Exploring the Impact of Adjacent Land Use on the Wilderness Character of National Parks in Northern Canada

Abstract

This study investigates the potential for competing land use along the boundaries of national parks in northern Canada to impact the wilderness character of these parks. Information synthesized from park documents was used to summarize the wilderness character of northern national parks and the potential for adjacent development. Using Kluane National Park and Reserve in the southwest Yukon as a case study, a GIS-based approach was used to analyze mineral development and wildlife habitat in the Kluane region, and results of a survey distributed to park visitors provided the foundation for analyzing the importance of the wilderness within the park. Results illustrate that park visitors associate wilderness with ecosystem protection and the preservation of wildlife habitat, and consider the opportunity to encounter untouched nature as the most important value associated with Kluane National Park and Reserve. The majority of critical habitat for wildlife found in the Kluane region, including several species listed as threatened or special concern, is found in the area immediately adjacent to the park. This area also has a high concentration of quartz and placer claims, including a proposed large-scale, open-pit PGM-Ni mining operation. There is potential for increased mineral development in the area to impact the wilderness character of the park as landscape disturbance increases, compromising wildlife habitat. Other national parks in northern Canada may also face similar challenges. As development in northern Canada increases, the management of land adjacent to national parks will become increasingly important to the preservation of wilderness character within these parks.