West Isles Marine Park-Visitor Use

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WEST ISLESFEASIBILITY STUDY

A STUDY TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OFESTABLISHING A NATIONAL MARINE PARK

N THE WEST ISLES AREA OFTHE BAY OF FUNDY, NEW BRUNSWICK

TASK REPORTI Parks Pares ;n: Tourism Tourisme.... Canada Canada New Brunswick Nouveau-Brunswick


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OPTIONAL VISITOR USE CONCEPTSFOR THE PROPOSED NATIONAL MARINE PARK

IN THE WEST ISLES SOUTHWESTERN NEW BRUNSWICK

WEST ISLES FEASIBILITY STUDY

PARKS CANADA/TOURISM NEW BRUNSWICKNovember 1985


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FOREWORD'l'.le West I s l e s Feas ib i l i t y Study was in i t i a ted by thefedera l Minis te r of the Environment responsib le for Parksranada and the New Brunswick Minis ter of Tourism inNovember, 1983. The purpose of the s tudy i s to assess thef ea s i b i l i t y of es tab l i sh ing a na t iona l marine park in theWest I s l e s area of the Bay of Fundy.The West I s l e s Feas ib i l i t y Study is being conducted in t h reephases . Phase I i s an assessment o f the t echnica l f ea s i -b i l i t y o es tab l i sh ing a nat ional marine park in the West

~ l e s a rea , from the perspect ive of Parks Canada and TourismNew Brunswick. I f Minis ters decide to proceed with thes tudy, Phase I I would involve extens ive publ ic consul ta t ionto provide the loca l publ ic with the oppor tuni ty to becomed i rec t ly involved in the process to decide whether or notthe west I s l e s proposal i s feas ib le . The purpose ofPhase I I I would be to analyse the r e su l t s of the twopreceeding phases , and to prepare a f ina l repor t based onthe f indings , with recommendations for a fu ture course ofac t ion .In the process of completing Phase I , nine ind iv iduals tud i e s were conducted to inves t iga te spec i f i c aspects ofthe f e a s ib i l i t y assessment , a l l of which are summarized inthe Phase I repor t . These nine s tudies inc lude thefol lowing:

1. Recommended Resource Management Guide l ines2. Ins t i t u t iona l and Adminis t ra t ive Arrangements3. Optional Vi s i t o r Use Concepts4. Transporta t ion Analys is5. Tourism Development Plan6. S o c i o ~ c o n o m i c Impact Study7. Histor ica l /Archaeologica l Concerns andOppor tuni t ies8. Land Ownership Inventory9. Analysis and Summary of Publ ic Comments

Copies of the above repor t s are ava i lab le upon request fromthe following addresses:Department of Tourism, Parks CanadaRecrea t ion and Heri tage* 10 Well ington St ree tP.O. Box 12345 Hull , QuebecFreder i c ton , New Brunswick K A GE3B 5C3 Phone: (819) 994-2696Phone: (506) 453-2624* Throughout t h i s repor t the former t i t l e Tourism NewBrunswick has been used. The cor rec t t i t l e is now theDepartment of Tourism, Recreat ion and Heri tage .


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T BLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMM RY ................................... iINTRODUCTION ........................................

RECOMMEND TIONS GOVERNING SPECIFIC VISITOR

DESCRIPTION OF THE WEST ISLES RE .................. 3GENER L VISITOR CHARACTERISTICS 10COMPATIBLE VISITOR ACTIVITIES 16BRO D PPRO CHES TO P RK INTERPRETATION 33VISITOR USE CONCEPTS ................................ 45

OPTION I 52OPTION 54OPTION 56

DETERMINING N TION L M RINE P RK STATUS ............. 60CONCLUSIONS 65M JOR RECOMMEND TIONS ............................... 68

ACTIVITIES ...................................... 81BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................ 91APPENDICIES:

PURPOSE ND OBJECTIVES ST TEMENT 922. FEASIBILITY CRITERIA ........................ 953. M N GEMENT CATEGORIES FOR CONSERVATION RE S 100


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This Feas i b i l i t y Study addresses the po te n t i a l o f the StudyArea located in the West I s l e s of Southwestern New Brunswickfor the es tabl ishment of a na t iona l marine park. This StudyArea has been des iqna ted as a marine Natura l Area o fCanadian Sign i f icance and as such i s a candida te a rea fo rposs ib le fu tu re des igna t ion as a na t iona l marine park .

precond i t ion o f t h i s s tudy i s t ha t commercial harves t ingo f renewable resources must cont inue as one of the fu tu reuses of the Study Area recogniz ing t ha t the West I s l e scon t r ibu t ion to local and i n t e rna t iona l f i she r i e s and f i shmarkets i s very s i gn i f i can t . From a v i s i t o r use perspec-t i v e , a na t iona l marine park in the West I s l e s , and thecon t inua t ion o f commercial f i sh ing opera t ions , are mutua l lycompat ib le endeavours and as such share a common concernfor the long term conservat ion of f i sh s tocks .

The recommended Vi s i t o r Use Concepts in t h i s repor t havebeen prepared as pa r t of the s tudy to determine thef e a s ib i l i t y o f e s t a b l i s h ing a proposed nat ional marine park


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in the west I s l e s the p rk es tabl ishment process wi l lsubsequent ly requ i re fur the r r esea rch nd in terdepar tmenta lin te rgovernmenta l nd pub l ic consu l t a t ions to re ch aconcensus on more spec i f i c aspects o f the proposals .


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INTRODU TION

The v i s i t o r use concepts i den t i f i ed fo r the West I s l e s areaare based in l a rge measure on the na tura l and cu l tu ra lcha rac t e r i s t i c s of the resources . The conf igura t ion o f theland mass and the l oca t ion o f es t ab l i shed communit iesi ndus t r i e s and i n f r a s t ruc tu re such as roadways hydro-e l e c t r i c t ransmiss ion routes and other community s e rv i c e sa l so play an i n f luen t i a l ro le in determining poss ib lescenar ios for use ann development . Simi la r ly the nature o fsens i t i ve resources s ign i f i can t hab i t a t s and o therenvironmental f ac t o r s have inf luenced the choices as to thet ypes l oc a t ions and genera l l eve l of v i s i t o r ac t i v i t i e st ha t a re appropr ia te for the West I s l e s . The bulk of thes i gn i f i can t resources are concentra ted wi th in the marineenvironment a long the coas t l i ne and on the numerousi s lands and i s l e t s within the ou te r reaches o f PassamaquoddyBay in the Bay o f Fundy. Consequent ly the marineenvironment and ce r t a i n i sa lnds within nat ional marinepark i f one were to be e s t a b l i s he d would be used forrec rea t ion a c t i v i t i e s i n t e rp re t a t i on funct ions andresource conservat ion and management. Commercial f i sh ingac t i v i t i e s would cont inue in the proposed na t iona l marinepark. Small parce l s of land on the adjacent c oa s t l i ne w i l lprovide the land base for park se rv ice areas and access


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po in t s to the marine component Access to some o f thei s l ands wi l l be r e s t r i c t e d because o f the f r a g i l i t y of theenvironment Transporta t ion for v i s i t o r s within theproposed na t iona l marine park w i l l be poss ib le e i the r byorganized c ru i ses shu t t l e boa t s o r pr iva t e marine c r a f t .


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DES RIPTION OF THE WEST ISL S AREA

This chapter presen t s a conc ise desc r ip t ion of the fea tu resand a t t r i bu te s o f the West I s l e s .

Physiography

The West I s l e s area i s composed of some for ty i s l ands ofvarying s ize as wel l as numerous smal l i s l e t s andshoa l s . The i s l ands form the southeastern boundary ofPassamaquoddy Bay and l i e l e s s than a mile from the NewBrunswick mainland.

The small i s l ands lying to the e a s t of Deer Is land varyin charac te r . Many e xh ib i t the rugged charac te r o f DeerI s l and . However with the exception of McMasters andPendleton I s lands where c l i f f heiqhts reach 300 f ee tthe outer i s l ands e xh ib i t t i d a l f l a t s sand and shinglebeaches bedrock b lu f f s and a rugged i n t e r t i d a lshore l ine . The rugged c l i f f s she l te red coves ands he l t e r ing smal l i s l ands provide a var ied land andseascape which i s aes the t i ca l ly p leas ing .

Subt ida l ly the topography i s equa l ly rugged with char teddepths reaching near ly 300 fee t among the i s l ands . The


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genera l compactness of the archipelago t oge the r with therugged charac te r of the sea f loor and extreme va r i a t i onsin depth produce a d iver se underwater landscape

l imate

The archipelago i s under the in f luence of a nor thtemperate marine cl imate which i s charac ter ized by warmwinter temperatures cool summer temperatures extendedper iods of summer fog and moderate to s trong f a l l andwinte r winds

Oceanography

Tremendous volumes of ocean water pass through thearchipelago twice da i ly forming some of the highest t i desin the world Indeed these cur ren ts can be so vio len t a tce r t a i n l o c a l i t i e s to c rea te such fea tu res as the Old SowWhirlpool located of f the southern t i p of Deer I s l andreputed to be the second l a rges t whir lpool in the world

Water t emper tures are t yp i c a l ly cold and range from minus1 7C in winter to a hight o f lSoC in summer S a l in i t i e svary from one area to another and r a r e ly exceed 33 .Water qua l i t y i s presen t ly a t an acceptable l eve l .


