Remote B.C. park tops poll as best in North America

The Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve on the Queen Charlotte Islands, one of the most remote and inaccessible parks anywhere, is the best national park in North America, according to a survey published in the current issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine.

Gwaii Haanas topped the park scorecard because of its natural beauty and the authenticity of the local Haida culture, according to the magazine.

"One of the most beautiful, bountiful, and unbelievably hard places to access I've ever visited. They should remain as is forever," wrote one of the 300 experts surveyed.

"Thankfully it's soggy and remote enough to keep visitation low," wrote another.

In 2004, only 2,100 people visited the park which has no roads and is only accessible by boat, float plane or kayak. There is camping but no designated camp sites.

Only 300 people are allowed to visit Gwaii Haanas at any one time.

Fifty per cent of the park staff are Haida.

"We're thrilled because it means that we're doing the right thing," said Gwaii Haanas communications manager Kate Alexander about her park's top rating.

Alexander said Gwaii Haanas scored well because the survey also looked at the relationship between each park and its gateway town or region. "The parks that did badly had a lot of billboards and pressure from pollution. We don't have that here. There are no billboards or chain stores."

The National Geographic Traveler article acknowledged that the park's light tourist traffic helped minimize any ecological harm. But it also noted the "unique partnership" between Parks Canada and the Haida people.

"The strong co-management of the park with the Haida people has significantly improved the management of this park, and it largely retains its wilderness character and cultural significance," wrote one of the experts surveyed.

Two other national parks in B.C. ranked a joint third in the survey: Kootenay National Park and the adjacent Yoho National Park, which are in eastern B.C. along the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

The National Geographic Traveler survey went on to praise Canada's national parks, noting that while only 10 of the 55 parks rated are Canadian, eight of them score above average.

Two national parks in Atlantic Canada tied for second place in the survey: Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia and Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland.

The magazine acknowledged that the excellence of Canada's national parks is partly due to its northern location, which means there are fewer tourists around to degrade the environment.

"But there's more to it," said the magazine. "By law, Parks Canada must first protect the environment, whereas Congress demands the U.S. National Park Service protect nature while also promoting outdoor recreation, dual mandates that can conflict when too many park-lovers show up."

The desire to preserve nature and local culture was behind the creation of Gwaii Haanas under an agreement reached by Parks Canada and the Haida First Nation in 1993.

In 1985, the Haida designated the area a "Haida Heritage Site."

The park's roots go back to the mid-1980s when police arrested 72 Haida who blocked logging trucks.

The anti-logging protest led to the South Moresby agreement, providing for the creation of a national park reserve, which became the Gwaii Haanas National Park.

dward@png.canwest.com

- - -

- Gwaii Haanas lies in the southern part of the Queen Charlotte Islands (also known as Haida Gwaii), 130 kilometres off the B.C. coast and 640 kilometres north of Vancouver.

- The Queen Charlotte Islands are a remote wilderness area made up of 138 islands that stretch 90 kilometres from north to south.

- Gwaii Haanas has no roads and few services and facilities. Access is by boat or chartered airplane. Many visitors travel with organized tour groups.

- An estimated 1.5 million seabirds nest along some 4,700 kilometres of shoreline on the Queen Charlotte Islands. About half of these birds can be found in Gwaii Haanas.

- All tourists must attend orientation sessions about the park.

- Random camping is encouraged. There are no designated campsites within Gwaii Haanas.

HOW CANADA'S PARKS RATED:

Only 10 of the 55 national parks in the National Geographic Traveler survey are found in Canada, but eight scored above average. These parks and their rankings were:

1. Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site in the Queen Charlotte Islands.

2. Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia and Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland.

3. Kootenay National Park and Yoho National Park in B.C.

5. Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta.

6. Jasper National Park in Alberta.

9. Fundy National Park in New Brunswick.

Ran with fact box "How Canada's Parks Rated", which has been appended to the end of the story.