is a
national park reserve in the
Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
region of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. Established in 2015,
its area covers approximately .
Along with the
Mealy Mountains, the park protects a large portion of
boreal forest
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...
,
tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
and more than 50 kilometres of shoreline on the
Labrador Sea
The Labrador Sea (French: ''mer du Labrador'', Danish: ''Labradorhavet'') is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelf, continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, ...
and
Lake Melville
Lake Melville is an estuary of Hamilton Inlet (itself an extension of Groswater Bay) on the Labrador coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Comprising and stretching inland to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, it forms part of the l ...
.
It is the largest national park in eastern Canada, and the largest protected area in all of eastern North America.
It is inhabited by a variety of wildlife, fish and migratory birds, including the threatened Mealy Mountains
woodland caribou
Woodland caribou may refer to two North American reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus'') populations:
* Boreal woodland caribou
The boreal woodland caribou (''Rangifer tarandus caribou''; but subject to a recent taxonomic revision. See Reindeer: taxo ...
herd, and healthy populations of wild
atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...
, in decline throughout its range.
Other mammals that inhabit this park reserve are
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
packs,
black bear
Black bear or Blackbear may refer to:
Animals
* American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species
* Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species
Music
* Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
,
marten
A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...
and two species of
fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
. Agreements with the indigenous peoples of the area, including the
Innu
The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...
,
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
, and
NunatuKavut
NunatuKavut ( iu, italic=no, ᓄᓇᑐᑲᕗᑦ) is an unrecognized Inuit territory in Labrador. The NunatuKavut people (previously called Inuit-Metis or Labrador Metis) are the direct descendants of the Inuit that lived south of the Churchil ...
allow for the sharing of various management and planning responsibilities, and the continuation of Indigenous rights in the protected area.
Background
Parks Canada
Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...
, the governing and administration body for the national park system, has developed a national systems plan identifying 39 different natural regions it aims to represent.
Since the 1970s, the
Innu
The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...
people rejected Parks Canada's efforts in the region. However in 2001, after concluding a framework for a land claim agreement, Innu Nation invited Parks Canada to begin conducting a feasibility study regarding whether a new park should be established in Labrador, which would represent the east coast boreal forest. A steering committee was formed, and they held a series of meetings near
Lake Melville
Lake Melville is an estuary of Hamilton Inlet (itself an extension of Groswater Bay) on the Labrador coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Comprising and stretching inland to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, it forms part of the l ...
. One of the concerns brought up by the area residents was regarding the "traditional land uses by Labradorians", which include "the continuing use of personal cabins, boil-ups (lunch and picnic fires), cutting wood for personal use, gathering medicinal and healing herbs, berry picking, fishing, and hunting, trapping and snaring small game".
In May 2008, the committee concluded that a park was feasible. The park began as a reserve due to unresolved land claims negotiations with Innu people in the area. A National Park Reserve is an area that has been set aside with the intention of becoming a national park, pending the settlement of land claims. Until then, they are managed as national parks under the
National Parks Act.
The park was announced on February 5, 2010 by then
Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...
Jim Prentice
Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candidate ...
in
Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Happy Valley-Goose Bay (Inuit: ''Vâli'') is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Located in the central part of Labrador on the coast of Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest popul ...
, Labrador.
At the same time, the government of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
announced that a proposed Provincial Waterway Park would also be created. It will be adjacent to Mealy Mountains and will protect the Eagle River watershed. Together, the two parks will protect approximately . The park will be unique because it will allow for traditional Aboriginal activities not permitted in most other parks, such as hunting, trapping, fishing and cutting wood for personal use. However, further development of the land and mining will not be allowed.
Larry Innes of The Canadian Boreal Initiative, who was part of the steering committee, said that "It's a change in policy which really fits the context here. The big breakthrough here is that not only are they creating the largest protected area in Eastern North America. They're doing so in a way that fits the uses that local people have put to the place".
Alex MacDonald of the conservation group
Nature Canada
Nature Canada is a member-based environmental organization headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Its supporters include more than 100,000 individuals and over 800 affiliated organizations, including local and provincial naturalist clubs.
The orga ...
said they had been lobbying for the establishment of the park. MacDonald said, "Protecting an area this large will maintain vast amounts of habitat — river habitats, aquatic ecosystems, the tundra habitat as well as boreal forest areas".
[ ]
The federal government renewed its commitment to the park reserve in 2015, proposing "" as the name for the country's ninth National Park Reserve. "" is the Innu name for the area, meaning ''White Mountain across'', while "KakKasuak" (or ''ĸakĸaksuak'') is the Labrador Inuit word for ''mountain''.
Harper Government Announces Creation of a National Park Reserve in the Mealy Mountains of Labrador
Parks Canada news release, July 31, 2015 The National Park Reserve was officially established as Canada's 46th national park with the July 31, 2015 signing of a federal/provincial Land Transfer Memorandum of Agreement. The lands were officially transferred to the Canadian federal government by the province of Newfoundland and Labrador on July 10, 2017.
References
{{Newfoundland and Labrador parks
Labrador
National parks in Newfoundland and Labrador
Protected areas established in 2010