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There i s a wide var i a t i on in water c l a r i t y from onel oca t ion to another as well as seasona l ly . Water c l a r i t yi s var iab le during the summer due to periodic planktonblooms but i s usual ly qui te high in sp r ing , fa l l andwinter . Among the i s lands underwater v i s i b i l i t y i susual ly 3 0 to 4 5 metres . Offshore v i s i b i l i t y averages4 5 to 6 metres and may reach 9 metres or more a t ce r t a i nt imes of the year .

atural Themes

Within the area are representa t ive and exce l l en t examplesof :

i nver t eb ra te animals cha rac t e r i s t i c o f ~ t l n t i Canadal obs t e r s , c rabs , s t a r f i s h , urchins , sponges and sea

she l l s ) ;

i s land systems which viv id ly d i sp lay thegeomorphologic his tory of the Bay of Fundy regioninc luding both pas t g l ac i a l h i s to r i c events andpresent marine erosional forces ;

one of the areas of h ighes t marine produc t iv i ty in theBay of Fundy and on the e a s t coast of Canada Studies


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i nd ica te t ha t Head Harbour and Le t i t e Passages are twoimpor tant cen te rs of produc t iv i ty in the Bay o fFundy. Almost a l l of the spec ies known to occur inthe Bay from the smal les t p lank ton ic l i f e forms tothe l a rges t whales can be found in the seaward por t ionof the area e s pe c i a l l y during the high ly produc t ivemonths o f summer and f a l l . Spec ies counts i nd ica tetha t in the West I s l e s area t he re are knownoccurrences o f some 836 inve r tebra te spec ies , 96 f i shspec ies , 70 b i rd spec ies , 20 spec ies o f mammals and223 species of t e r r e s t r i a l and aquat ic p la n t s ;

c r i t i c a l feeding, breeding and s tag ing a reas o fregional and na t iona l s igni f icance for a wideassemblage of shoreb i rds , seab i rds and waterfowl suchas Bonapa r t e s gu l l s , nor thern pha la ropes , common anda r c t i c t e rns , and Eider ducks;

c r i t i c a l feeding and s tag ing a reas o f r eg iona l andna t iona l s ign i f i cance for l a rge whales such as thef inback, minke and occas iona l ly the r i gh t and humpbackwhale;

a re s ident group o f harbour porpoise reputed to be oneo f the l a rges t remaining groups o f the spec ies in the


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s i gn i f i can t popula t ions o f l obs t e r s ;

d iverse ocean in f luenced i s land ecosystems whichinclude p l an t s , songbi rds and mammals; and,

es tab l i shed popula t ions and bald eagles , osprey ando ther rap tors .

ultural Themes

Archaeological evidence of the ha b i t a t i on o f thePassamaquoddy Tribe of the Abnaki Nat ion , theNortheas tern por t ion o f the Algonkian s tock , i s resen tand r e l a t ive ly undis turbed. There i s a l so an abundanth i s to ry of pre -Loya l i s t se t t lement throughout the areapar t i cu l a r l y on Indian I s land . Here some or i q i na lbu i ld ings remain which a t t e s t to the r i ch fur , f i sh andlumber t rade with the West Indies , England and the UnitedSta tes which took place during the l a t e 1700 and e a r ly1800 s . Severa l h i s t o r i c wrecks o f the age o f s a i l andsteam are found in the reg ion . Today, the r e s ide n t s ofthe area cont inue to r e f l e c t the s t rong f i sh ingt r ad i t i ons es tab l i shed by the e a r l i e r s e t t l e r s of theFundy I s l e s region .


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GENER L VISITOR CHARACTERISTICS

One o f the more t ang ib le be ne f i t s of a nat ional marine parkin the West I s l e s w i l l be the enjoyment o f v i s i t i ng the areaand exper ienc ing the abundant va r i e ty of na tu ra l andc u l t u r a l resource a t t r i b u t e s . Parks Canada s ob jec t ives inthe West I s l e s , i f a na t iona l park were to be e s t a b l i s he d ,would be, in coopera t ion with o ther government agencies , toconserve and manage these resources , which are s i gn i f i can texamples of Canada s marine he r i t a ge , and also to encouragepub l ic unders tanding, apprec ia t ion and enjoyment of t h i sher i t age in ways which l eave t unimpaired for fu turegenera t ions . In order to achieve t h i s primary objec t ive , wemust f i r s t understand who the v i s i t o r s would be and whatt h e i r expec ta t ions would be in coming to the West I s l e s .

Subsequent ly, Parks Canada must decide how best to s a t i s f ythese expec ta t ions and presen t a program of oppor tun i t i e st ha t would encourage pub l ic unders tanding, apprec ia t ion andenjoyment o f the resources wi th in the proposed na t iona lmarine park .

V is i to r s to the West I s l e s would have ce r t a i n commonc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . Concern for an inexpensive vaca t ion i sexpected to be a dominant cons ide ra t ion for a major i ty o ft r a v e l l e r s throughout the 1980 s . I t i s expected t ha t the


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major i ty o f v i s i t o r s to the West I s l e s would a r r i ve byautomobi le , which w i l l be the major form of vaca t ion t r a ve lfor the immediate fu tu re and on i n to the next decade.

Fami l ies on summer hol idays and o ther t o u r i s t groups wouldbe a t t r ac t ed to t h i s na t iona l marine pa rk i f t i ses tab l i shed . Peak v i s i t a t i o n would occur dur ing the warmersummer months and would be c lose ly l inked to the schoolyear making l a t e June, Ju ly and August the most s i gn i f i can tper iod for high v i s i t o r numbers. The shoulder season , e a r lyspr ing and l a t e f a l l would be noted fo r v i s i t a t i o n byfami l ies without c h i ld r e n r e t i r ed i nd iv idua l s and o therspec ia l n t r ~ t groups, such as organized dive t ou rs andorganized bus tours . Most po te n t i a l park v i s i t o r s th rough-out the 1980 s would l i ke l y p re fe r a r e l a t ive ly s e l f contained vacat ion package with few s u rp r i s e s in terms ofunan t ic ipa ted c os t s . Consequent ly, the promotion of theWest I s l e s as a t o u r i s t de s t ina t ion area would f u l f i l l manyof the dec i s ion-o r i en ted requi rements o f po te n t i a l v i s i t o r sto the region . This would enable people to a r r i ve t he r e fo re with some understanding o f what the proposed nat ionalmarine park and region could o f f e r and thereby enablev i s i t o r s to r e f i ne t h e i r vacat ion p lans in advance o f t he i rt r i p .


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The na t iona l and i n t e rna t iona l appeal o f a na t iona l marinepark in the West I s l e s would ac t as a pos i t i ve dr iv ing forcein cap tu r ing d i s t a n t markets . The e f f e c t o f t h i s forcewould be most n o t i ceab l e amonq members o f the s c i e n t i f i ccommunity profes s iona l and amateur scuba d ive r s , and o therswho s t rong ly support the concept of na t iona l marine parksth rouqhout the world .

Within North America the most d i s t a n t v i s i t o r s to the WestI s l e s wouln l i k e l y come from the prov inces o f Quebec andOnta r io , and from the New Enaland s t a t e s , notab ly the c i t yand urban a rea s o f Quehec Ci ty , Mont rea l Toron to Bostonand New York. Bus tou r s from these var ious p laces o f or ig inwi l l become i n c r ea s in q ly impor tant through the mid-1980 s ,r e f l e c t i ng s h i f t s in popula t ion toward f a s t e r qrowingreg ions , the o v e ra l l ru r a l to urban s h i f t , ann the upwards h i f t in the aqe s t ruc tu r e of the popula t ion as a whole.Ea r l i e r re t i r ement ages and inc reased volume o f t r a v e l fort h i s aqe ca tegory . Consequen t ly the des t i na t i on / re so r tarea , as can be developed for the West I s l e s and surrounding

r ~ q i o n would provide an appeal ing market for l e i su re - t imet r a v e l l e r s and o ther v i s i t o r s to southern New Brunswick.

With moderate economic recovery ann lower i n f l a t i o n , t r a v e le x p ~ t e n to a radua l lv become i nc reas ina ly popular for the


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remainder of the 1980 s . In the f t e ~ m t h of economic~ e c e s s i o n an increas ing popula t ion i s expect ing higherqua l i t y products , no change pa r t i cu l a r ly for t ou r i s texpendi tures such as accommodation f a c i l i t i e s , au then t i ct r ad i t i ona l foods and loca l ly-manufac tured handcraf ts andsouvenirs . Trave l w i l l become i nc reas ing ly popular in theform of package tours and c ru i ses , and bus iness t r i scombined with family vacat ions . T ra v e l l e r s are expected tochoose vacat ion l oca t ions t ha t of f e r a var ie ty of th ings todo within a concentra ted area . na t ional marine park inthe West I s l e s of southern New Brunswick would provide par tof t h i s type of vacat ion exper ience in the qua l i t y t ha tpeople have grown to expect .

n expected inc rease in qua l i t y vacat ions wil l l ead to agenera l s h i f t from pass ive s igh t see ing a c t i v i t i e s towardmore persona l involvement and exper ience . People are moreand more in te res ted in developing knowledge and s k i l l s whense lec t ing le i sure - t ime ac t i v i t i e s . Increased awarenessamong t r a v e l l e r s has resu l t ed in a demand for a widerva r i e ty of a t t r ac t ions , and cu l t u ra l and educat ionalexper iences . The West I s l e s would provide an ideal se t t i ngfor t ou r i s t s who are looking for learn ing exper iences anda c t i v i t i e s during t h e i r ove ra l l vaca t ion . The area aroundWest I s l e s would provide the oppor tun i ty fo r t o u r i s t s to


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l ea rn more about the l i f e s t y l e s o f t h e i r hos ts and t h e i renvironment . na t iona l marine park in the West I s l e s wouldprov ide impor tant oppor tun i t i e s for i n t e rp r e t i ng the na tu ra lenvironment and to provide people o f a l l ages with anincreased awareness and unders tandinq o f Canada s marineh e r i t a g e .

