Gros Morne National Park protects 1,805 square kilometres of western Newfoundland’s coastal lowlands and towering Long Range Mountains and is one of Canada’s most treasured national parks. Gros Morne was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its unique geological features and spectacular natural beauty.  In 2013 the park was threatened by a major proposal to drill and frack for oil, metres from the park boundary. After wide-spread public outcry, this proposal was halted. However, in 2017, a new set of threats to the park emerged – major infrastructure changes within the park are causing irreparable damage the character and beauty of the park and are threatening the area’s value as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These changes, without consultation, are not in keeping with Parks Canada’s commitment to all Canadians to protect the natural and cultural heritage of our special places and demonstrate little regard for public transparency and accountability. Once again, public voices are coming together, this time in protest of irresponsible infrastructure developments which are causing harm to the park.   Gros Morne remains vulnerable to threats such as new industrial proposals, unsustainable visitation numbers, and irresponsible infrastructure changes. That’s why CPAWS is working with concerned local community members, businesses and prominent Canadians to encourage the federal and provincial governments to improve protection of Gros Morne National Park through improved management and creation of permanent buffer zone around the park.

Industrial Proposals

Construction Project Proposals – In 2018,  a 2100-square meter drydock, was proposed in the midst of the iconic Bonne Bay region.  On June 29^th, 2018, the Town of Glenburnie-Birchy Bay-Shoal Brook wrote the Minister stating that they made a motion to deny permission for 3T’s Limited proposal for drydock/ wharf construction on Glenburnie beach, indefinitely, recognizing the potential impacts of the project to UNESCO World Heritage Site status and to the ecological integrity of the area. A drydock in the proposed location could change tidal flow, increasing the risk of flooding in the community, and would damage sensitive estuarine and tidal flat habitats.

A construction project of the proposed scale threatens the ability of Gros Morne National Park to protect the natural and cultural heritage of one of Canada’s most treasured wilderness spaces. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Gros Morne is globally valued for its outstanding universal value as an area with exceptional natural beauty and unique geological features. The proposed drydock project would irreparably alter the overall beauty and character of the region. Visitors to the region do not differentiate the enclave Gros Morne communities as separate from the National Park – in fact, the communities within the Gros Morne region serve to enhance visitor experiences to the area. Though an enclave town, Glenburnie’s aesthetics and ecological significance remain essential to the ecological and cultural well-being of the bordering National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Regional infrastructure changes with the potential to impact outstanding universal values require the utmost caution in their planning and management. As such, stakeholder input from local, national, and global bodies should be sought and regarded with the greatest esteem and attention. CPAWS continues to work with Parks Canada to improve their management of our national parks and continues to push Parks Canada to engage with and cooperate with Canadians and area residents on decisions which can create vulnerabilities in park management and integrity.

Oil Drilling and Fracking – In 2013 Gros Morne was threatened by a proposal to drill a series of oil exploration wells along the west coast of Newfoundland. The drilling program would have used hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as fracking)—the high-pressure injection of water containing toxic chemicals to shatter underground shale beds—to extract oil. Industrializing the Gros Morne coastline would not only have threatened the remarkable ecosystems of this World Heritage Site, it would have threatened the vital regional and provincial tourism economy which relies on the pristine natural beauty of Gros Morne’s coast and mountains to attract visitors from across Canada and around the world.

On November 5th, 2013 the provincial government announced a moratorium on fracking to allow time for further study and public consultation. Then on December 5th 2013, the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board announced it would not renew the license of the company proposing it. The license expired on January 14th, 2014. In June 2014, in response to concerns raised by CPAWS, local citizens and businesses, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee recommended that Canada create a permanent protective buffer zone around the Gros Morne National Park to prevent harm from future industrial activities around the park.

Infrastructure Changes

Trail Infrastructure – In 2017, Parks Canada began the first stages of a $3 million project to update facilities at Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The iconic boardwalk trail at Western Brook Pond was removed and replaced with a 4.8m wide hardened gravel road. The public was not consulted about these changes, and now, many voices are speaking out about the changes and demanding to be heard. Trail development has resulted in outcomes beyond simple rehabilitation of existing infrastructure: the development footprint of the trail has increased significantly, irreparably altering the character of the site and one of the park’s most sought-after experiences. The changes threaten the area’s exceptional natural beauty, a value for which the park is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These changes, without consultation, are not in keeping with Parks Canada’s commitment to all Canadians to protect the natural and cultural heritage of our special places and demonstrate little regard for public transparency and accountability. Further development work of the trail, planned to occur during winter 2019, must not be allowed to proceed.

Gros Morne National Park and the regional tourism economy are vulnerable to future industrial proposals and infrastructure changes. There are no long-term solutions in place to protect Gros Morne.

What’s needed is a buffer zone around the park to keep Gros Morne permanently free of adjacent oil drilling and fracking and other industrial threats; and reemphasis on ecological integrity as the number one priority of our National Parks accompanied by thorough environmental assessment with effective public consultations.

Working closely with local concerned citizens, CPAWS is urging the provincial and federal governments to ACT NOW to:

• establish a buffer zone around Gros Morne to keep the national park and surrounding area permanently free from industrial threats like oil drilling and fracking;
• halt any further development in the area until a detailed impact assessment and thorough public consultation has been conducted

Many have spoken out in traditional media and on social media regarding the changes to the boardwalk trail at Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

Over the course of the winter, Parks Canada removed the boardwalk trail at Western Brook Pond and replaced it with a 4.8m wide hardened gravel road. This change was made without public consultation and has resulted in outcomes beyond the simple rehabilitation of existing infrastructure: the development footprint of the trail has increased significantly, irreparably altering the character of the site and one of the park’s most iconic experiences.

These changes, without consultation, are not in keeping with Parks Canada’s commitment to all Canadians to protect the natural and cultural heritage of our special places and demonstrate little regard for public transparency and accountability.

Parks Canada’s responsibility for managing our National Parks’ ecological integrity has implications beyond Canada. Gros More National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is globally valued for its outstanding universal values as an area with exceptional natural beauty. The replacement of boardwalk trails with a paved road is blatantly incompatible with the park’s integrity as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is in contradiction to Canada’s 2018 State Party Report to the World Heritage Committee – in the report, Canada indicated no infrastructure development was ongoing in Gros Morne National Park.

This development does not fit with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change’s promises to involve Canadians in decision-making, limit development in our national parks, or to put ecological integrity first in all management decisions.

CPAWS is calling for a halt to any further development in the area until a detailed impact assessment and thorough public consultation has been conducted, and the immediate restoration of the bog that was destroyed when this road was built.

Add your voice to the growing number of people who want to ensure that Gros Morne is protected for future generations.

Take Action Now

Write to the Minister and let her know you are unhappy with Parks Canada making important decisions in our special places without the input of Canadians. Ask her to halt further development in Western Brook Pond in the absence of a detailed impact assessment and thorough public consultation. Ask for the immediate restoration of the bog that was destroyed when this road was built. Send your letter now!