[NatureNS] Canada's National Parks

From: Hans Toom <Htoom@hfx.eastlink.ca>
To: "Naturens@Chebucto.Ns.Ca" <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:18:14 -0400
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Hi all,

Our national parks are a treasure and a legacy.  A drive through Jasper National Park is haunting in its beauty and once taken is not only never forgotten, but one always wants to go back.

Parks Canada didn't create this beauty nor any of the beauty of our national parks but thanks to our leaders, many past now, these places are now preserved for our future generations, hopefully for as long as there is a human race here on earth to appreciate them.

When I was much younger, I travelled to Wickaninnish Beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island.  In those days it was an all day trip over gravel roads, sometimes almost impassable due to washage, and extremely scary as one traversed the edges of bluffs with minimum if any guardrails to protect against deadly plunges.  Nevertheless, lots of people came here including hordes of hippies(oops my age is slipping out) to visit this marvellous place. The 16 kilometre long beach is hard sand and so easy to walk on, kilometre after kilometre. And if that wasn't enough the whole place is framed by the deep and dark west coast rain forest, where the haunting song of the Varied Thrush sings duet with the Winter Wren.  You can also enjoy this forest and other beaches on the 75 kilometre west coast trail, which is regulated as to hiking traffic allowed.

Sadly the this marvellous place was being abused in my youth and was in decline, with cars and campers driving along the beach and parking side by side for the whole length of the driveable portions of the beach between the rocky headlands, and there were tents everywhere.  The garbage was strewn about, all the drift wood was being burned in heaping fires, and the forest edge was a public latrine for the whole length of the beach.

All that abuse is gone now and the place is world renowned as Pacific Rim National Park. The area was taken over and managed by Parks Canada, and properly managed I might add.  I don't know the whole story about Sable Island but I know of no other organization in this country that is better suited to manage and protect Sable Island than Parks Canada.  They are staffed by professional naturalists knowledgeable about protecting wild areas and controlling public access, and most importantly the whole organization can be subjected to public pressure should they deviate.  

I cannot be convinced that there is a better route to follow than to make Sable Island a national park, and I was surprised and delighted when the announcement was made.

Hans

_________________________________
Hans Toom
Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
Website: http://hanstoom.com 
_________________________________

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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Hi all,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Our national parks are a treasure and a 
legacy.&nbsp; A drive through Jasper National Park is haunting in its beauty and 
once taken is not only never forgotten, but one always wants to go 
back.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Parks Canada didn't create this beauty nor any of 
the beauty of our national parks but thanks to our leaders, many past now, these 
places are now preserved for our future generations, hopefully for as long as 
there is a human race here on earth to appreciate them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>When I was much younger, I travelled to 
Wickaninnish Beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island.&nbsp; In those days it 
was an all day trip over gravel roads, sometimes almost impassable due to 
washage, and extremely scary as one traversed the edges of bluffs with minimum 
if any guardrails to protect against deadly plunges.&nbsp; Nevertheless, lots of 
people came here&nbsp;including hordes of hippies(oops my age is slipping out) 
to visit this marvellous place. The 16 kilometre long beach is hard sand and so 
easy to walk on, kilometre after kilometre. And if that wasn't enough the whole 
place is framed by the deep and dark west coast rain forest, where the haunting 
song of the Varied Thrush sings duet with the Winter Wren.&nbsp; You can also 
enjoy this forest and other beaches on the&nbsp;75 kilometre west coast trail, 
which is&nbsp;regulated as to hiking traffic allowed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Sadly the this marvellous place was being abused in 
my youth and was in decline, with cars and campers driving along the beach 
and&nbsp;parking side by side for the whole length of the driveable portions of 
the beach between the rocky headlands, and there were tents everywhere.&nbsp; 
The garbage was strewn about, all the drift wood was being burned in heaping 
fires, and the forest edge was a public latrine for the whole length of the 
beach.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>All that abuse is gone now and the place is world 
renowned as Pacific Rim National Park. The area was taken over and managed by 
Parks Canada, and properly managed I might add.&nbsp; I don't know the whole 
story about Sable Island but I know of no other organization in this country 
that is better suited to manage and protect Sable Island than Parks 
Canada.&nbsp; They are&nbsp;staffed by professional 
naturalists&nbsp;knowledgeable about protecting wild areas and controlling 
public access, and most importantly the whole organization can be subjected to 
public pressure should they deviate.&nbsp; </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I cannot be convinced that there is a better route 
to follow than to make Sable Island a national park, and I was surprised and 
delighted when the announcement was made.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Hans</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>_________________________________<BR>Hans 
Toom<BR>Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada<BR>Website: <A 
href="http://hanstoom.com">http://hanstoom.com</A> 
<BR>_________________________________</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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