Karen Mackenzie
Northern News Services
Published Monday, June 9, 2008

NUNAVUT - Parks Canada officials recently wrapped up community consultations on the creation of a new management plan for Auyuittuq National Park.

Residents from the adjacent hamlets of Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq met in May to discuss it in meeting rooms and on the land.

One of the biggest changes already in place is the amount of Inuit and community involvement in these discussions, according to Nancy Anilniliak, field unit supervisor for Nunavut National Parks for Parks Canada.

"That's a significant change. We didn't have that kind of interaction before," she said.

In each community, officials met with elders, youth, hunters and other residents.

"We have to remember having a park doesn't impede any harvesting rights of the Inuit. The Inuit are a part of the ecosystem, they cannot separate from the land and the wildlife, and that's a part of the process we all have to understand. This is going to be very important for working together and managing the park for long term."

A management plan will provide long-term direction for maintaining the park's ecology and cultural resources, according to Anilniliak, who grew up in Pangnirtung.

Some of the specific topics on the table included snowmobile access for non-beneficiaries and the possibility of a new hiking trail, according to Harry Alookie, a Qikiqtarjuaq resident who is part of the planning committee.

"That snowmobile access could be possible if supported," Alookie said. "If an Inuit guide is there is one of the areas the community is concerned about. (Visitors) sometimes have no idea where there are danger areas in spring - the ice is not thick enough, or there is too much snow and the person gets stuck by snowmobile."

Ideally, the management plan will strike a balance between conservation of the parks resources and its users, according to Anilniliak.

Developed within the framework of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and Inuit Impact Benefit Agreement, it will span a 15-year period and include regular reviews.

The plan will be the first specially-tailored to the 19,000 square-kilometre site since Nunavut's creation. While the park was established in 1976, it had inherited an interim document based on Parks Canada's more southern models.

While ecologically and culturally sensitive areas of the park need to be protected, it must also enhance visitor experience and educational opportunities, according to Anilniliak.

Qikiqtarjuaq outfitter Billy Arnaquq looked after the meeting groups while they were in his hamlet, and said he was very keen to hear what is proposed for the park.

"Any changes taking place, it will affect us as outfitters. Overall tourism was a major part (of the consultations), like some of the access they are willing to open and promote to the world," he said.

Arnaquq regularly provides package tours to visitors to the community, and most of them head to Auyuittuq.