In add i t ion to an ahudance of marine l i f e , the West I s l e spossesses an inherent l o c a t i o n a l advantage for tour i sm, int ha t t i s near the Town of St . Andrew s , a well-knownvaca t ion a rea demonstrated by i t s perenn ia l popu la r i ty .Tour i s t s na tu r a l l y concen t ra te t h e i r t ime in well-knownvaca t ion areas . In add i t ion , de s t ina t ion areas are eas ie rto market , s i ~ for the t r a v e l l e r to loca te , and e a s i e r todesc r ibe to the t o u r i s t . Consequent ly , i f the West I s l e s i spresented as an add i t iona l range o f v i s i t o r oppor tun i t i e snear a r e s o r t community St . Andrews) o f i n t e rna t iona lr e p u t a t i o n , the growing popu la r i ty o f i t s d iver se f ea tu reswould s t imula te inc reased development o f t ou r i s t f a c i l i t i e s .

In terms o f s pe c i f i c numbers o f v i s i t o r s to be a t t r a c t e d tothe West I s l e s , and a na t iona l marine park within the s tudyarea , one should recogni7.e t ha t the re are presen t ly inexcess o f 200,000 non- res iden t par t i e s pass ing throuqhnearby St . Stephen annual ly . The res iden t t r a v e l l e r s within


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the province o f New Brunswick and the bus iness /convent iont r a f f i c pass ing through nearby Sain t John w i l l whencombined with non- res iden t t r a v e l l e r s y ie ld a s i gn i f i can tmarket demand for the na tu ra l and cu l t u ra l a t t r ac t ions o fthe West I s l e s a rea . A reasonable expec ta t ion o f po te n t i a lv i s i t o r s to a na t iona l marine park a lone in the West I s l e si f one were to be e s t a b l i s he d would he in the range of50 000 to 140 000 v i s i t o r s per year depending on the typel oca t ion and l eve l o f development and se rv ices t ha t areprovided. To some extent the u l t imate numbers of v i s i t o r sto be a t t r ac t ed to the West I s l e s would depend upon therange o f v i s i t o r oppor tun i t i e s t ha t are developed andp r o o t ~ wi th in a na t iona l marine park and within theadjacent region . The provis ion of rec rea t ion and i n t e rp re t i ve exper iences in a nat ional marine park toge ther withthe outs tanding na tura l and c u l t u r a l fea tu res throughout theWest I s l e s reg ion could be combined to provide a t o t a lpackage o f oppor tun i t i e s for r e s ide n t s o f the area andfu tu re v i s i t o r s to the region.


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COMP TIBLE VISITOR CTIVITIES

Recrea t iona l a c t i v i t i e s t ha t woulo occur in a na t iona lmarine park , together with the qua l i t y o f f a c i l i t i e s andse rv ices tha t are provided, determine the type and qua l i t yo f the v i s i t o r exper ience . n appropr ia te se lec t ion o f usescan promote unders tanding, apprec ia t ion , and enjoyment ofthe marine environment by guining v i s i t o r s through a va r i e tyof coas ta l and ocean exper iences and by br ing ing them incon tac t with a wide range of h e r i t a g e r esources .

A na t iona l marine park in the West I s l e s should provide fora var ie ty of outdoor ~ e c ~ e t i o n oppor tun i t i e s which are ameans for park v i s i t o r s to enjoy and unders tand the pa rk sna tu ra l and cu l t u ra l ~ e s o u r c e s Act i v i t i e s permi t ted in anat ional marine park should appeal to v i s i t o r s o f d iversei n t e r e s t s , ages and s k i l l s . Informat ion and i n t e rp re t a t i onform an impor tant pa r t of the v i s i t o r s exper ience . Whereposs ib le , the v i s i t o r should be given a s s i s t a n c e inunders tanding the proposed p a r k s theme and purpose I tfo l lows, the re fore , t ha t i n t e rp re t a t i on programs and v i s i t o ruse a c t i v i t i e s in the proposed na t iona l marine park in thewest I s l e s should be designed to complement each o ther .


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Motorboating

Recrea t iona l boat ing has always been very populara c t i v i t y r e f l ec t i ng genera l cur i os i t y and fasc ina t ionwith the water . Boating a c t i v i t i e s within the proposedNat iona l Marine Park in the West I s l e s would enable v i s i t o r sto x p ~ i n and apprec ia te the va r ious phys ica l c h a ra c t e r -i s t i c s and cl imates of the Bay of Fundy. Boat ing a c t i v i t ycan take va r ious forms inc luding p leasure c ru i s ing ininshore and of f shore wate rs rec rea t iona l f i sh i n g andchar te red and publ i c boat tours . Genera l ly the waters inthe West I s l e s are unsu i tab le for smal l c r a f t due to s t rongc ur r e n t s t i d e s and waves. For the most p a r t the s tudyarea i s highly s u i t a b l e for rec rea t iona l c r a f t over 25 fee tin l eng th and des igns such as cabin c ru i s e r s and capei s l and boa t s . This provides oppor tun i t i e s for loca l boatowners o r f ishermen to under take s iqh t see ing excurs ions andf i sh ing exped i t ions . Large tour boa ts in the West I s l e sarea could also become involved in rec rea t iona l supp lythereby promotinq business oppor tun i t i e s for pr iva te e n te r -pr i se . Genera l ly tour boa ts ope ra t ing on concess ionbas i s to Parks Canada would supply a l l r e c re a t i o n a l equip-ment assoc ia ted with the boat t ou r . Parks Canada o r ana l t e rna t e government agency would provide docks wharvesmoorings and boa t launch f a c i l i t i e s for pr iva te pleasurec r a f t and assoc ia ted park inq a reas .


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f a c i l i t i e s i.e. fo r p i e r f i sh ing o r bank f i sh ing . Marinef i sh ing requ i res l imi ted f a c i l i t i e s such as automobi leparking a reas t r a i l access to su i t ab l e shores and food andaccommodation f a c i l i t i e s i f seve ra l days of f i sh ing havebeen planned. Convenience f a c i l i t i e s would a lso includecook-out s i t e s f i s h cleaning s t a t i ons and pr imi t ive campinga reas . In the West I s l e s a rea f i sh ing from pie r s and bythe use of a motorboat would be the most popular methods.There would be some requi rements by spor t f ishermen topurchase replacement i tems l oca l l y such as f i sh ing l i n eb a i t hooks, e tc . A l oca l market would a l so ex i s t forl oca l commercial f i shermen to ren t equipment and providese rv ices such as guided t ou rs and f i sh ing expedi t ions on ashort - te rm bas i s .

Beachcombing

Beachcombing on an organized bas i s can be an extremelyvaluable and informat ive method of explor ing the coas t l ineof the West I s l e s and l earn ing about the complex ecologica ls t ruc t u re of l i v ing organisms and t h e i r habi t a t s where theland meets the sea . Beachcombing in the proposed Nat ionalMarine Park in the West I s l e s would be a compat ible rec rea t i on a c t i v i t y provided t ha t it would not involve thecol l ec t ion o r removal of any a r t i c l e s from the seashore .


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Scuba Diving and Snorke l ing

Scuba diving s tands out as a spor t t ha t provides d i r e c tco n tac t with a va r i e ty o f s ub- t i da l ha b i t a t s and phys icalf e a t u re s such as underwater ree f s and subsurface r i ve rchanne ls . I t i s a spor t tha t o f f e r s cha l lenge and s a t i s f a c t i on provides an oppor tun i ty to develop spec ia l i zed s k i l l sand promotes an ap p r ec i a t i o n of the t h ree -d imens iona lqua l i t y o f the marine environment . Scuba diving i s compat-i b l e with Parks Canada s po l icy for v i s i t o r use indes igna ted areas within the proposed Nat iona l Marine Park inthe West I s l e s . I t i s however , a spor t t ha t i s ava i l ab leand appea l ing to only a very l imi ted user group I t i s anexpensive a c t i v i t y t ha t requ i res s k i l l profes s iona l equipment, c a re fu l i n s t ruc t i on and soph i s t i ca ted s a f e tyf a c i l i t i e s . In the Bay o f Fundy, f u l l wet o r dry s u i t s mustbe worn for a l l divino a c t i v i t y and, for prolonged d iv esmaximum i n su l a t i o n i s r equ i red . In Canada, a l l Scuba d iversmust ob ta in a c e r t i f i c a t e o f c e r t i f i c a t i o n demonst ra t inges tab l i shed s tandards o f capab i l i t y before p r t ~ p t n q inthe s por t .

I t i s obvious t ha t any inves tment cons idera t ion fo r divingf a c i l i t i e s for the proposed Nat iona l Marine Park in the WestI s l e s must be weighed aga ins t providing o ther oppor tun i t i e s


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for underwater viewing for the grea t e r non-divingpopu la t ion . F a c i l i t i e s in a dive cent re , for example, mustbe weighed aga ins t o the r i n t e rp re t i ve methods such as videoequipment tha t would o f f e r a su r face audience someperspec t ive of underwater l i f e .

