Action Alert - Greenwich National Park

Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 11:20:49
To: slabchuk@isn.net
From: Sharon Labchuk <slabchuk@isn.net>
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Earth Action
81 Prince St, Charlottetown, PEI   C1A 4R3
902-621-0719 slabchuk@isn.net

October 23, 1999

****ACTION ALERT: GREENWICH NATIONAL PARK ENDANGERED****

Hello,

Support is urgently needed from groups across Canada to help stop
inappropriate and disastrous development in and around one of the country's
newest national parks. Greenwich National Park, on Prince Edward Island,
will officially open in July 2000. BULLDOZERS BEGIN WORK IN ABOUT TWO
WEEKS!  Please sign-on your group to the letter to Minister of Heritage
Sheila Copps, at the end of this message.  Please send  your group's name,
contact person's name, address, phone number and e-mail to us at
<slabchuk@isn.net>.  You can get the gist of the problem by reading the
letter to the Minister if you don't have time to read this entire message.
Or if you want more information, just ask.

Sharon Labchuk <slabchuk@isn.net>
Earth Action

---------------------------
BACKGROUND: This spectacular parabolic sand dune system, internationally
recognized for features which cannot be found anywhere else in the world,
is located on the Greenwich peninsula in eastern PEI.  It is one of the
last wild beaches on the Island.  The land was wrested from the grasp of
American developers and finally ended up in the hands of the federal
government.  People thought the Greenwich dunes were finally safe when the
area was designated a national park by Sheila Copps. The fragile 900 acre
park consists of three parcels of land on the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
separated by privately-owned property. On any fine summer day in the past,
one would rarely encounter more than a half-dozen people enjoying the
incredible beauty of the dunes and shore. This is a region of high
unemployment and not a traditional tourist destination.  Lawrence MacAulay,
Canada's Solicitor General, is MP for the area.


THE PROBLEM: Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay is the driving force
behind the exploitation of the park as an economic engine for his riding.
Dave Lipton, superintendent for Parks Canada on PEI, is his willing
accomplice.  Lipton  refers to national parks as "products" that his
department "markets".  MacAulay spouts political rhetoric about protecting
Greenwich but also refers to the park as a "project" and a "resource".  At
a recent press conference he said he's committed to bringing employment and
development to his region, and creating the park was one prime way of
achieving these goals. 

Last year, before a biological inventory of the park could be completed,
trails and boardwalks were constructed. One trail was built on top of 4
recognized archeological sites.  Another, hurriedly built to access dollars
from a job creation program, was built too close to a cliff edge and
collapsed over winter.  Boardwalks over sensitive dunes were constructed
with pesticide-treated lumber.

Even more alarming is the plan to turn one of the three park properties, a
thin strip of dunes, into a recreational beach with showers, toilets, hot
dog stands and a parking lot (with room for expansion).  The rutted dirt
road into this area will be improved to accommodate tour buses.  From this
beach, tourists need only look to the east to view the highest dunes in the
entire system.  A short stroll down the shore (what's to stop them) and
they can penetrate the most sensitive and ecologically important area of
the park.  Parks Canada has a dismal record of sand dune protection on PEI
- the park in Cavendish is an ecological disaster.

However the latest development plan, unveiled at a press conference on
October 15, is scandalous.  Parks Canada purchased 123 acres of land
(sharing the $800,000 cost with the Province) just outside the park, but
within walking distance of the proposed recreational beach, for the purpose
of allowing a private developer to construct an interpretive centre and
hotel.  This kind of arrangement between Parks Canada and a private
developer sets a dangerous precedent for all national parks.  

But this is only the tip of the iceberg. The developer, APM from PEI, has
big plans.  In an October 15 press release, APM lays out plans for
purchasing land close to the interpretive centre to construct an up-scale
tourist resort.  The resort, APM says, will be similar to communities in
Florida and feature expensive homes and condominiums within walking
distance of the proposed recreational beach. APM is a retail development
company and presumably here's where they'll make money -  a Town Centre in
the village that "would offer residents amenities and facilities for their
comfort, convenience and enjoyment".  APM says tenant opportunities in the
Town Centre could include convenience stores, clothing stores, wine shop,
eco-adventure tour office, cigar shop, health spa, tea room, banking, movie
theatre, frozen yogurt, etc.

OUR OBJECTIVES: We believe Canada's national parks should be protected as
preserves for  plants and animals, with only gentle use by humans.  This
means that the ecological integrity of the parks must not be compromised
for any reason, especially regional economic development.  Greenwich is
basically a sand dune system and is easily destroyed by people walking on
the dunes.  Parks Canada has not been successful in keeping people off the
dunes in Cavendish and they have been ruined.  It is predicted that more
than 100,000 people will come to Greenwich next year.

