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.