Monday, July 06, 2009

2 Parks Lose Wold Heritage Status, Gros Morne Park Could also be in Danger

You've heard that power lines are dangerous, and it can be doubly true for Gros Morne National Park. That is, if massive towers, heavy cables, and its permanent presence become a fixture on the landscape. The added danger is in the park becoming less attractive, less of a tourist draw, and possibly losing it's coveted status as a World Heritage Site.

In February, this was newsworthy, and it was noted here that the Mid-East nation of Oman had it's Oryx Sanctuary Park's status diminished when UNESCO did not look kindly upon the size of the park being reduced. Very recently Germany's Dresden Elbe Valley got demoted after a four lane highway was carved through that park.

So if there are to be huge gangly steel transmission towers carrying juice from Labrador to the island, does it really have to go through Gros Morne Park, just to save a few dollars? Once these things are in place, it's permanent, and so might the park's new status be as just a park, rather than a World Heritage Site. That would be a step backward, not forward - and a loss for the province.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

All I know is I who was born on the rock has been hurt, seen hurt when shorts cuts are taken just for saving a Damm buck, or the F****ng government makes yet another stupid decision. I feel most of them do not have a HEART. There has been enough of our Heritage stripped away.

Charlie said...

Yep, it could indeed be a unique loss for the province, for short term costs savings. I am not sure that NALCOR is even considering a re-route around the park at this point.

Anonymous said...

Nothing that anyone could put into, or take from Gros Morne park can change the reason why it 'HAS' UNESCO status in the first place. Most of the drama queens "loose" sight of that important fact.

CJM

Charlie said...

Nothing that anyone could put into, or take from Gros Morne park can change the reason why it 'HAS' UNESCO status in the first place

You sound pretty certain CJM! "Nothing" could change the status? Wow, that's sounds a bit presumptuous. Just why would Gros Morne be so untouchable?

Btw, thanks for pointing out the spelling error.

Anonymous said...

Read what I said, exactly. "Nothing that anyone could put into, or take from Gros Morne park can change the reason why it 'HAS' UNESCO status in the first place."

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/natcul/natcul2_e.asp

"The rocks of Gros Morne National Park and adjacent parts of western Newfoundland are world-renowned for the light they shed on the geological evolution of ancient mountain belts. The geology of the park illustrates the concept of plate tectonics, one of the most important ideas in modern science.

This is one of the main reasons why Gros Morne National Park has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization)."

People go to the park to see that which makes it unique, and not the UNESCO signpost.

Cheers,

CJM

Charlie said...

A good point, which you should have mentioned in your last comment. The site you linked also says that plate tectonics is one of the main reasons that the park has the UNESCO designation. Might the other reasons be the natural obvious beauty, the many species of wildlife that inhabit the park (including 239 species of birds alone), the pristine environment that is their habitat, the many miles of untouched forests?

Geological uniqueness is eternal there but I would not want to presume that UNESCO will not look at huge man made scarring that may take place, and say it's all ok. People come to see the park for different reasons, but it's the exterior attractiveness that gets mentioned much much more often that the appeal of the concept of plate tectonics.

Thanks for your comment.