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As CPS enters a new summer season, it can look back on a series of successes and forward to new challenges. While some of the key issues CPS has fought hard for over the last year are being resolved in a positive way, it is critically important that all CPS members recognize the value of maintaining a strong organization. With your active involvement, CPS will continue to be the voice of the many park visitors who believe Canada’s national parks can be people places while, at the same time, preserving their environmental, social and economic integrity.
Managing Prince Albert National Park is a dynamic process and, in the year ahead, CPS will face many opportunities to voice the concerns and interests of its Members. As a volunteer group, CPS cannot succeed without help from you and other CPS members. When CPS holds its Annual General Meeting on (July 24?) in Waskesiu, it will be seeking members who will commit their time, energy and skills to the CPS Mission and let their names stand for Director and Committee positions. Please join us – our success depends on you!
One principle underpinning the CPS Mission is to “work in a cooperative, open, and honest communicative manner with Park officials, politicians, and stakeholders in seeking balanced solutions to Park issues and Parks Canada’s management of these issues.” Hence, while rightly concerned about PANP issues, we are also supporters of PANP, and must keep reminding ourselves to seek the balanced solutions this principle espouses.
CPS is entering a period when some major issues it has worked hard to address and solve are now works-in-progress. The Waskesiu Lake water level and marina services are two examples. Although implementation of some solutions supported by CPS is still pending, Park Administration has declared its intent and commitment to proceed with a new Waskesiu River control structure and marina improvements as outlined below. CPS must remain strong and actively involved to ensure these solutions, and future decisions of Parks Canada, meet the needs of CPS members and supporters.
Recent actions and decisions by Parks Canada signal a willingness by the new Superintendent and his staff to work cooperatively with stakeholders and a commitment to address important issues affecting park visitors. CPS supports this commitment and the work thus far, and is equally committed to building upon the positive working relationship that has been established. While we may not always agree on goals and outcomes, we hope, and intend to strive, for the climate of mutual respect and trust needed to achieve solutions acceptable to the majority of PANP’s many stakeholders.
In the last CPS Bulletin, CPS outlined its position on the Waskesiu Lake Outlet Draft Report. Since then Park Superintendent Rod Blair, in an Information Bulletin on March 11, 2004, proposed to build a fixed crest structure (Newbury Riffle) on the Waskesiu River as early as Autumn 2004, and to decommission the existing dam. In a conversation with CPS prior to release of the bulletin, Superintendent Blair indicated that the fixed crest level would be built at the “higher level” option given in the Report. CPS had recommended to Parks Canada that the crest be built at 532.24 metres by March 31, 2005, thus supporting Parks Canada’s decision to build the weir at that level this year.
According to Parks Canada, it intends, in the interim, to operate the existing dam. Water levels in the lake permitting, and respecting the Department of Oceans and Fisheries (DFO) minimum flow requirement of .25 metres/sec, Rod Blair indicated that he would use new and more secure planking to hold back as much water as allowed by DFO regulations and would monitor the dam daily in order to prevent anyone from tampering with the level set by the Park.
The other planned action mentioned in the PANP Bulletin is to build two new boat launches at the Waskesiu Lake marina to improve recreational access to the lake in Spring 2004. The Park proposes to add the new launches in a way that will ensure they function effectively in spite of fluctuating or low water levels.
Assuming snow and rainfall return to near historic levels, the actions outlined above will contribute, over time to enhanced enjoyment of recreation on Waskesiu Lake. CPS is committed to working with Parks Canada to also find solutions to improve enjoyment of other lakes in the Park, and especially improved access to Kingsmere Lake.
With the assistance of the staff of PANP, CPS recently completed a Summary that updates the current condition of assets and equipment in the Park, based on research done for the Parks Canada Northern Prairies Field Unit Asset Review 1999, which included information on PANP. This Summary will soon be added to the (soon to be launched!) CPS website at www.CPS-PANP.ca along with other data to be added later. While not fully complete, the Summary provides a much clearer picture of the condition of PANP’s infrastructure assets.
The opening quotation of the Summary, taken from the Review, is revealing. “Given that many of the visitor related assets ie: roads, buildings, campgrounds and picnic areas are nearing the end of their life cycle, the next five to ten years will require significant re-investment in the existing asset base. At the present low resource levels we anticipate an accelerated rate of deterioration due to lower levels of maintenance and re-investment. This will also significantly impact on the visitors’ level of service and their overall park experience.” The Summary confirms that, while some assets have been improved in the past five years, many of the assets remain in need of complete recapitalization or repair in order to bring them to good condition. CPS is conducting more research into the current status of infrastructure assets of all Canadian national parks, to bolster our conviction that the problem of deteriorating assets is widespread and in need of significant annual increases in federal funding. This is borne out in part by the following quote from the Parks Canada 2001-2002 Annual Report.