Another considera t ion i s the growth r a t e o f Scuba divinga c t i v i t y in r e l a t i onsh i p to othe r rec rea t iona l and i n t e rp re -t i v e pursu i t s . I t h as b ee n es t imated t ha t a f t e r ten years of opera t ion , a na t iona l marine park in the West I s l e s coulda t t r ac t a t l e a s t 2,500 d ivers p e r y e ar *. Fur the r , i f the pr iva te sec tor developed improved f a c i l i t i e s accompanied byaqqress ive market inq and promotion, t i s conce ivable t ha tup to 7,500 d ivers could be a t t r ac t ed annual ly**. This r a t eof growth in Scuba diving a c t i v i t y would c rea te the necess i ty for increased investments in diving f a c i l i t i e s .

In genera l , Scuba d ivers expect to be ab le to explore avar ie ty of in te res t ing underwater hab i t a t s within a concent r a t ed period of t ime, so as t o ge t maximum benef i t fromt he i r t ime in the water . Scuba d ivers requ i re the se rv icesof a d ive t e n d e r for diver safe ty , and t he i r expedi t ions

* DP Consul t ing Ltd . , Proposed West I s l e s Nat iona l MarinePark: Socia-Economic Impact Study, p repa red for Parks Canada, May 1985.** Jennings , S. , Tourism Development Plan (d ra f t ) , Tourism New Brunswick, December, 1984.


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are gre a t ly enhanced by the prov is ion o f se rv ices andf a c i l i t i e s such as : convenient a i r supply , oppor tun i t i e s toconverse with o ther d ive rs and in te res ted non-divers ,adequate s a f e ty measures and equipment , and the a v a i l a b i l i t yof change rooms, showers, and f a c i l i t i e s for l i gh tref reshments .

Camping

Parks Canada 's dra f t Nat ional Marine Parks Pol icy r e fe r s tocamping as compat ible a c t i v i t y in proximity to the marinecomponent of Nat ional Marine Park. Sect ion 3 .3 .4 s ta te s :

Within nat ional marine parks , preference w i l l be given tosemi-serv iced campgrounds and pr imi t ive campsi tes whichenhance v i s i t o r apprecia t ion and enjoyment of the park ' smarine her i t age va lues .

In the West I s l e s , seascape views and the sounds of oceanwaves are important aspects o f camping in marine se t t i ngand would provide exper iences t ha t are d i r ec t ly l inked tothe themes of the proposed Nat iona l Marine Park. Campersexpect to be able to enjoy an outdoor se t t i ng withinna tura l environment and to pa r t i c ipa t e in numbr of re la tedac t i v i t i e s such as : hik ing , campfire a c t i v i t i e s , observ ingwi ld l i f e , and picnicking . The a v a i l a b i l i t y of l oc a l ly


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hab i t a t s and f e a tu r e s and provide some degree of chal lengein terms of phys ica l r e c r e a t iona l exper ience . Hikersgenera l ly apprec ia te rou tes t ha t are wel l - s igned and pathsand br idges should be in a good s ta te of repa i r and f ree oflitter Observat ion pla t forms a t na tura l vantage poin tso f fe r ing panoramic views of the seascape and equipped witht e lescopes for viewing seab i rd co lon ies porpo ises sea l sand other marine wi l d l i f e would increase the assurance o f arewarding and sa t i s fy i ng hik ing exper ience along theseacoast .

Photography Pain t ing and Sketching

The outs tanding scenery and c u l tua l a t t r ac t ions of the WestI s l e s wi l l cont inue to make it a haven for pa i n t e r s

photographers and o ther forms o f pass ive r e c r e a t ion .Photographers unl ike pa in t e r s and ske tchers are genera l lyl e s s r e s t r i c t e d by t h e i r equipment as to where they canventure . Consequent ly photographing na tura l scenes withinthe marine park and cu l t u ra l ac t i v i t i e s with in loca l commu-n i t i e s would be very popular a c t i v i t i e s among v i s i t o r s . Inadd i t ion both amateur and profess iona l underwaterphotographers would t r easure the abundance of marine l i f ewithin the proposed Nat iona l Marine Park in the West I s l e s .


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Unlike other forms of outdoor r ec rea t i on sketchinq andphotography are not always dependent upon f ine weather .Captur ing moods and atmospheres becomes par t o f thechal lenge p a r t i c u l a r l y for seascapes as outs tanding in sub-j e c t charac te r as the West I s l e s . The few requi rements oft h i s rec rea t iona l pursu i t inc lude: r e l a t i v e l y easy accessto the sub jec t ma t t e r a minimum amount of d i r ec t n t r ~ ference to both the v i s i t o r and the sub jec t being recordedand a good supply of replacement i tems such as f i lm pa i n t se tc . Pain t ing ske tch ing and photography are pass iver e c r e a t iona l ac t i v i t i e s t ha t are pa r t i cu l a r ly wel l - su i t edfor the scenic West I s l e s a rea .

Wi ld l i fe Observat ion

wi l d l i f e Observt ion a c t i v i t i e s such as whale watching orobserving seabird co lon ies are compat ible r e c r e a t iona lpur s u i t s for the proposed Nat iona l Marine Park in the WestI s l e s provided there would be no s i gn i f i can t in te r fe rencewith the spec ies t he i r hab i t a t s o r na tu ra l processes .

Observers of wi l d l i f e in na tu ra l areas have minimum expectat i ons o ther than convenient and sa fe access to enable theobserva t ions to be conducted. Viewing s t a t i ons such asunobtrusive towers on the shore l ine o r she l t e r s s i t ua t e d on


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wharves near i n t e re s t i ng marine hab i t a t s would f a c i l i t a t ewi l d l i f e viewing oppor tun i t i e s . Observat ion from char t e redboats would be a popular recrea t iona l ac t iv i ty within theproposed Nat ional Marine Park.

Sightsee ing and Viewing His to r i c Archi tec tura l andUnderwater Archaeological Si t e s

Sightsee ing would be one of the more popular rec rea t iona land i n t e rp re t i ve a c t i v i t i e s in the West I s l e s . n land th i sa c t i v i t y would involve tour ing by pr iva te automobi le orchar tered bus and to some exten t walking with in thev i l l aqes and coas ta l communities. The most appropria teloca t ions for th i s a c t i v i t y would inc lude: des ignated p u l l -of f s and viewpoints along es tab l i shed highways with a marineor i en ta t ion and a t othe r cent re s of a t t r a c t i o n such asloca l h is to r ic s i t ~

Unlike severa l o the r user groups s i gh t see r s are charac te r -ized by a lack of pr ior commitment to any given ac t iv i tywhen ~ n t r i n g a na t iona l marine park . Sigh t see rs o f t ena r r i ve a t t h e i r des t ina t ion with o ~ l y a vague notion of whatthey can or would l ike to do during t he i r v i s i t . Members o fth i s group have few spec i f i c expecta t ions o ther than thedes i re to see apprec ia te ann experience d i f f e ren t and


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unique a t t r i b u t e s o f an a rea . As such t h i s user groupcould be expec ted to be one of the major par t i c i pan t s o fi n t e rp re t i ve programs within the proposed Nat iona l MarinePark in the West I s l e s . This group of v i s i t o r s would a l sobe in te res ted in viewing h i s to r i c marine-associa ted s t r u c t u r e s t r ad i t i ona l f i sh ing and harves t ing t echn iquesf ish ing por t s and marine-associa ted events t ha t wouldprovide some i n s igh t in to loca l t r ad i t i ons and l i f e s t y l e s .However in order to ga in t h i s marine-or iented exper iencemost people would not a c tua l ly accompany a commercialf i sh ing boat to sea o r dive benea th the ocean to view asunken sh ip . The ex ten t o f par t i c i pa t i on for most v i s i t o r swould inc lude v i s i t i n g a f i sh ing harbour a l i gh thouse o raquacul ture i n s t a l l a t i o n . Therefore advanced i n t e rp re t i vemedia would have to be u t i l i zed in order to s a t i s f y theexpec ta t ions o f t h i s user group and provide su f f i c i en tinformat in to improve t h e i r understanding of marine-basedh i s to ry and cu l t u re .

Discovering Various In t e rp re t i ve Messages and Themes

Members of t h i s user group are d i s t i n c t from othe r groups int ha t they have spec ia l i zed i n t e r e s t s pr i o r con tac t within format ion m a te r i a l and a more sophis t i ca ted leve l o funderstanding o f the marine environment . Thi s group con


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s i s t s o f both amateur and profess iona l na tu ra l h i s t o r i a n s ,who would br ing high expecta t ions to a proposed Nat ionalMarine Park, and cons t i t u t e the s ing l e grea t e s t demand fori n t e rp re t i ve se rv ices . Many would have se lec ted t h i sNat ional Marine Park as the u l t ima te de s t ina t ion of t he i rt r i p and would be looking forward to observ ing uniquephys ical and bio logica l fea tures . Scuba d ivers and whalewatchers wil l be two major components of t h i s group.)

Sa t i s fac t i on in t h i s user group i s c lose ly re la ted tosuccess in viewing fea tures , ident i fy ing and record ing newspec ies ; observing unusual concent ra t ions of seabi rds andmarine mammals or unique coas ta l forms; improving t he i runderstanding of na tu ra l processes ; and exper ienc ingundis turbed and po l l u t i on - f ree environments .

