scooter
06-23-2008, 11:01 AM
While Parks Canada is planning to give some park wardens firearms next year, tourism is increasing in some of Canada's most remote - and most dangerous - parks. Wildland Tours is one tour group that will lead expeditions into Labrador's Torngat Mountains National Park. Dave Snow will be pioneering polar bear cruises this summer up the coast of northern Labrador, a first for his company. "We want to look for polar bears and see if there isn't an opportunity to develop new polar bear watching product between ourselves and in consultation with the Nunatsiavut government," he says.
"It's a huge attraction in central Canada, people in November going up to Churchill, and we've sold out these two trips. We're only talking 12 people each, but it seems there is some interest in it. The people who are going with us are not just polar bear people, they are also Arctic aficionados, people who enjoy the north, and this is their first chance to see this part of the coast," Snow says.
But Snow says safety will be his top priority on the expeditions, while he has 12 tourists in his care for the 11-day return trip. He says they will stay alert, and only go ashore if there is no danger. "We will have dogs on the boat - that's one of the safety precautions oil companies use in the High Arctic. Dogs will usually let you know there's a bear coming. And we are going to have a Parks Canada polar bear monitor, which is someone who is qualified to carry a firearm with the Nunatsiavut government.
"Safety is paramount and I think that's the last thing that anyone would want, is a traveller coming here hoping to see a polar bear from the coast and all of a sudden getting eaten. We don't want that," he says.
Snow, a wildlife biologist, says that although polar bears are well-known predators on humans, going in mid-summer is probably one of the safest times because there is a plentiful food supply of caribou, Arctic char and seals.
Michael Wong, a spokesman for Parks Canada, says the new decision to allow wardens to carry guns has more to do with law enforcement than safety from animals. He says they don't anticipate there being any overlap between wardens with firearms and indigenous guides who go with travellers and carry guns for protection.
Labrador Inuit are allowed to carry firearms in the area, but non-native people have been previously forbidden to carry guns in any national parks.
In May, the federal Environment minister announced that 100 armed enforcement officer positions would be created. Parks Canada has not yet decided where these positions will be assigned, but Wong says they will likely be in every province, and filled by current Parks Canada park wardens.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us. This is a brand new area for Parks Canada and we have a lot of work to do on the staffing side, the training side and, of course, screening of the individuals who may want to take on these positions," Wong says.
Snow says he supports park wardens being allowed to carry firearms, so long as it is done in consultation with the various aboriginal governments.
"As tourism grows in the area, that's something that people might want to look at, but you still need to have qualified people with firearms. It's no good if you've never fired a gun before," Snow says.
The Torngat Mountains, particularly an area called Nachvak that the expeditions will visit, is one of the areas most densely populated with polar bears, Snow says. According to a Parks Canada survey in July 2006, biologists tagged 123 bears in five days, and say they saw others.
nbell@thetelegram.com
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PUBLICATION: The Telegram (St. John's)
DATE: 2008.06.22
SECTION: Provincial
PAGE: A4 / FRONT
BYLINE: Nadya Bell
WORD COUNT: 596
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"It's a huge attraction in central Canada, people in November going up to Churchill, and we've sold out these two trips. We're only talking 12 people each, but it seems there is some interest in it. The people who are going with us are not just polar bear people, they are also Arctic aficionados, people who enjoy the north, and this is their first chance to see this part of the coast," Snow says.
But Snow says safety will be his top priority on the expeditions, while he has 12 tourists in his care for the 11-day return trip. He says they will stay alert, and only go ashore if there is no danger. "We will have dogs on the boat - that's one of the safety precautions oil companies use in the High Arctic. Dogs will usually let you know there's a bear coming. And we are going to have a Parks Canada polar bear monitor, which is someone who is qualified to carry a firearm with the Nunatsiavut government.
"Safety is paramount and I think that's the last thing that anyone would want, is a traveller coming here hoping to see a polar bear from the coast and all of a sudden getting eaten. We don't want that," he says.
Snow, a wildlife biologist, says that although polar bears are well-known predators on humans, going in mid-summer is probably one of the safest times because there is a plentiful food supply of caribou, Arctic char and seals.
Michael Wong, a spokesman for Parks Canada, says the new decision to allow wardens to carry guns has more to do with law enforcement than safety from animals. He says they don't anticipate there being any overlap between wardens with firearms and indigenous guides who go with travellers and carry guns for protection.
Labrador Inuit are allowed to carry firearms in the area, but non-native people have been previously forbidden to carry guns in any national parks.
In May, the federal Environment minister announced that 100 armed enforcement officer positions would be created. Parks Canada has not yet decided where these positions will be assigned, but Wong says they will likely be in every province, and filled by current Parks Canada park wardens.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us. This is a brand new area for Parks Canada and we have a lot of work to do on the staffing side, the training side and, of course, screening of the individuals who may want to take on these positions," Wong says.
Snow says he supports park wardens being allowed to carry firearms, so long as it is done in consultation with the various aboriginal governments.
"As tourism grows in the area, that's something that people might want to look at, but you still need to have qualified people with firearms. It's no good if you've never fired a gun before," Snow says.
The Torngat Mountains, particularly an area called Nachvak that the expeditions will visit, is one of the areas most densely populated with polar bears, Snow says. According to a Parks Canada survey in July 2006, biologists tagged 123 bears in five days, and say they saw others.
nbell@thetelegram.com
--------------------------------------------------
PUBLICATION: The Telegram (St. John's)
DATE: 2008.06.22
SECTION: Provincial
PAGE: A4 / FRONT
BYLINE: Nadya Bell
WORD COUNT: 596
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