The ecological integrity of national parks is assessed by monitoring representative components of major park ecosystems, such as forest, freshwater and wetlands. In this study, a signature extension approach to land cover change detection is explored to develop an earth observation based approach for monitoring ecological integrity in canadas national parks. Guidelines for ecological integrity monitoring institute for parks. For national parks, ecosystem management considers the following. Our company is dedicated to improve environmental observations, monitoring, protection and environmentally related information management to the benefit of biodiversity, protection of.
Ecological integrity science and conservation parks canada. Maintaining and restoring ecological integrity requires limits on development in national parks, particularly those where development can impact ecosystem health, mckenna said in the. This has occurred in the network of national parks in quebec, canada fig 1, which participates in an ecological monitoring program since 2004. Knowing how many kinds of plants, animals, and ecosystems we have. It is a key measure of the condition of our national parks. Ottawa protecting and conserving the natural environment is parks canadas main job, the federal environment minister concludes in her response to a massive public consultation on. Ecological integrity and canadas national parks stephenwoodley introduction thispaperexplorestheevolutionoftheideaofecologicalintegrityasanendpoint that is used in the management of canadas national parks. View sebastien renards profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. These perspectives allow a deeper understanding known as twoeyed seeing. Minister mckenna affirms ecological integrity is the first. Monitoring land cover change and ecological integrity in canadas national parks r. The territory covered by parks canada includes land in all canadian provinces and territories.
Sheila copps, asked a panel of canadians with expertise in ecological sciences and. This has occurred in the network of national parks in quebec, canada fig 1, which participates in an ecological monitoring program since. Uncovering regional variability in disturbance trends. Canadas environment minister says protecting and conserving the natural environment is the main job of parks canada. The cesi ecological integrity of national parks indicator, however, refers to an aggregate indicator across all parks and park ecosystems. Maintaining and restoring ecological integrity requires limits on development in national parks, particularly those where development can impact ecosystem health, mckenna said in the report. Why parks canada is interested in biodiversity management parks canadas mandate states that. Gpes are delineated by pca according to the zone of ecological influence surrounding a park boundary that is most likely to cause impacts to the park. Madeleine wrazej resource management officer i ecological integrity monitoring at parks canada british columbia, canada 29 connections.
More recently the increasing number and awareness of external. Lori parker ecologist team leader parks canada linkedin. Optimization of an ecological integrity monitoring program for. The banffbow valley has been a site of environmental conflict since the creation of banff national park bnp in 1887. The national park service inventory and monitoring program conducts longterm ecological monitoring within national park. The information collected through this program provides baseline data for a variety of purposes including the planning and management of parks and protected areas. An important challenge for parks canada is to know what plants and animals occur in a given park, what ecosystems they use, and how these species and ecosystems are changing over time. Catherine mckenna has released her response to the largest public. Parks canada agency ei monitoring and reporting program. The guiding legislation for ontario parks, the provincial parks and conservation reserves act, 2006 defines ecological integrity as a condition in which biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems and. This document describes the parks canada agency pcas plan to complete activities and deliverables in order to achieve full compliance with the directive on open government. The study of national parks reveals what and how people conceive of nature. Parks canadas objective is to allow people to enjoy national parks as special places without damaging their integrity. Ecological monitoring canadas national parks provide a home for many plants and animals from lilies to majestic forests, and from insects to grizzly bears.
This parkspace initiative will focus on detecting and quantifying the impacts of climate change on vegetation, permafrost and wetlands. The ei monitoring framework was developed by parks canada to provide a conservation science context for comprehensive ei monitoring and reporting in national parks. Gatineau, qc, june 8, 2018 cnw parks canadas conservation and restoration core program plays an. Nik was behind the creation of ecological maps for some of canadas most noted parks, including mapping the vegetation of gatineau park. Parks canadas conservation and restoration projects. Making ecological integrity in canadas national parks the. Provided key support to many aspects of the ecological integrity monitoring. For parks canada, ei monitoring is a park management tool that supports.
Uncovering regional variability in disturbance trends between parks and greater park ecosystems across canada 19852015 douglas k. Monitoring land cover change and ecological integrity in. These program elements are required as part of recent legislation and. Using satellite remote sensing to monitor and assess. The ecological integrity of national parks is assessed by monitoring representative components of major park ecosystems, such as forest. The ecological integrity monitoring program eimp was therefore implemented in. The pca ecological integrity monitoring program is being developed across all national parks to provide data for reporting on the ei of parks and their greater park ecosystems gpes, and is targeted to be operational by 2008 parks canada agency, 2006. An ecological integrity assessment eia is an approach to systematically rate the current ecological integrity of an occurrence of a plant association or ecological systems. Panel on the ecological integrity of canadas national parks. On behalf of the people of canada, we protect and present nationally significant examples of canadas. Monitoring activities in protected areas have a long history. Visit our keyboard shortcuts docs for details duration.
Parks canadas evolving monitoring program for ecological integrity since the release of the first priority report parks canadas ei monitoring program has undergone some signi. The pca ecological integrity monitoring program is being developed across all national parks to provide data for reporting on the ei of parks and their greater park ecosystems gpes, and is targeted to be. Ecological monitoring science and conservation parcs canada. Monitoring for ecological integrity and state of the parks. Pouliot natural resources canada, canada centre for remote sensing, 588 booth st. Ecological integrity monitoring specialist parks canada. Canadas national parks provide a home for many plants and animals from lilies to majestic forests, and from insects to grizzly bears. Internal planning and management needs early led to ecological inventories. Cs ecological integrity is monitored in the bc parks and. Lori parker ecologist at parks canada edmonton, canada area. Chapter 2ecological integrity in canadas national parks. In the 1980s, nik was recruited by parks canada and.
Mckenna, the federal environment minister, confirmed that the primary objective of parks canada was the maintenance and restoration of ecological integrity within. The answer, while of fundamental importance to park managers, is far from simple. The ecological integrity of national parks is assessed by monitoring representative components of major park. Good monitoring, restoration, and public education programs are essential for parks canada to meet its mandate of maintaining or restoring ecological integrity. A brief summary of the parks canada agency program for ecological integrity ei monitoring and state of the park reporting is given. This approach has been pioneered in canadian national parks and the examples are from parks canada. Monitoring and reporting ecological integrity in canadas national. The concept of ecological integrity was added to the lexicon of parks canada manage ment in the 1980s,as a replacement to the idea of natural.
Reporting ecological integrity in canadas national parks volume i. Parks canada s ecological integrity monitoring program parks canada agency, 2007a was selected for three reasons. The heart of ecological integrity is the naturalness of an area. Ecological integrity of national parks page 4 of 17 list of figures figure 1.
Report highlights parks canadas efforts to maintain and restore ecological integrity. Maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity, through the protection of natural resources and natural processes, shall be the first priority of the minister when considering all aspects of the. This ecological integrity mandate was added to the. The guiding legislation for ontario parks, the provincial parks and conservation reserves act, 2006 defines ecological integrity as a condition in which biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems and the composition and abundance of native species and biological communities are characteristic of their natural regions and rates of change and ecosystem processes are unimpeded. Supporting continual improvement of full ecological integrity monitoring program. Ecological integrity to be top priority for parks canada. Ecological integrity status and trends of ecosystems in 41 national parks, canada, 20165 figure 2. Parks canadas ecological integrity monitoring program parks canada agency, 2007a was selected for three reasons. Ecological integrity in ritish olumbias parks and protected areas performance indicators ecological integrity is a complex concept and difficult to measure directly. Ontario parks is dedicated to meeting the following four objectives, while maintaining or enhancing ecological integrity.
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