Organized Boat Tours

Since only a smal l propor t ion o f v i s i t o r s are l i ke l y tobr ing t he i r own boats , publ ic water t r a ns por t a t i on wouldplay an important ro le in ass i s t i nq the v i s i t o r with observa t ion of marine fea tu res and apprec ia t ion o f park themes.The fe r ry se rv ices between Deer Is land and the mainland, andbetween Campobello Is land and Deer I s land , o f f e r convenientoppor tuni t i e s for provid ing offshore i n t e rp re t a t ion to


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BRO D PPRO CHES TO P RK INTERPRETATION

Promoting an understanding of the marine environment impl iesincreas ing the v i s i t o r s f ami l i a r i t y with the park se t t i ngthrough informat ion , presenta t ion , and explanat ion ofnatura l and cu l tu ra l fea tures . A v i s i t o r can ga in an under-standing by var ious tchniques such as: viewing audio-v isualpresenta t ions , examining i n t e rp re t ive disp lays , andpar t i c i pa t i ng in i n t e rp re t i ve walks.

Promoting an apprec ia t ion o f the marine environment a t theWest I s l e s implies some assoc ia t ion with the value placed onthe conservat ion of marine resources and managing theseresources for the mutual benef i t of local re s idents andpoten t i a l park v i s i t o r s . n apprec ia t ion of the marineenvironment a t West I s l e s may bes t be gained through d i r ec texper ience . However loca l condi t ions may not always maketh i s convenient for the v i s i t o r or t may ul t ima te ly dest roythe resource . Other methods of promoting an apprec ia t ionwould the re fore need to be u t i l i z e n .

Several i n t e rp re t ive themes have been proposed for aNational Marine Park in the West I s l e s and ranked in twomajor ca tegor ie s : primary importance and secondaryimportance. Although they have been l abe l led and


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rocky shore muddy shore

sandy shoremixed shoreopen ocean

III . Passamaquoddy Bay, I t ' s Role as a Feeding, Calving,Staging, and Nursery Area

(a) This theme would h igh l igh t the importance o fspec i f i c areas in the Bay to the l i f e cycle ofvar ious spec ies o f f i sh , marine mammals, andshore and sea b i rds .

IV. Lifes ty le Founded on Fishing

This. theme would focus equal ly on t h ree aspec t s o fthe a reas human h i s to ry :

The Indian-Archaeologica l StoryThe European-His tor ica l S toryThe Modern Fishery


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recept ion cent re would be an appropria te place to l i nktoge ther the va r i e ty of composi te ecosystems i n to onel a rge r and more eas i l y comprehended un i t .

Passamaquoddy Bay It s Role as a Feeding Calv ingStaging and Nursery Area

In t e rp re t i ve exh i b i t s maps and presen ta t ions of s ign i f i cant events and areas could be provided in a v i s i t o rrecept ion cent re . Natura l promintor ies could also beused to provide the v i s i t o r with a view of those areaswhich are most valued by seabi rds and marine mammals.Boat tours provide an exce l len t chance to observe whalesand bi rds a t c lose range on a s t r i c t l y cont ro l led bas i sto avoid any negat ive impacts dur ing c r i t i c a l l i f e cycleperiods . P r iva te en t e rp r i se should be able to providemuch of th i s se rv ice .

A Li fes t y l e Founded on Fish

A v i s i t o r recept ion cent re could provide an overview ofthe importance of f i sh ing h i s to r i c a l l y and in i t s presen tform. Indian Is land could be referenced as par t of ani n t roduc t ion to the Indian-archaeologica l s t o ry . TheEuropean-based h i s to r i c a l s to ry might be wel l su i t ed to


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the magnif icen t l igh thouse a t East Quoddy Head. Themodern f i she ry could be bes t i n t e rp r e t e d in one of themore a c t ive communit ies such as Lord s Cove or W ilson sBeach.

Orig in Formation and Sculpturing o the Bay

This theme would be presented most appropr i a t e ly fromboat tours or from roads ide pu l l -o f f s where good accessi s ava i lab le . This type o f theme a l so l ends i t s e l f wellto automated audio-v isual presenta t ions . I f a sec t ionof the coas t conta in ing outs tanding fea tu res can bereached on foot , th i s theme miqht a l so be in te rpre tedfrom a t e r r e s t r i a l t r a i l .

System o National Marine Parks

This theme should be one of the f i r s t messages to bein te rpre ted to v i s i t o r s . I t could be implemented longbefore any National Marine Park i s e s t a b l i s he d .Ult imate ly , t i s wel l su i t ed to a v i s i t o r recept ioncent re , but in the in ter im, t i s bes t developed usingaudio-v isual media and publ ica t ions . The theme about aNat ional Marine Park System would have to be incorporatedas an underlying theme in most other themes t ha t would bepresented .


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The Marine Dominated errestr ia l and Is land Environment

This theme could be in te rpre ted along t e r r e s t r i a l t r a i l sand a t picnic s i t e s wherever coas ta l vegeta t ion i spreva len t . A boat tour would be a usefu l means ofprovid ing visua l contac t with the shore l ine so t ha td i f f e r en t i s land f l o ra could be compared and in te rpre ted .

In t e rp re t i ve developments for the proposed Nat ional MarinePark in the West I s l e s should i n i t i a l l y be ind iv idua l lysimple but co l l ec t i ve l y extensive . They should includes igns e xh ib i t s and pub l i ca t ions for provid ing informat ionand or i en t a t i on to park v i s i t o r s . The highway ex i t a tSt . Georqe, the fe r ry wharves, the tou r i s t bureau onCampobello I s land and the Huntsman Marine Laboratory a tSt . Andrew s are a l l po te n t i a l loca t ions for or i en t a t i on andi n t e rp re t a t ion . Should the Nat ional Marine Park becomee s t a b l i s he d and once i t s resources and v i s i t o r s areanalyzed in more de t a i l then l a rge r f a c i l i t i e s such as av i s i t o r recept ion cen t re should be cons idered .

Boat t ou rs and f e r r i e s are i n t e g ra l to providing d i r ec tcontac t with the marine world. Sim i l a r ly l igh thouses arewel l - su i ted to descr ib ing or rec rea t ing human h i s t o ry . Amarine observatory assoc ia t ed with a v i s i t o r recep t ion


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cen t re appears to be the most appropria te method ofprovid ing v i s i t o r s with a sub-marine exper ience al lowingd i r ec t observa t ion o f the underwater envi ronment throughsub-surface windows. A tunnel access to a marine observato ry from a v i s i t o r cen t re a t a loca t ion such as GreenPoint would requi re addi t iona l r esea rch and study in orderto determine the most environmental ly appropria te technologyfor cons t ruc t ion and opera t ion . The narrow gap separa t ingCampobello Is land from the l ighthouse a t East Quoddy Head i sone poss ib le loca t ion for a tunnel with sub-surface windowsthereby providing an underwater marine observa tory and ameans of exper iencing the underwater environment of the WestI s l e s . A tunnel in t h i s case would not be an end in i t s e l fbut ra ther would provide an exc i t ing and sa fe entrance to abeau t i fu l ex tens ive l igh thouse complex a t East Quoddy Headwhich i s an idea l loca t ion for in te rpre t ing severa l themeswith in the proposed Nat ional Marine Park .

Audio-v isual media and pub l i c a t i ons both of which o f f e rv i s i t o r s a contac t with the marine environment areextremely important components with in the fu l l spectrum ofi n t e rp re t i ve techniques . Sound which moves fa r more eas i l ythan l i gh t through water i s wel l - su i ted to al lowingv i s i t o r s to d i r ec t ly experience the world of f i sh and marinemammals. Underwater microphones could reveal the i n t ens i t y


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o f l i f e in the marine world fa r more success fu l ly than couldwindows or por tho les depending upon s i t e - s p e c i f i ccondi t ions . Even the sounds of whir lpools o r upwel l ingscould be fa sc ina t ing . Furthermore, a combinat ion of s igh tand sound may be a valuable i n t e rp re t ive too l . Imagine aroads ide pu l l -o f f s which fea tu res an e xh ib i t on sea l s plus at e lescope which views a commonly used sea l hau l -ou t . Thishau l -ou t could conta in a remote microphone which wouldenable v i s i t o r s to view the sea l s a t the same t ime they arehear ing them. This a l lows for a d i r e c t exper ience of ac tua lsea l s without dis t rubing the wi ld l i f e .

Fina l ly , the proposed Nat ional Marine Park should not bedeveloped with primari ly the d iv ing community in mind, butshould emphasize the same va r i e ty of people who c ur r e n t lyf requent t e r r e s t r i a l parks . Never theless , some f a c i l i t i e sfor Scuba d ivers are essen t i a l . Wherever poss ib le , developments should encourage the non-diving v i s i t o r s to i n t e r ac twith those who d ive . Diving and d ivers a re of i n t e r e s t tol and-based v i s i t o r s and wharves are a l og i c a l area fo ri n t e rac t i on . In t e rp re t i ve s igns would work wel l in conjunct i on with wharves as a means of in t roducing both d ivers andland-based v i s i t o r s to what they might expect to see bothbeyond and below. In genera l , underwater se l f -guid ingt r a i l s are va luab le i n t e rp re t ive f a c i l i t i e s , but there need


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not be many o f them and they should be concentra ted indes ignated d iv ing areas so as to minimize po te n t i a l i n t e r ference with the commercial f i s he ry . S im i l a r ly spec-i f icdive wharves and v i s i t o r embarcat ion poin ts for i n t e rp re t i vet ou r s above and below the water su r f a c e would be pre fe r redto an e labora te system o f f a c i l i t i e s used for severa lpurposes . This would minimize t r a f f i c conges t ion minimized i s rup t ions to f i s he ry - r e l a t e d a c t i v i t i e s and f a c i l i t a t ee f fec t i ve de l ive ry of i n t e r p r e t i v e messages to parkv i s i t o r s .


