Let's talk about Cape Breton Highlands National Park

Introduction

Cape Breton Highlands National Park has completed a new 10-year management plan.

A management plan, prepared in consultation with Indigenous peoples and Canadians, is the main public accountability document for Parks Canada administered places. A management plan identifies the vision and long-term strategic direction for the site, and describes how that vision and direction will be achieved. It describes how the natural and cultural resources will be protected while also promoting public understanding and appreciation, and facilitating meaningful visitor experiences.

This new management plan replaces the 2010 Cape Breton Highlands National Park Management Plan.

Consultation and engagement

Public involvement is the cornerstone of Parks Canada’s management plans and ensures the views and visions of Canadians help shape the future of protected places. Indigenous peoples, partners, stakeholders and the public participated in the development of this new management plan.

In early 2020, Parks Canada began the management planning review process for Cape Breton Highlands National Park, which included internal and external assessments and the development of key opportunities and challenges.

Consultation and engagement occurred in two phases: the first phase (January 2020) helped shape an overall vision and defined the guiding approach, objectives, and targets that informed the draft management plan, and the second phase (October 2021) gathered feedback on the proposed draft plan. The final plan, tabled in Parliament, reflects what we heard from participants during both phases of consultation.

Phase II – What we heard

As part of Phase II consultation, Indigenous groups, partners, stakeholders and the public were invited to review and provide feedback on the draft management plan.

Consultation sessions were facilitated with the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia, key partners and stakeholders, as well as an internal session for Parks Canada staff. The public were invited to provide feedback through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park website. 

Participants supported the proposed draft management plan, and provided meaningful feedback on many aspects of the plan, including general language used, the vision, key strategies, objectives and targets. Many views were shared, and the following themes emerged.

• Importance of working with First Nations
  Many participants acknowledged the importance of working with the Mi’kmaq, and including Mi’kmaw world views and the principles of Two-Eyed Seeing to all aspects of park management. While they felt this was reflected well in the plan, many thought it could continue to improve and be expanded on.
• Consider sustainable visitation
  Many participants expressed concern and the need for consideration around sustainable visitation, and were happy to see this reflected in various parts of the plan. This includes changes to visitor behaviors, patterns, and expectations since the arrival of COVID-19; over-use of some areas of the park, and the need to focus promotions on less busy trails; the need for a year-round visitor offer; and interest and discussion around the development of expanded trail offers (including multi-day hiking options).
• Share the broader story
  Participants expressed an interest in evolving the stories the park shares to include more about traditional Mi’kmaw ties to the lands, additional European settler stories, and an openness to share the more difficult stories as well. They also expressed an interest in including multiple cultural communities in management discussions.
• Address climate change
  Many participants acknowledged the importance of addressing climate change, both in the park’s efforts to green operations, and the need to adapt to these changes on a much larger scale.
• Connect to larger regional landscape
  A few participants shared feedback on the need to expand on Cape Breton Highlands National Park’s connection to the broader regional landscape of Cape Breton Island. They felt more context around where the park is situated, and how Parks Canada works together with other protected areas in the region (provincial and Indigenous) was needed. A few participants also acknowledged the importance of mentioning marine environments in the plan. Although the park does not extend into marine environment, it physically connects to them and therefore needs to be addressed.
• Importance of collaborations
  The importance of collaborating with external partners was mentioned, and more specifically an emphasis on working with partners to help build a sustainable year-round offer.
• Address diversity and inclusion
  Participants acknowledged the importance of addressing diversity and inclusion throughout the management plan. While they felt this was reflected well in the plan, many observed that it could continue to improve and be expanded on.

All feedback was carefully reviewed and considered in order to finalize the 2022 Cape Breton Highlands National Park Management Plan. Please note, not all suggestions and concerns were incorporated into the final management plan. Some comments have directly influenced the new management plan, and others have been flagged for further consideration during the implementation of the plan.

Many thanks to all who participated. The feedback will help shape the management of the park for the next ten years!