“Parks Canada has over $7 billion of assets in the form of visitor facilities, canals, historic resources and highways. Current projections indicate a need for an additional $425 million investment to update these assets over the next five years and an additional $100 million per year thereafter to maintain them according to engineering standards.”
CPS Position. The CPS Infrastructure Committee has proposed a Strategic Plan for Reinstatement of Parks Canada Infrastructure Funding, which the CPS board is currently considering. The strategy’s primary goal is for the CPS membership and general public “to endorse the cause of fiscal responsibility for infrastructure maintenance and development in Canada’s national parks by the federal government.” The strategy would elevate the lobbying effort and activity by CPS concerning infrastructure beyond the borders of PANP to the national scene. For the time being, the key priorities would be to continue gathering information on the status of infrastructure assets both locally and nationally, support the local need at the national level using our collective voice, and build support among other interested parties such as the Waskesiu Community Council, local municipal councils and MLAs, and Members of Parliament particularly during the election.
We are urging all CPS members to contact your federal representative in particular at this time and voice your support for the CPS position on infrastructure in our Parks. Write or send an e-mail, with a copy to both Ralph Goodale, and David Anderson.
CPS Membership Chair, Bill Rawlinson, is taking a pro-active approach to attracting new members to CPS. Bill developed an ambitious plan that was approved by the CPS Board to enlist volunteers this summer to sell CPS memberships to residents and visitors of PANP. Prizes & draws will provide incentive for current members to persuade others to join. Bill’s energy, enthusiasm and resourcefulness for this task needs to be matched now by willing volunteers!
Of interest to existing members and anyone thinking of becoming a CPS member, as of April 4, 2004 all memberships sold will be $10 annual memberships. Prior to that date, all memberships were sold at a ‘one-time’ cost of $10. We have appreciated the continuing support of members who annually donate to CPS.
As a CPS member, you might like to be more active than simply by supporting CPS initiatives through your membership fee and occasionally, your thoughts on issues. If you do, please talk to one of us!
One of the challenges of maintaining an effective organization like CPS is to avoid volunteer “burn-out” by spreading the workload the organization takes on. As CPS deepens its involvement in PANP matters, so does the workload for volunteer Directors. Board members are currently discussing this challenge and our options for addressing it.
CPS wants to involve members in committee work co-ordinated by a Director or another member. Right now we have some committees (for example Finance, Management Planning, Vegetation Plan) that are largely inactive for want of someone to volunteer to work on them.
In the area of the Management Plan for example, CPS expects to soon be participating in meetings with PANP to help draft the next five-year Management Plan. Having members research and provide information to formulate CPS positions on various aspects of the Management Plan for submission to PANP would be a valuable contribution.
Arbor Day in the Park is an important opportunity for all CPS members to participate in the stewardship of the Park. Last year about 80 people joined this annual tree-planting event. This year the Waskesiu Community Council expects to plant about 150 trees, and will select the areas to be planted. Those wanting to suggest where trees should be planted should contact Herve Langlois. Parks Canada would prefer that planting occur in one or two locations rather than throughout the townsite, in order to reduce the time required to water trees after planting is complete.
The event will start at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 5, 2004. Planters will meet at the Day Use Area parking lot. Please bring shovels, rakes, gloves and suitable clothing. Park personnel will supply trees from the surrounding area and assist with the planting. The event will be followed up with a social get-together complete with hot dogs, Kool-aid, and coffee, in one of the area kitchen shelters.
CPS encourages members to mark your calendar now for the date when you and your family can participate in helping to preserve the biodiversity of the park in accord with our mission, and in support of PANP and the Waskesiu Community Council.
After a successful campaign in 2003 to spray the Waskesiu townsite with Btk to protect the community’s spruce trees, defoliation was reduced but a second year of spraying is required. As this newsletter goes to print, Parks Canada has indicated the 2004 spraying campaign will take place, weather permitting, between June 10 and 14th.
In the Bulletin last month, we gave you an address and phone numbers to contact Dorell Taylor about obtaining copies of "Waskesiu Memories". Dorell has since expressed her appreciation for the interest shown by readers, and informs us that the Waskesiu Community Council website at www.Waskesiu.org now has a link to these volumes. Go to the top of the home page and check them out.
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