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V S TOR USE CONCEPTS

basic premise of the v i s i t o r use concepts for the proposedna t iona l marine park in the west I s l e s i s the overa l l objec-t i ve of providing as much of the popula t ion as poss ib le withoppor tun i t i e s to apprec ia te understand, and enjoy themarine environment of th i s na tura l area of Canadian s i gn i f i -cance in ways t ha t a re compat ible with the management ofdynamic na tura l resources .

The v i s i t o r use concepts have been i den t i f i ed on the bas i so f severa l assumpt ions which a re presen ted in the fol lowingparagraphs in order to r ea l i ze what pos i t ions or dec is ionswere made in def in ing spec i f i c a l t e rna t ives .

F i r s t t has been assumed t ha t the exis t ing commercialf i she ry wil l cont inue throughout the s tudy area and theproposed na t iona l marine park and t ha t t wil l be conductedin compliance with regula t ions e s tab l i shed by the federa lDepartment of Fishe r ie s and Oceans. This assumptionpresen t s de f in i t e impl ica t ions for the v i s i t o r use conceptsin t ha t loca t ions and/or t imes for sugqested rec rea t iona land i n t e rp re t i ve ac t i v i t i e s have had to be i den t i f i ed so asnot to i n t e r f e re with es tab l i shed herr ing wei rs knownl oca t ions o f lobs te r t r aps which were observed to be se t in


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l i nea r pat t e rns along the shore l ine) , areas of product iveshe l l f i sh harves t ing , i . e . sca l lop beds po t en t i a l commer-c i a l areas of i n t e r e s t , i . e . dulse grounds l obs t e r , t rou tand salmon rea r ing ponds i . e . aquacul tu re businesses ,wharves tha t were preoccupied with f i sh landing orprocessing opera t ions , optimum reproduct ive hab i t a t s , ands imi la r f i s h e ry -p r io r i t y cons ide ra t ions . At the verymost therefore , there would be only marginal in te r fe rencewith a few aspects o f any s ing l e f i sh ing en t e rp r i se , suchas: in te res ted t o u r i s t s seeking to observe f i sh land ings a ta wharf or processing in a f i sh p l an t , a photographer from ad i s t an t tour boat recording a loca l f isherman as he haulsback his net and empties his catch , o r a small group ofscuba dive rs explor ing an underwater environment with in adesignated Scuba div ing area . For the most pa r t , thef i she ry would continue un in te r rup ted .

Second t has been assumed t ha t su i t ab l e lands would beavai lable for acquis i t ion by purchase for the purposes of ana t iona l marine park. A genera l ana lys i s of present landuse in the s tudy area re su l ted in qrea t e r fmi l i a r i t y withloca l i n f ra s t ruc t u re and i t s r e l a t i onsh i p to the proposednat ional marine park . The exis tence of some degree ofinac t ive and/or unoccupied land was one de f in i t e fac to rleading to the assumption t ha t some space for example on


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Deer I s land , might be ava i lab le for purchase i f a dec i s ioni s taken to proceed wi th the proposed na t iona l marine park .I f nego t i a t ions fo r purchase do not r e s u l t in su i t ab l e landacquis i t ion in any pa r t i cu l a r a rea , then Parks Canada wouldneed to rev ise a por t ion o f the proposed park concept andnego t i a t e for d i f f e ren t su i t ab l e proper ty in the area .Local r e s ide n t s would not be d isp laced from t h e i r homes forpurposes of a Nat ional Marine Park.

Thi rd in defin ing th ree v i s i t o r use concepts , t h reecomplete perspec t ives fo r a proposed nat ional marine parkhave been prepared; such tha t , what i s being presented forevaluat ion i s a na t iona l marine park as t might ex i s t inthe region a f t e r severa l years of development which wouldoccur c ons i s t e n t ly over a t en year period . Thus the park

pu t in p la c e as a t o t a l package with no o ther i n t e rna ldepar tmenta l i n f luences . In r a l i t y , the t o t a l amount ofmoney received from Treasury Board must su f f i ce to developo r operate the en t i r e Parks Canada system of he r i t a gea reas . Consequent ly some pro j e c t s are deferred tosubsequent years , due to l imi ted funds having the e f fec t o flengthening the per iod over which a n y o n e park i s developed.

I t has a l so been assumed t h a t , whi le the commercial f i she ryresources would cont inue to be managed for purposes o f


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major viewpoint , o r docking o n e s own pr i va t e c ra f t andwalking to a nearby community, a hiking t r a i l o r the v i s i t o rcent re . In add i t ion , one could park a t one o f severa lparking l o t s and take the park shu t t l e boat to explore o rcamp on one o f the i s l ands within the na t iona l marine park.Specia l i n t e rp re t i ve t ou rs for small groups approximately15-20 people) would depar t from the v i s i t o r cent re , or o the rpre-ar ranged l oc a t ions , on a scheduled bas i s to spec ia ls e c t ions o f the park , where na tura l and cu l t u ra l fea tu rescould be observed and photographed. A dive cen t re would belocated wi th in one of the v i s i t o r a c t i v i t y areas therebypromoting c lose con tac t between scuba d ivers and the nondiving publ ic in a se t t i ng where marine informat ion could bediscussed and exchanged. Char tered boats would dock a t thedive cen t re to pick up scuba dive rs and t r a ns por t them tos pe c i a l l y des ignated scuba d iv ing a reas in the park.Organized i n t e rp re t i ve dive t ou rs would a l so disembark fromthe dive cent re .

V i s i t o r a c t i v i t y a reas could be loca ted a t But le r Point o rnear Deer Is land Point on Deer Is land; Green Point o rSt . Andrews on the mainland; o r near W ilson s Beach o r thenor thern par t o f Campobello I s land .


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5

The pr inc ipa l d i f fe rence between Option I , Option I I , andOption I I I i s the geographic r e l a t i onsh i p o f the var iousf a c i l i t i e s and se rv ices of fe red . Option i s concentra tedon the mainland port ion o f New Brunswick, pr imar i ly in theGreen Point a rea . n in format ion and or i en t a t i on func t ionwould be provided a t St . George. Pr imi t ive camping oppor-t u n i t i e s would be provided on a few o f the smal ler i s landsin Passamaquoddy Bay. Options I I and I I I are bas ica l lydecen t ra l i zed development concepts providing more dispersedrec rea t ion oppor tuni t i e s throughout the proposed Park. Thel a t t e r s t ages o f these developments would be completed a t at ime when the reg ional and community i n f r a s t r u c t u r e i s morefu l ly developed. All t h ree Options provide approximate lys imi la r l eve l s o f s e rv i c e s ; however, in O p t i o n s and I I Ithe se rv ices are more dispersed throughout the reg ion . Theto ta l cos t o f Options I I and I I I i s l a rge r than Optionduel in pa r t , to the necess i ty to acquire and se rv ice a fewadd i t iona l smal l parce l s of land I f the capaci ty of theexis t ing i n f r a s t r u c t u r e ( i . e . publ ic wharves i s inadequateor inappropria te for use , in Options I I and I I I , then thet o t a l cos t wi l l be higher than present cost es t imatesi nd i c a t e .


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OPT ON I

Dis t inguishing fac tors fo r Option I inc lude the Green Pointland base for the proposed Nat iona l Marine Park, the prominence of cu l t u ra l themes, a small r u r a l popula t ion and acomparat ively higher propo r t ion of v i s i t o r s from ou t s ide theprovince . Famil ies on summer hol idays and o ther t o u r i s tgroups would be a t t r ac t ed to t h i s proposed Nat iona l MarinePark. Important se rv ice requirements for th i s scenar io a readquate pub l ic access to the marine park and adequate accommodation for ou t -o f -p rov ince v i s i t o r s . Essen t i a l se rv icesand f a c i l i t i e s to apprec ia te , enjoy and unders tand thecoas ta l and marine resources of the area are i l l u s t r a t e d onthe map Option I . Act i v i t i e s might inc lude beachcombing,guided scuba tours , boat tours of fe r ing underwater viewingcapab i l i t i e s , r e c r e a t iona l boat ing and whale watchingexcurs ions . Improved vehicular c i rcu l a t i on would benef i tv i s i t o r s and loca l r e s i den t s . Primi t ive accommodation onsome of the smal ler i s l ands would provide a marine - re l a t ed ,camping exper ience . Cottage and r e so r t accommodation coulddevelop in nearby communities for non-campers. A wide rangeo f r e l a t i v e l y low-key rec rea t iona l oppor tuni t i e s and t he i rre la ted f a c i l i t i e s would be provided inc luding a v i s i t o rcen t re as the most appropria te f ac i l i t y to or i en t and guidethe v i s i t o r to the kind of exper ience t ha t would be ava i l


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flI:I

PROPOSEDNATIONAL MARINE PARKisitor se Concept

o (Option1Visitor Cent ,

* Major VisitorActivity Araa dmtnielratioft Interpret.......P icnlck , ive Cent ..v__ - ngJDock - Ine ObMrntory

Primitive AccommodationShuttle Boat and RouteDesignated Scuba DivingUnderwater Interpretive Tra;il Boat Tour Concessiorl large groupMarine Wildlif. Observationseabirds,whaIes. porpoises. seI'roposed park boundary

WEST ISLESFEASIBILITY STUDA _ .-


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able in the proposed Nat ional Marine Park. In add i t ion tothe more t r a d i t i o n a l media devices , such as f i lms and i n t e r pre t ive exh i b i t s , impor tant marine resource managementpr inc ip l e s could be i l l u s t r a t e d in the v i s i t o r cen t rethrough the use of s imulat ion models and e l e c t ron i cequipment. marine observatory , providing v i s i t o r s withd i r e c t access to the underwater environment , would highl ightthe experience of l oc a l and ou t -o f -p rov ince v i s i t o r s .

