceptional opportunities for Canadians to develop a sense of connection to natural and cultural heritage. The opportunity to be immersed in nature, history and diverse cultures while surrounded by wilderness and mountain landscapes is truly distinctive. Maintaining the authenticity and quality of this experience while ensuring that visitors understand its uniqueness is central to Parks Canada's mandate. Visitor opportunities will be characterized by sustainability and responsiveness to diverse visitor needs and expectations. Activities and communications will be designed to advance understanding and stewardship of natural and cultural resources, encouraging all to share the responsibility of conserving these special places.

The Government of Canada has committed to deepen and strengthen relationships with Indigenous peoples. Accordingly, many places administered by Parks Canada are managed through cooperative management bodies or advisory relationships with local Indigenous communities. These structures recognize the important and ongoing roles and responsibilities of Indigenous peoples as stewards of heritage places. With approaches founded on renewed relationships, respect and cooperation, the mountain national parks will continue to recognize Indigenous connections and work with Indigenous partners to advance priorities of mutual interest.

Ecological integrity will be the first priority in park management, including in managing development. Parks Canada's approach will be transparent and consistent, and will continue to respect limits, zoning and declared wilderness designations. Any development considered must demonstrably support the vision and objectives of each park as described in its Park Management Plan. Development will facilitate greater awareness and connection to natural and historical spaces, and aim to protect for future generations the qualities that make these places distinctive.

The mountain national parks will strive to contribute to landscape-scale conservation in Canada by being ecologically and socially connected across boundaries. Many aspects of park management such as ecological restoration, emergency preparedness, climate change mitigation and adaptation, wildlife corridors, and tourism function over a broad region within and beyond park borders. Parks Canada will aim to maintain and expand regional collaboration to better monitor, understand and address these and other landscape-level issues.

The mountain national parks were established to protect and represent specific features of Canada's natural heritage. They include some of Canada's most significant landscapes and natural and cultural resources, which are already affected by climate change. As such, these parks offer excellent opportunities to contribute to an understanding of climate change and its impacts over time. Parks Canada is committed to protecting park ecosystems for future generations by demonstrating leadership in sustainable operations and adaptive management in response to climate change impacts. The mountain national parks will continue to collaborate with others on climate change research, monitoring and education.

Parks Canada administered places are a source of shared pride for all Canadians. They represent the very best that Canada has to offer and tell the stories of who we are, including the histories, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous peoples.

A park management plan guides management decisions and actions in each heritage place, and serves as a key public accountability document.

Management plans are strategic in nature, based on a long-term vision, with clear direction for a 10-year period, including objectives and actions to achieve results.

Management plans are developed through extensive engagement and input from various people and organizations, including Indigenous peoples, community members and visitors.

Parks Canada ensures that management planning and reporting decisions are made in an open and transparent manner, reflect sound financial management, contribute to Government of Canada and Parks Canada Agency's priorities, and are results-based to allow for assessment and inform future decision-making.

Updating a management plan involves: a "State of" the Park assessment, a scoping process to determine the important challenges and issues for the next 10 years, and includes opportunities for Indigenous and public engagement. The plan is then drafted, and subject to additional Indigenous and public review and comment and strategic environmental assessment, before it is finalised, approved by the Minister, tabled in Parliament and implemented.

Parks Canada is committed to undertaking meaningful, accessible engagement on its management plans, and strives to ensure that Indigenous peoples, partners, stakeholders, and the public have opportunities to influence and contribute to Parks Canada's priorities and direction.

The draft management plans reflect meaningful stakeholder involvement and are built on feedback from the initial phase of Indigenous and public engagement and the success of previous plans. They are founded on the principles of openness and transparency and have carefully considered and integrated feedback from functional reviews.

Indigenous engagement provides an opportunity to increase the Indigenous voice in all aspects of park management. Parks Canada consults on management plans with Indigenous peoples who may be affected by and are interested in decisions or activities arising from the management of the park. Collaborating with numerous Indigenous groups across Canada, Parks Canada and Indigenous peoples are partners in conserving natural and cultural heritage and sharing the stories of these treasured places.

Park management plans include a vision of the park at its future best. Key strategies to achieve that vision are described, along with management objectives for the next five to ten years. Under each objective, targets describe how results will be measured over the life of the plan. Several geographic management areas are described, illustrating how strategies and objectives will be achieved in those areas. A land use zoning plan is included, along with a summary of any zoning changes made since the 2010 management plans were approved. Lastly, a summary of the Strategic Environmental Assessment provides an overview of the potential for cumulative effects resulting from the management plan and other factors such as climate change.

An important part of the development of any management plan is understanding the perspectives and aspirations of interested Indigenous nations, key stakeholders and Canadians. It is only by engaging with the public that Parks Canada can make sure that the future direction of the mountain national parks reflects the perspectives and aspirations of the people it is managed for.

Parks Canada has invited interested Indigenous nations, stakeholders and Canadians to provide input on the draft park management plans for all the mountain parks for twelve weeks from April 14 to July 7. Explore the tools on each of the individual park pages to review content and provide your input.

At the end of the first phase of engagement (spring 2019), Parks Canada reviewed all feedback and prepared a What We Heard report. The information gathered during this second phase of engagement on the draft management plans will be reviewed, analyzed, and considered as the management plans are finalized and prepared for tabling in Parliament.

A document outlining what we heard during this second phase will be created and posted on the park websites. This report will summarize public input and show how it helped shape the final management plans.