User:More888/Torngat Mountains National Park

Creation of Park

During the 1970s, the Parks Canada Agency had a goal of creating national parks in 39 divided regions of the country, which were chosen based on vegetation and landscape (Parks Canada, 2010). Labrador and Nunavik Inuit also had interests in conserving this part of the land, as it is embedded in the culture and history of these groups (Parks Canada, 2010). The goal of collaborating with these Inuit groups was made to honour the relationship that they have with the land, and their rights and interests (Parks Canada, 2010). Being the tallest mountains in Canada aside from the Rocky Mountains, the Torngat Mountains were a desired landscape to conserve. Usage of the park is meant for all Canadians to enjoy (Parks Canada, 2010), with special interest being given to Nunavik and Labrador Inuit to use the designated land and its resources (Parks Canada, 2010).

The boundaries of the park include the low water mark of the Labrador Sea in the east, Saglek Fjord in the south, the provincial boundary with Quebec in the west, and the tip of Newfoundland in the North (Parks Canada, 2021). It does not include the Iron Strand, as it is owned by Labrador Inuit (Parks Canada, 2021). The park’s borders are fully in Newfoundland, which is how the borders to the west were chosen. It extends all the way to the eastern coastline of Newfound, where the Grenfell Sound, Eclipse Channel, and Bears Gut are located (Parks Canada, 2021). There is no further information on how the southern border of the park was chosen.

Some of the goals of the park include maintaining the ecological integrity of the park, sharing the Inuit story, and attracting more visitors to support business of the park (Parks Canada, 2021). The goal of ecological integrity has been through recent designations addressing the concerns about the Torngat Mountains (Lemelin et al., 2016). These include the isolated and divided range species that could be found in, and human disturbances of the area (Lemelin et al., 2016). To expand beyond hunting and fishing activities, the Nunavik Tourism Association was established (Lemelin et al., 2012), which helped with their business expansion goals and teaching of Inuit history. Some regional Inuit organizations were also created to address resource management, environmental protection, and economic development needs (Lemelin et al., 2016).

Fauna

In Torngat mountains, caribou, polar bears, and arctic hares are some of the animals found in the area along with bird species and wolves (COSEWIC, 2017; Davis et al., 2020; Lemelin and Maher, 2009). Caribou and wolves are in a prey-predator relationship and caribou depend on lichen in the winter (Davis et al., 2020). Parks Canada Agency (2019) found some seals (i.e., ringed seals, hooded seals, harp seals, harbour seals, etc.) and whales swimming along the coast of the Torngat Mountains. There are various plant species in the Torngat Mountains, such as wildflowers, shrubs and mushrooms (Parks Canada Agency, 2019). Four different climatic regions (i.e., mountain alpine climate, coastal fjords and headlands climate, southern interior valleys climate, and arctic flora) across the Torngat Mountains create ideal environments for various species to live (Parks Canada Agency, 2019).

Harlequin ducks, caribou, and Peregrine falcons are identified as species at risk, found in the Torngat Mountains (COSEWIC, 2017; Parks Canada Agency, 2019). Caribou are identified as species at risk, due to numerous human activities occurring in the Mountains (COSEWIC, 2017). Over 38 years, the population trends of caribou in the Mountains are experiencing a decline, at the rate of 81% (COSEWIC, 2017). Some human activities driving caribou’s population decline are mining, industrial development, overhunting, overharvesting, and climate change (COSEWIC, 2017). Caribou show patterns of avoiding to reside in the proximity of mining areas up to 6km (COSEWIC, 2017). Although mining scores negligible as a threat, caribou’s safety is uncertain with the expected increase in mining and development activities (COSEWIC, 2017). Building dams and implementing hydroelectricity projects cause a decline in caribou, causing a disturbance in their space and habitat use (COSEWIC, 2017).

Historically, caribou have been cultural and traditional resources for groups of Indigenous people (i.e., the Cree, Inuit, Naskapi, etc.) (COSEWIC, 2017). Sport hunting in Quebec and Labrador, on the other hand, has been banned since 2012 in Quebec and 2013 in Labrador (COSEWIC, 2017). However, the understanding of sport hunting is different in each region. Quebec considers hunting by non-Aboriginals a sport hunting, whereas Labrador justifies hunting by non-Aboriginal Labradoreans as subsistence hunting (COSEWIC, 2017). Inuit elders and hunters, holding their traditional knowledge, believe their extent of hunting is negligible because they do not entail or act on overharvesting (COSEWIC, 2017; Government of Canada, 2017). Additionally, traditional knowledge holders share that caribou have been essential resources for cultures, functioning as sources of food and clothing (Government of Canada, 2017).

