Periodic Report on the Application of the World Heritage Convention

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Periodic Report on the Application of the
World Heritage Convention
Section II
Report on the State of Conservation of
Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek
1 INTRODUCTION
1a State Party
CANADA and the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1b Name of World Heritage Site
Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek
1c Geographic Coordinates
Latitude 58°45’ N / Longitude 136°10’ W
Latitude 59°31’ N / Longitude 137°14’ W
1d Date of inscription
26/10/79
1e Date of subsequent extension(s)
14/12/92
17/12/94
1f Organization(s) responsible for the preparation of report
Organization Name: / U.S. National Park Service
Name: / Snitzler, Vicki
Title: / Outdoor Planner
Address: / Wrangell-St.Elias National Park, 106.8 Richardson Hwy
City: / Copper Center, Alaska
Postal Code: / 99573
Telephone: / 907 822-5234
Fax Number: / 907 822-7216
Email: /
Organization Name: / Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection
Name: / Levy, Peter
Title: / Planning Section Head
Address: / Bag 5000, 3726 Alfred Street
City: / Smithers, British Columbia
Postal Code: / V0J 2N0
Telephone: / 250 847-7289
Fax Number: / 250 847-7728
Email: /
Organization Name: / Parks Canada
Name: / Elliot, Tom
Title: / Visitor and Wilderness Management Research
Address: / Yukon Field Unit, 205-300 Main Street
City: / Whitehorse, Yukon
Postal Code: / Y1A 2B5
Telephone: / 867 667-3915
Fax Number: / 867 393-6701
Email: /
Organization Name: / U.S. National Park Service
Name: / Yerxa, Rusty
Title: / Writer/Editor Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Address: / P.O. Box 140
City: / Gustavus, Alaska
Postal Code: / 99826
Telephone: / 907 697-2675
Fax Number: / 907 697-2654
Email: /
2 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
2a Original justification for inscription
Kluane National Park and Reserve and Wrangell-St. Elias National Monument were nominated jointly by Canada and the United States and inscribed as a transboundary World Heritage Site in October 1979. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve was nominated as a geological and ecological extension of the existing World Heritage Site and was inscribed as an addition to the site in December 1992. The Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park was added to the existing World Heritage Site in 1994.
The 1979 nomination focussed on the dominant natural characteristic of the joint properties - the glacier ice and snowfields of the St. Elias Mountains. It noted that this is the largest non-polar icefield in the world, contains examples of some of the world’s most spectacular glaciers and a rich variety of land ecosystems. Within the montane forest, coastal forest, sub-alpine zone, and alpine tundra are complex and intricate mosaics of plant life at various successional stages. Such a huge area of natural sub-arctic vegetational patterns is unique in North America. The nomination also described the features of geological interest in the area, as well as the ongoing tectonic, volcanic and hydrological processes that are evident.
Further, the nomination noted that the immense size of the joint properties contains the entire watershed of dozens of major rivers and pristine ecosystems that are unaltered by human activities and isolated by natural barriers from external influences. “There are few places in the world where the ecological processes such as predation, migration, mortality and natality are governed only by natural stresses and the evolutionary changes in the ecosystems.” It stated that species such as the grizzly, wolf, wolverine, bald eagle, trumpeter swan, arctic grayling, Kokanee salmon, and peregrine falcon that are extinct, rare, threatened, or endangered elsewhere, are found in the joint properties in stable, self-regulating populations. The trumpeter swan breeding areas are the largest in Alaska and one of three remaining breeding sites for this species in North America. All forms of herbivorous animals common to Alaska and northwestern Canada are represented in the fauna of the joint properties, some in numbers exceeded nowhere else. Over 14,000 Dall sheep, the single largest group in the world, are found on lands encompassed by the nomination. Some 600 grizzly bears range through the area, one of the largest protected populations in the world.
In the 1991 nomination of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, the United States argued that Glacier Bay shares and complements the characteristics and attributes of the original World Heritage Site. It described the area as a coastal, southward, and seaward extension of a geological and ecological continuum and argued that the extension would enhance the representation of later stages of glacial and ecological succession and provide regional coherence to the existing World Heritage Site. The World Heritage nomination of Glacier Bay was based on the significance of the site in providing full coverage of glacial processes originally justified in the first nomination, as well as related ecological succession in both terrestrial and coastal/marine environments. These ongoing successional processes still drive much of the scientific interest in the park today.