We are opposed to creating a recreational beach on the wild shores of
Greenwich.  PEI is literally one big beach. Recreational swimming
opportunities elsewhere abound. Human intrusion should be limited to guided
walks only.  The temptation to stray off  trails and climb giant sand dunes
will be too much for some people.  We believe development on lands
surrounding national parks needs to be limited to that which will not
negatively impact the ecological integrity of the park.  The proposed
tourist village, retail shops and interpretive centre should not be located
on the park's edge.

We are seeking a moratorium on development in and around the park until The
Panel on Ecological Integrity of Canada's National Parks releases it's
report and recommendations next month. We want all development proposals to
be reviewed in light of the panel's findings. It appears to us that
development in the park is being fast-tracked to avoid the scrutiny that
will surely follow the panel's report.


****************************************************************************
"Part of the problem is Parks Canada itself.  It has clear legislation that
requires it to put ecological integrity above all else in managing the
country's parks, but that has not been happening consistently, Mr. Gerin
said."  Globe and Mail, Oct.18, 1999 (Gerin is chair of The Panel on
Ecological Integrity of Canada's National Parks)
******************************************************************************

---------------------------------------
****LETTER****

October 23, 1999

Dear Ms. Copps,

We are alarmed at development plans for the PEI National Park at Greenwich
and ask that you impose a moratorium on all development both in the park
and on the crown land that Parks Canada has just acquired next to the park.
 We want this moratorium to remain in effect until The Panel on Ecological
Integrity in Canada's National Parks releases its report, and the proposed
developments are reassessed in light of the panel's recommendations.

Development of Greenwich is being driven primarily by economic concerns.
As you may know, this area has a high unemployment rate.  Solicitor General
Lawrence MacAulay loses no opportunity to let people know he intends to use
the park to create jobs. At a recent press conference he said he's
committed to bringing employment and development to his region, and
creating the park was one prime way of achieving these goals.  This is the
old-style national parks mentality.  We now know better - that many of our
national parks are in crisis because ecological integrity took a back seat
to economic development.

Plans for this park include a recreational beach with parking lot, showers,
toilets and hot dog stands.  Is this justice for one of the last wild
beaches left on PEI?  The Island has no shortage of recreational beach
opportunities.  We should not turn Greenwich into a playground for people.  

Just a short stroll along the shore from this proposed recreational beach
is the most sensitive area of the park, the area Parks Canada says has
unique features not found anywhere else in the world.  Before Greenwich
became a national park, this area was only accessible by a long tiring hike
up and down extensive sand dunes (yes, there were ATV's on the dunes, too).
So not many people ever went there.  A road suitable for tour buses will
soon allow hordes of people easy access to the beach and the sensitive sand
dunes.


And now we learn that Parks Canada has purchased 123 acres just outside
park boundaries for the purpose of allowing a private developer to build an
interpretive centre and hotel - within walking distance of the proposed
recreational beach.  This sets a dangerous precedent for alliances between
Parks Canada and developers. 

And finally, we've also just learned that this same developer is planning
to purchase land next to the interpretive centre and hotel to build an
up-scale tourist resort. The resort will have homes, condos and a "Town
Centre".  This Town Centre will, according the developer (APM of PEI) offer
residents "amenities and facilities for their comfort, convenience and
enjoyment." APM says these could include convenience stores, clothing
stores, wine shop, eco-adventure tour office, cigar shop, health spa, tea
room, banking, movie theatre, frozen yogurt, etc. This resort development
is only economically feasible for the developer if Parks Canada proceeds
with the recreational beach, the interpretive centre and road access.  The
interpretive centre would be better situated in the nearby village of St.
Peter's, or at the very least much further away from the dunes.

We are completely dismayed that Parks Canada would allow these kind of
developments within and around this new national park.  Have we not learned
anything from past mistakes?  

This matter requires your urgent and immediate attention. Work will begin
on the interpretive centre/hotel project in about two weeks. The panel's
report will be released in another month.  Is this too long to wait to
ensure the future of the spectacular, magical sand dunes at Greenwich, and
all that dwell therein, is not compromised?  Given Jacques Gerin's
preliminary comments on the panel's findings, we are certain that this kind
of development will soon be a thing of the past.  Greenwich is an
opportunity for Parks Canada to showcase a new kind of park management -
one that truly puts ecological integrity first.

With time running out for Greenwich, we await your timely response.

For the Earth,
Sharon Labchuk
Earth Action

















********************************
Sharon Labchuk
Earth Action
81 Prince Street
Charlottetown, PEI  C1A 4R3
Phone: 902-368-7337 / 621-0719
Fax: 902-621-0719 
slabchuk@isn.net



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