Ancient Haida cultural sites, rare wildlife and primordial old growth forests are just part of Gwaii Haanas’ unique environment.
At the southern end of the archipelago that makes up Haida Gwaii (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) lies a globally unprecedented park-building experiment spanning from mountain peaks to the depths of the north Pacific Ocean. Called Gwaii Haanas ("islands of beauty" in Haida), it consists of three separate but seamlessly protected areas, including a terrestrial park, more than 600 Haida cultural sites representing 12,000 years of habitation and a vast stretch of seabed.
For the roughly 2,000 people who visit each year, Gwaii Haanas is an opportunity to see wildlife that does not exist anywhere else. Separated from the mainland by 100 kilometres of water, many of the mammals and birds found here have evolved in isolation, like the large endemic black bear population that specializes in foraging foreshore marine life.
Visitors can explore Burnaby Narrows – a 50-metre-wide channel teeming with a rare abundance of intertidal life; wander under the canopy of primordial old growth Sitka spruce and western red cedar at Windy Bay; or visit the ancient village of SGang Gwaay – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – home to nearly two dozen, century-old totem poles.
The land portion of the park and protected cultural sites came first in the wake of 1993 Haida protests against industrial-scale logging, followed by the creation of the 3,400-square-kilometre marine protected area in 2010 – that protects at least 3,500 species of aquatic life, including many whale, salmon and groundfish species.
Gwaii Haanas is co-managed by the federal government and the Haida Nation in spite of unsettled land claims. "There are diverging views on the issue of ownership, but full agreement on the need to protect the area for future generations," says Ernie Gladstone, Parks Canada's superintendent for the protected areas, who serves on a decision-making board shared by the two governments.
Haida board member Jason Alsop says the park works because the Haida have not had to give up any title rights to protect the land and water – and they can still harvest traditional resources. "What's really special about Gwaii Haanas is it considers Haida people as part of that ecosystem."
The next step in the experiment is to complete a "land and sea management plan" this year, which will create the blueprint for how Gwaii Haanas will be managed into the future – yet another first in Canada and the world.
Christopher Pollon writes for The Walrus, The Globe and Mail and Canadian Geographic, and is currently a contributing editor at The Tyee.
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