The nomination also argued that Glacier Bay would add an extensive, intact, and unique deglaciated fjord marine ecosystem to the existing World Heritage Site. This ecosystem provides habitat for several marine mammal species, including the endangered humpback whale and the threatened Steller sea lion. The humpback whale has been monitored and studied in Glacier Bay for nearly 30 years, and these studies have provided one of the most extensive data sets on the species in existence. This major effort has contributed substantial scientific understanding of the humpback whale’s behavior, reproductive biology and migratory patterns. The marine environment also is rich in other wildlife including over 230 species of birds, a like number of marine fish species, and such large mammals as wolves, bears (black and brown), moose, and mountain goats.
In the 1993 nomination of Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Wilderness Park, Canada argued that the addition of Tatshenshini-Alsek would make a vital connection between the other three units and contains superlative resources of its own. The Tatshenshini-Alsek Rivers are internationally acclaimed as being among the world’s most significant wilderness river systems and are the central and pre-eminent corridor through which one can easily travel and appreciate the diversity of environments and the vastness of space which characterize this 8.5 million hectare (21 million acre) international park area. The Tatshenshini-Alsek River systems are an essential and unique component of the large ecosystems which the other national parks and reserves were established to preserve. The Tatshenshini-Alsek River valleys are pivotal to these regional ecosystems, since they are one of the only vegetated, low elevation and ice-free linkages from the coast to the interior, and thus provide an essential connection for migration of plant and animal species in the entire region.
Examples of the outstanding phenomena within the Tatshenshini-Alsek Park cited by the nomination include:
• The highest mountain in British Columbia, Mount Fairweather, rising to 4,663 meters.
• The largest non-polar ice cap in the world, over 350 valley glaciers and an estimated 31 surge-type glaciers.
• Approximately 200 of the known 400 Dall’s sheep in British Columbia have their summer and winter range in this area.
• Black bears and the “blue” or “glacier” bear occur. The glacier bear (Ursus americanus emmonsi) is found nowhere else in the province, or Canada, and is rare in Alaska.
2b Criteria for initial inscription
Cultural Criteria:
Natural Criteria:
ii
iii
iv
2c Agreed upon Statement of Significance
At the time of inscription, the World Heritage Committee did not agree upon a Statement of Significance.
Proposed Statement of Significance
The World Heritage Committee inscribed the Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek site on the World Heritage List based on criteria (ii), (iii) and (iv):
(ii) Ongoing Glacial Processes
The joint Alaskan-Canadian World Heritage Site represents the most extensive realm of mountains, icefields, and glaciers in North America. The site contains nine peaks more than 14,000 feet high, four of them rising more than 16,000 feet. There are uncounted peaks in the 10,000 to 14,000-foot range. The Malaspina and Nabesna are some of the world’s largest glaciers. The glaciers generate the two dozen river systems that drain from the clustered masses of mountains.
(iii) Rare and Superlative Natural Phenomena
This site encompasses the breadth of active natural processes from tectonic to volcanic to glacial to fluvial. It contains a diversity and abundance of habitat for wildlife and fisheries- resident and migratory, marine and terrestrial. The vegetation zones range from sea level to 5,000 meters.
(iv) Habitats of rare and endangered species
This area of North America contains the largest concentration of Dall sheep in the world. Populations of bears, wolves, caribou, mountain goats and moose that are endangered elsewhere are self regulating here. This is one of the few places in the world where ecological processes such as predation, migration, mortality and natality are governed by natural stresses and the evolutionary changes in ecosystems.
(Note: The Statement of Significance proposed here reflects the definitions and numbering of the criteria at the time the site was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Changes in the definitions and numbering of the criteria since that time will need to be taken into account when officially submitting a Statement of Significance to the World Heritage Committee for approval.)
2d Criteria added after initial inscription
Since the initial inscription, the World Heritage Committee has not added additional criteria to the inscription.
3 STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY/INTEGRITY
3a Initial evaluation of authenticity/integrity
In the 1979, 1991 and 1993 nominations, Canada and the United States emphasized that the nominated properties were essentially unmodified wilderness areas, with minimal development. Traditional activities, such as subsistence hunting, were taking place in some parts of the nominated properties, but were not a cause for concern. The nomination of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve noted that commercial fishing was taking place in Glacier Bay but described the process of determining compatibility of this activity with the purposes and values of the park. The nomination also noted concerns about possible mining developments in the region. The nomination of Tatshenshini-Alsek also described some localized impacts from mineral exploration and extraction but concluded that the vast majority of the area was in a pristine state.
In 1979, IUCN concluded that “the vast area of 160,000 sq. km. (of the joint properties) contains many complete ecosystems that are to a great extent inaccessible and inhospitable to man. The combined efforts of the US and the Canadian Governments provide the manpower and resources for effective management and protection.”
