Western Brook Pond trail 'travesty' slammed by ex-Parks Canada head, as MP defends upgrades

Retired Parks Canada staff, including aformer director general, have harsh words about the upgrades underway to the Western Brook Pond trail and questionwhether the construction is in line with the ethos of Parks Canada's mandate and legislation.

The trail, widely considered a highlight of Gros Morne National Park,was removed over the winter and replaced by a gravel walkway that is 4.8 metres wide, comparableto a two-lane road.

"We walked the trail and were absolutely heartbroken at what we saw," said Michael Burzynski, who worked for the park for nearly threedecades as an ecosystem scientist before retiring in 2012.

"It's like losing a relative, like seeing someone had died, right in front of you."

"That is a complete travesty," saidNikLopoukhine, a former director general of Parks Canadaas well as a former chair of the World Commission on Protected Areas,adding that the amount of widening amounts to "overkill."

• Up to your knees in gravel: Iconic Western Brook Pond boardwalk replaced

The current iteration of the trail is not the final version.There areplans to continue upgrades after peak tourist season and replace the current rocky gravel with a finer, smoother stone, as well as replant vegetation. Parks Canada declined to comment to the CBCfurther on the $3.1 million project having already given an interview July 16 but Long Range Mountains MP Gudie Hutchingsis speaking in favour of it.

"Ikeep saying, this is a work in progress. It's like if you build a house, or anything, it doesn't look pretty in the construction stages," she told CBCRadio's Corner Brook Morning Show.

Visitors vs. ecology

The trail, which leads to a popular boat tour of the inland fjord operated by a private business, has seenan increasing number of visitors year over year.

Provincial government statistics tallied 35,500 visitors in 2016, and Parks Canada says that number was closer to 40,000 in 2017. Part of the rationale for the trail upgrades was to better handle that growing foot traffic, and keep people on the trail as opposed to the surrounding ecologically-sensitive bog.

"The reality is, how do we accommodate the existing numbers of people? We're not talking about growing the numbers of people here," said Hutchings, adding the maintenance the Western Brook Pond trail required was coming at the expense of other trails in the park.

"People view progress and change in different ways. And there had to be an issue addressed, and Parks Canada has addressed it."

But Lopoukhinesays that line of thinking begs a bigger question.

"Perhaps the question is, are there too many people going through there?" he said.

"Perhaps you should reduce the number of people visiting,if there's impacts on the ecology."

The mandate of Parks Canada is, in part, to protect nationally significant examples of the country's natural and cultural heritage, and foster their use in ways that ensure their ecological integrity.

For Hutchings, the new trail "is a true example of a blending of both" those tenets of environmental integrity and visitor experience.

But Lopoukhinebelieves this work violates the National Parks Act, which states thatmaintaining or restoring ecological integrity is the first priority of parks management.

"There's no balance. The first purpose of national parks is maintaining ecological integrity," he said.

"It's not to essentially kowtow to visitor numbers."

People view progress and change in different ways. And there had to be an issue addressed.- Gudie Hutchings

Hutchingsargued that visitor safety and accessibility were issues on the trail,although the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities Newfoundland and Labrador previously told CBCit was not consulted and would not have approved of the changes.

Burzynski, who began working forthe park in the late '80s, couldrecall only two to four medical emergencies that required someone to be transported out of the trail by ATVs, which were, andstill are, allowed some access on the trail for parks and boat tour staff.

'A lack of thought'

Lopoukhine and Burzynskiquestioned the assessment and consultation phases of theproject. The park completed a basic impact analysis of the project in 2017 and 2018, highlighting in length the need for care in construction as it could affectbirds' nesting habitat, caribou grazing grounds and more.

Overall, the document declaredthe work was "not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects."

In an email, Parks Canada told CBCit held open houses with the park's local communities in May 2017, and distributed an information sheet"widely to communities, stakeholders and tourism operators." The park also circulatedpress releasesin August and late October 2017, in advance of the work beginningin early November, and posted a bulletin on their website.

The retired staff felt that amount of notice fell short of the required scope.

"This is a world heritage site,it is a national park. Itessentially belongs to all Canadians, not just local people, so let's involve people in these decisions," saidLopoukhine.

"Ithink it was totally a lack of thought, a lack of experience, and a lack of proper national parks ethic that led to this mess," said Burzynski, who lives in Rocky Harbour and says nobody locally was informed.

"This is one of the mostbeautifuland best known places in Canada,and it's being managedasthoughit were a parking lot for Walmart or something."

Artist renderings of what the trail will look like once complete are in the works, and Hutchings hopes those will ease some of the current concerns, adding that any rumours such as paving the trail and allowing bus tours into the boat dock are "ridiculous."

No matter the future, the former staffers say the past experience is gone.

"To change what has happened is impossible. They've dumped tons and tons of gravel," saidLopoukhine.

"Idon't think you can pull any of this out.Just don't let it happen again."

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