OPT ON

Option I I would include smal l land bases in severa l decent r a l i z e d loca t ions ; such as Green Point on t he mainland, twosmal l parce l s of land on Deer I s land , and two smal l parce l so f land on Campobello I s land . Adequate pub l ic access to theWest I s l e s and Campobello Is land would inc lude improvedhighway l inkages from the major t r ave l routes . n upgradedfe r ry se rv ice l ink ing Campobello I s l and , Deer I s l and , andGreen Point would improve v i s i t o r c i rcu l a t i on and provide amarine t o u r in the v ic in i ty of the proposed Park. Variousse rv ices and f a c i l i t i e s are i l l u s t r a t e d on the map (OptionI I ) . Act i v i t i e s might include guided scuba and snorke l ingtours , whale-watching tours , viewpoin ts for observing marinewi l d l i f e , organized boat excurs ions for la rge tou r groups,and v i s i t i ng one of two smal ler v i s i t o r cent res , (as


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..

I I

II

PROPOSEDNATIONAL MARINE PARKVisitor Use Concept

Option2Visitor Centreo * Major Visitor Activity Area

Admini tratlon InterpN ation P.,king Picnicking01 centre-Viewpoint eo.t Launch Mooring/Docklng Ar.a

Minor Visitor Activity Area lnterp etatiorl Picnk:king Hiking and-or Viewpoint

Primitive AccommodationShuttle Boat and RouteDesign;>ted Scuba DivingUnderwater Interpretive TrailBoat Tour Concession (large groupsMarine Wildlife Observation(seabirds, whales, porpoises, seals, etc.Proposed park boundary

WEST ISLESA FEASIBILITY STUDY


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compared to Option I , where marine themes a re i l l u s t r a t e dby appropr ia te media dev ices . Disp lays , brochures , c ro s s se c t i o n i l l u s t r a t i o n s , f i lms , and s l i d e shows are poss ib lemeans o f presen t ing i n t e rp re t i ve messages to v i s i t o r s .Spec ia l i n t e rp re t i ve boa t tou r s for smal l groups would a l sobe prov ided .

OPT ON

Option I I I c o n s i s t s o f a l eve l and type o f s e r v i ce s andf a c i l i t i e s t h a t are s i m i l a r t o Options I and I I . Howeverthe geographic d i s t r i b u t i o n o f these se rv ices i s somewhatd i f f e r e n t from the o ther v i s i t o r use scenar ios . In Opt ionI I I , v i s i t o r se rv ices would be provided a t two majorl oca t ions : S t . Andrews and Campobello I s l and . These arew e l l - e s t a b l i sh e d , t o u r i s t de s t ina t ion areas which possess anumber o f ameni t ies ca te r ing to the t r a v e l l i n g p u b l i c , suchas ho te l s , mote ls , r e s t a u r a n t s , and c r a f t o u t l e t s . V is i to rse rv i c e s would not be provided by Parks Canada on DeerI s l and , nor in the Back Bay Lete te Green Point a rea , inOption I I I . The map V i s i t o r Use Scenar io Option I I I ,v i s ua l ly i l l u s t r a t e s the se rv ices t ha t would be provided tothe v i s i t o r in t h i s t h i rd a l t e r n a t i v e .


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57To, StAndrews

i e . ..I f;I .f; .w:._

PROPOSEDNATIONAL MARINE PARVisitor Use Concepto Option 3)

Visitor Centre* Major Visitor Activity Area Admmietralion Interpretat on Park;ng Picntcking Dive Centre Viewpoint Boat Launch MoorlnglDocklngArea Marine ObservatorYMinor Visitor Activity Area. nterpretatkn-Parking Picnicking Hiking and/or Viewpoint

PrimiUve AccommodationShuttle Boat and RouteDesignated Scuba DivingUnderwater Interpretive TrailBoat Tour Concession (large groups)Marine Wildlife Observation(seabirds,whales,porpoises, seals.etcProposed park boundary

WEST ISLES

A FEASIBILITY STUDY


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Tour i s t s t r ave l l i ng between St . Stephen and Sain t John wouldbe given genera l informat ion about the proposed na t iona lmarine park a t the t o u r i s t informat ion cen t re where thewestern l i nk o f Highway No. 127 i n t e r sec t s with HighwayN o 1 Addi t iona l v i s i t o r se rv ices would be provided in thenearby town of St . Andrews a popular r e c r e a t iona l r e so r tapproximately 20 minutes t r ave l l i ng t ime by boat to theproposed park area in the West I s l e s . Among the f a c i l i t i e sava i lab le a t S t . Andrews would be a major v i s i t o r cen t re andtou r boat l inkages to the proposed na t iona l marine park .The v i s i t o r cen t re would conta in var ious types of modelsd i sp lays and media for i n t e rp re t i ng the underwater environ-ment within the proposed park . Campobello Is land would bethe o ther major contac t point for serv ing park v i s i t o r s .General information about the park would be ava i lab le a t thet o u r i s t informt ion cen t re near the Roosevelt-CampobelloIn te rna t iona l Bridge. A var i e t y of v i s i t o r se rv ices wouldbe provided on a few smal l parce l s of land on the nor thernshore of Campobello I s l and inc luding a dive cen t re for theconvenience o f c e r t i f i e d scuba d ivers and spec ia li n t e rp re t i ve events .

Vi s i t o r ac t i v i t i e s to be encouraged in Option I I I wouldinc lude: guided scuba t ou r s su r face boat t ou r s marinewi l d l i f e observat ion s ightsee ing and a var ie ty of spec ia l


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oppor tuni t i e s for d iscover ing and l ea rn ing to apprec ia t e thevalue of na tura l marine environments . Pr iva te ly -opera tedsightsee ing and r e c r e a t iona l boat t ou rs would be encouragedalong des igna ted rou tes among the a t t r a c t i v e i s l ands o f thewest I s l e s where v i s i t o r s would have the oppor tuni ty toobserve outs tanding oceanographic phenomena and marine wildl i f e . Whale watching exped i t ions would be among the morepopular of these boat ing excurs ions . In Option I I Iv i s i t o r s would also have the oppor tun i ty to camp on a few o fthe smal ler i s l ands w.ith t r a ns por t a t i on provided by ashu t t l e boat se rv ice . Ce r t i f i e d scuba d ivers would be ableto explore severa l des ignated areas beneath the oceansu r face . F a c i l i t i e s for privately-owned r e c r e a t iona l boatswould inc lude: docking and moorinq a reas f reshwate rsupply sewage pumpout f a c i l i t i e s and e l e c t r i c a l se rv ice .As in Options I and I I t h i s op t ion would a l so cons ider thev i s i t o r who cannot exper ience f i r s thand the underwaterbeauty o f the West I s l e s a rea i . e . the e l de r l y thesevere ly handicapped paren t s with young ch i ld ren andch i ld ren themselves i n t e r e s t e d in the a t t r ac t ions andfea tures of marine environments as found within the proposedna t iona l marine park. For t h i s group o f u se r s a c a re fu l lyprepared informat ion and i n t e rp re t i ve program would beimplemented to c l ea r l y i l l u s t r a t e and exp la in the marinel i f e and environments t ha t would be conserved and protectedwithin the proposed nat ional marine park in the West I s l e s .


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DETERMINING N TION L M RINE P RK STATUS

One o f the ro le s of t h i s f e a s ib i l i t y study i s to address thes e l e c t i on of an appropr i a t e management ca tegory for a l l , orpor t ions , o f the West I s l e s Study Area, which has beendes ignated as a marine Natura l Area of Canadian Signi f icance

NACS). The s tandard management ca tegor ies , de f in i t i ons ,ob je c t ive s , and c r i t e r i a for pro tec ted areas IUCN, 1982)have been modif ied to b e t t e r s u i t them to the marineenvironment (Kel leher , 1982) . These ca tegor ie s arepresented in Appendix 3 of t h i s r epor t .