In 1992, IUCN concluded that “apart from limited commercial and sport fishing activities, all resources within Glacier Bay National Park are fully protected from consumptive uses by national legislation. The designation in the management plan of 85 per cent of the park as a wilderness area reinforces protection and effectively precludes direct human modification within this zone. Legislation gives management of the ocean waters and the bottom of the Bay and the outer coastal fringe to the National Park Service (NPS). This provision is an unique one and greatly enhances integrity. A small portion of the nomination is the Glacier Bay National Preserve in the north corner of the park. This area receives much less protection and is the scene of a major commercial fishery. Sport hunting is also allowed. Consideration was given by IUCN to requesting the Dry Bay area to be excluded from the site. But as the use is seasonal and closely regulated and as the Alsek River floodplain is integral to the whole unit, its inclusion is still seen as valuable. Threats to the integrity of the park that are being addressed by management include:
• illegal commercial fishing in wilderness waters;
• the impact of tour boats on wildlife of Glacier Bay, particularly the humpback whale;
• native Huna Tlingit claims to subsistence harvesting rights within the park; and
• existence of a 80 hectares (198 acres) mining claim on the Brady Ice Field.”
IUCN noted that “Glacier Bay, however, faces one significant threat”, that being the proposed large open-pit copper mine on the upper Tatshenshini River, 24 km from the park boundary.
In 1994 IUCN concluded that “apart from subsistence fishing and hunting in the upper reaches of the T/A by the Champagne-Aishihik First Nations, the area is entirely protected from any consumptive use by Class A Provincial Wilderness park status. Mining claims which existed in the area prior to its official establishment in 1993 will be extinguished. The major threat from the proposed open pit mine at Windy Craggy has been removed as the government of British Columbia opted to give the area park status. Some restoration work needs to be done to remove evidence of mining exploration activity but over 95 per cent of the total area of the park is wilderness. There are some recreational use pressures from rafters and kayakers along the river, but these are being managed by the park services involved. The T/A is only one year old and the planning for its management has just commenced. Only two staff are based in the park on a seasonal basis but this may be sufficient at this point in time. Finally, the T/A part of the St. Elias unit has been less intensively studied than the other components but it is expected that the management plan will identify the areas of research that need attention.”
3b Significant changes in authenticity/integrity
Since inscription, there have been significant changes in the authenticity/integrity of the site.
Description of changes in authenticity/integrity
Generally speaking, the World Heritage Site has better integrity today than previously. Park management plans have identified a number of resource protection measures to address internal and external pressures from recreational use inside and/or adjacent to the World Heritage Site, and from commercial growth and development outside the World Heritage Site.
4 MANAGEMENT
Management Regime
4a Ownership/Management
Management under protective legislation
Management under contractual agreement(s) between State Party and a third party
Description: Kluane National Park and Reserve is managed under the authority of the Canada National Parks Act and its associated regulations, and the Parks Canada Agency Act, and according to Parks Canada's Guiding Principles and Operational Policies. The Canada National Parks Act can be found at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/2/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-27/C-27_4/90065bE.html and http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/2/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-27/C-27_4/90065bF.html. A description of the lands set aside can be found at: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/N-14.01/18439.html#rid-18441 and http://lois.justice.gc.ca/fr/N-14.01/75951.html#rid-75953. Wrangell-St.Elias National Park and Preserve was established under the Alaska Natural Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) at 5.34 million hectares (13.2 million acres), with some sections designated as national preserve and the bulk of the area designated as national park. 3.6 million hectares (8.9 million acres) of federally designated wilderness was overlaid on these sections. Both Wrangell-St.Elias National Park and Preserve and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve are managed under the Organic Act "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." (NPS Organic Act, 1916 - 16 USC 1). ANILCA may be found at: http://www.r7.fws.gov/asm/anilca/toc.html. The Organic Act may be found at: http://www.nps.gov/legacy/organic-act.htm. Both US parks’ designated wilderness lands and waters are also managed under the Wilderness Act. Wilderness under the act is defined as “…an area…retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation….1) affected primarily by the forces of nature…., 2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation….” The Wilderness Act can be found at: http://www.nps.gov/isro/wild_links/FROM_ANN/WILDERNESS%20ACT.htm. Glacier Bay National Monument was established on February 26, 1925 by proclamation of Calvin Coolidge (43 Stat 1988) under the Antiquities Act. In 1980, the ANILCA redesignated the monument as Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and extended the boundaries to include the northern end of the Fairweather Range and adjacent coastal areas. ANILCA also designated most of the park lands and a portion of the park waters as Wilderness. The Antiquities Act may be found at: http://www.cr.nps.gov/local-law/anti1906.htm. Tatshenshini-Alsek Park was established in 1993 by the Province of British Columbia as a Class A Park under the Park Act by an enactment of the provincial legislature. It is also protected under the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act. Parks are managed for important conservation values and are dedicated for the preservation of their natural environments for the inspiration, use and enjoyment of the public.