First Nations

On December 1, 2005, the Inuit peoples and the Canadian Government signed the “Labrador Inuit Land Claim Agreement” (LILCA). The agreement gave the power of 72,520 square kilometres of land, in Northern Labrador, over to the Inuit people. The Inuit people now govern this land and have given it the name “Nunatsiavut”. Nunatsiavut translates to ‘our beautiful land’ in Inuktitut, a common Inuit language.

The Torngat Mountains National Park is part of the Nunatsiavut region and is co-run by both the Canadian government and the Nunatsiavut government (4). This means that both powers must share the upkeep and management, as well as the resources it provides (4). Torngat Mountains was known as a ‘park reserve’ since 2005, but became a national park on July 10, 2008, after the Land Claim Agreement came into legal effect (4). When the LILCA was signed, they also signed the Park Impacts and Benefits Agreement (PIBA). This agreement details the Inuit importance for the park's natural land and ecosystems and sees that it will be honoured (4). The mountains are a very spiritual place for the Inuit and many would journey there seeking guidance from “spirit helpers”. The name Torngat actually comes from the Inuktitut word Tongait, meaning “place of spirits”.

Visitors and activities

According to National Geographic, the park welcomes fewer than 600 visitors a year. On the northern arm of the Saglek Fjord in Silluak, visitors, accompanied by armed Inuit escorts, traverse paths extending from rocky beaches, over low shurbs and ravines, and finally to a tranquil glacial lake. The views along the way, polar bears and Inuit ruins are all very attractive to tourists.

Impact of climate change

The climate of Northern Nunatsiavut, Labrador, has been warming since the 1980s, and summer sea ice declines by 30 percent each year, which has been shown to have an impact on tundra productivity. Regions throughout the Arctic will experience "shrubification" - meaning shrubs will grow taller and bigger and be found in places that have never been seen before. According to forecasts, between 2039 and 43, the bush-dominated habitat in Torngat Mountains National Park is expected to increase by about 50% compared to 2014.

Shrubification can challenge the survival of local Inuit and wildlife. Excessive shrubs can have an impact on travel in summer and winter, making tools like snowmobiles more dangerous. Shrubification also harms lichen abundance and diversity, depriving the Torngat Mountain caribou population of an important food source.

References

COSEWIC. (2017). COSEWIC assessment and status report on the caribou, Rangifer tarandus, eastern migratory population, Torngat Mountains population, in Canada. COSEWIC, Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada = COSEPAC, Comité sur la situation des espèces en péril an Canada.

Davis, E., Trant, A., Hermanutz, L., Way, R. G., Lewkowicz, A. G., Siegwart Collier, L., Cuerrier, A., & Whitaker, D. (2020). Plant–Environment Interactions in the Low Arctic Torngat Mountains of Labrador. Ecosystems, 24(5), 1038–1058. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-020-00577-6

Lemelin, H., & Maher, P. (2009). Nanuk of the Torngats: Human-Polar Bear Interactions in the Torngat Mountains National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 14(2), 152–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871200802688532

Lemelin, H., Johnston, M., Lough, D., Rowell, J., Broomfield, W., Baikie, G., & Sheppard, K. (2016). Two parks, one vision–collaborative management approaches to transboundary protected areas in Northern Canada: Tongait KakKasuangita SilakKijapvinga/Torngat Mountains National Park, Nunatsiavut and le Parc national Kuururjuaq Nunavik. In Indigenous Peoples’ Governance of Land and Protected Territories in the Arctic (pp. 71-82). Springer, Cham.

Government of Canada. (2017). Two Paths, One Destination. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/nature/science/autochtones-indigenous/torngat

Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada. (2019). Torngat Mountains National Park. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nl/torngats/decouvrir-discover

Parks Canada. (2010). Welcome to the Torngat Mountains National Park of Canada. http://rapidlake.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Info-Package-Latest-Jan-2010.pdf

Parks Canada. (2021). Tongait KakKasuangita SilakKijapvinga - Torngat Mountains National Park of Canada. National Park of Canada Draft Management Plan. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nl/torngats/info/index/ebauche-draft

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