The procedure to be fo l lowed i s to focus upon an area o fconservat ion value; i den t i fy the conservat ion needs; definethe management objec t ives based on these needs; and thense l ec t , using the c r i t e r i a , the appropria te managementcategory for the area so as to meet the defined ob je c t ive s .The West I s l e s Study Area i s the area of conservat ion valuefor purposes of t h i s s tudy. The conservat ion needs, foreach management ca tegory , appear in Appendix 3 seeManagement Categor ies for Conservt ion Areas) . Managementobjec t ives for each management category are a l so de f ined .Further , the Park Purpose and Object ives Statement (seeAppendix 1) has been prepared on the assumption t ha t a l l , o rpor t ions , o f the Study Area i s appropr i a t e as a Nat ional


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Park management a rea . These objec t ives are usefu l inhe lping to unders tand what purpose the area would se rve i fdes igna ted as a Nat iona l Marine Park . Simi la r ly , Chapter 4(Compatible V is i to r Act iv i t i e s ) , Chapter 5 (Broad Approachesto Park In t e rpe t a t i on ) , and Chapter 6 (Vis i tor Use Concepts)of t h i s repor t help t o v i s ua l i z e what a Nat iona l Marine Parkmight look l ike i f a l l or por t ions o f the Study Area weredes ignated as Nat ional Park s t a tus . Feas i b i l i t y c r i t e r i ahave been def ined , and these are found in Appendix 2. Inaddi t ion , Kel leher (1982) has def ined c r i t e r i a for these lec ion and management of var ious types of conservat ionareas (see Appendix 3) . What remains i s to choose theappropr ia te manaqement ca tegory for a l l , or par t s , o f theWest I s l e s Study Area. In the f i na l a na lys i s , the c r i t e r i ao f each management ca tegory w i l l determine i t s s u i t ab i l i t y .

Ten d i f f e ren t management ca tegor i es were cons idered for theWest I s l e s Study Area:

1. Sc ien t i f i c Reserve /S t r i c t Nature Reserve2. Nat iona l Park3. Natura l Monument/Natural Landmark4. Nature Conservat ion Reserve/Managed Nature Reserve/

Wild l i fe Sanctuary5. Protected Landscape o r Seascape


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6. Resource Reserve (mul t ip le use)7 . Natura l Biot ic Area/Anthropological Reserve8. Mult ip le Use Management Area/Managed Resource Area9. Biosphere Reserve

10. World Heri tage S i t e

Two of these management ca tegor i es a re most re l evan t to theWest I s l e s Study Area: Mult ip le Use Management Area, andNat ional (Marine) Park. A fur the r adap ta t ion a l so appearsto be appropria te i . e . m ul t ip l e use r e se rve . This l a t t e rca tegory would inc lude l a rge a reas with high conservat ionvalue , r e c r e a t iona l po ten t i a l , and a va r i e ty o f t r ad i t i ona luses ( i . e . commecial f i sh ing a c t i v i t i e s ) t ha t are notcons idered to conf l i c t with conservat ion ob je c t ive s .

Multiple use management prov is ions can be appl ied to theStudy Area. The presen t management objec t ives o f thefedera l Department of Fisher i es and Oceans ( i . e . sus ta in ingthe product ion of f i s h and other marine products) ares imi la r to the management objec t ives for the Mult ip le UseManagement ca tegory . n unfu l f i l l ed capaci ty ex i s t s in thearea of management for outdoor r e c r e a t ion and prese rva t iono f .non-commercial spec ies and species hab i t a t s . Quiteappropr ia te ly , the Department of Fishe r ie s and Oceans has nor e c r e a t iona l mandate as a primary r e spons ib i l i t y .


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Sim i l a r ly , the federa l Department o f the Environment, i . e .Parks Canada, does not adminis ter provis ions for sus ta in inga commercial f i s he ry . Furthermore, t he re does not appear tobe a s ing l e federa l government depar tment or i n s t i t u t i o nwith so le j u r i sd i c t ion to adminis ter mult ip le use managementprov is ions for a des igna ted port ion o f the West I s l e s StudyArea, pa r t i cu l a r ly for the combined purposes of commercialf i s h ing , r e ~ e t i o n and tour ism, and resource conservat ionand protec t ion . Therefore , what remains i s theconsidera t ion of Nat ional Marine Park s ta tu s .

A Nat ional Marine Park i s def ined by the I .U.C.N. as a l a rgearea 1,000+ ha) which conta ins r e p re s e n ta t i ve samples o fmajor na tura l reg ions , fea tures o r scenery where plant andanimal spec ies , geomorphological fea tures and hab i t a t s areof spec ia l s c i e n t i f i c , educ t iona l and r e c r e a t iona li n t e r e s t . They conta in one or severa l en t i r e ecosystemstha t are not mate r ia l ly a l t e r e d by human e xp lo i t a t i on andoccupat ion . They should be managed by the highes t competentauthor i ty in the count ry i . e . cen t ra l government ordes ignated agency) whose r e spons i b i l i t y t i s to prevent orto e l iminate explo i t a t ion and occupat ion in the area and toe f fec t i ve l y enforce respec t for the eco log ica l ,geomorphological or aes t he t i c fea tures which have led to i t sestabl i shment . The resources are managed and developed to


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ON LUSIONS

1 Detai led cons ide ra t ion has been given to the coas ta l andmarine resources wi th in the s tudy a rea , as well as theneeds and requirements o f v i s i t o r s to a po t en t i a lna t iona l marine park in the West I s l e s . One of theconclus ions of t h i s repor t i s t ha t severa l spec i f i ctypes of r e c r e a t iona l ac t i v i t i e s are h ighly compat iblewith the purpose and o b j e c t i v e s o f the proposed Nat iona lMarine Park. These a c t i v i t e s inc lude :

beachcombing (p r imar i ly on of f shore i s lands)picnickingsa l twa te r spor t f i sh ingsa i l i ng and motorboat ingboat t ou rs organized)scuba diving and snorke l inghiking and guided i n t e r p r e t i v e walkswi l d l i f e observa t ioncampingphotography, pa in t ing , sketching , e tc .seascape viewingdiscover ing t he var ious i n t e rp re t i ve m s s ~ s and

. themes


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s igh t see ing and viewing o f h i s to r i c , cu l tu ra l ,and a r c h i t e c t u r a l s i t e s and underwaterarchaeo log ica l and h i s to r i c s i t e s of i n t e r e s t .

2. The bulk o f the v i s i t o r s exper ience , in pursuing thesecompat ible r e c r e a t iona l a c t i v i t i e s , would be associa tedwith the i n t e r t i d a l zone and boat t ou rs on the watersur face . Since most v i s i t o r s would not come in d i r ec tcontac t with the underwater port ion of the poten t i a lnat ional marine park , a broad range of f a c i l i t i e s andequipment inc luding a l a rge va r i e ty o f advancedi n t e rp re t i ve media would be r equ i red in order to extendthe v i s i t o r s exper ience i n to the marine world.

3. The Feas ib i l i t y Cr i t e r i a fo r Pub l i c Understanding andEnjoyment ' , 'Local Services and In f r a s t ru c tu r e , andPark Development, Operat ions and Maintenance ' ,

(descr ibed more fu l l y in Appendix 2 o f t h i s repor t )could be s a t i s f i e d by the es tabl ishment of a na t iona lmarine park in the West I s l e s area o f southern NewBrunswick. From a v i s i t o r use perspec t ive , a nat ionalmarine park and the cont inuat ion of commercial f i sh ingopera t ions could be mutual ly compatible endeavours. Thebe ne f i t s o f having a National Marine Park in the WestI s l e s , pa r t i cu l a r ly over the medium and lonq term, would


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have a more s i qn i f i can t and pos i t i ve impactpo te n t i a l oppor tun i t i e s foregone.

than

4 A Nat iona l Marine Park in the West I s l e s area ofNew Brunswick would provide for the bene f i t educa t ionand enjoyment of fu tu re genera t ions .

5. Under the assumption t ha t the approved Nat iona l MarineParks Pol i cy when completed permi ts mult ip le use o frenewable na tu ra l r esources notably the commercialharves t ing of f i s h spec ies as permi t ted by theDepartment of Fisher i es and Ocean v i s i t o r use in anat ional marine park in the West I s l e s could be managedby Parks Canada in coopera t ion with o ther governmentagenc ies .


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M JOR RECOMMEND TIONS

The essence of the v i s i t o r use concepts for the proposedi; nat ional marine park in the West I s l e s area i s the marineenvironment . The c u l t u r a l h i s t o r i c and na tura l fea tu reswithin the marine environment woulo a t t r ac t people with awide va r i e ty o f i n t e r e s t s . The proposed na t iona l marinepark in the West I s l e s could in the foreseeable fu ture bethe only park in the Atlant ic Region predominant ly based nthe aquat ic environment with boat t ou r s scuba i v i n ~ sh ipwrecks marine h i s t o ry fo lk lo r e and an abundantvar i e t y of marine p lan t and animal l i f e as in tegra l andexc i t ing par t s of the t o t a l park exper ience .

Three concepts Vis i tor Use Scenar ios Option I Option I Iand Option I I I v i sua l l y i l l u s t r a t e and provide the bas i sfor ac t i v i t i e s in and on the marine environment .

ecommendation

I t i s recommended tha t a r e l a t i v e l y smal l land base beacqui red so as to provide an in t roductory funct ion to theproposed na t iona l marine park al low ove ra l l apprec ia t ion ofcoas ta l f ea tures adjacen t to the marine environment and


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provide a place from which most park ac t i v i t i e s wouldor ig ina t e . The land base port ion o f the proposed na t iona lmarine park would provide a se t t i ng for proposed parkf a c i l i t i e s as expressed on the maps dep ic t ing Options I I Iand I I I and would provide a permanent na tura l area forrecrea t iona l a c t iv i t i e s .

Basic to the v i s i t o r use concepts are s ix essen t i a lcomponents tha t would f a c i l i t a t e the use and apprecia t ion ofthe na tura l and cu l tu ra l resources :

1 Information Service2 Vis i tor Centre3 Accommodation F a c i l i t i e s4 Community In f ra s t ruc t u re and Related Serv ices5 Marine Access and Circula t ion6 Dive Cent re

The proposed na t iona l marine park would provide a se t t i ngfor these essen t i a l components and would se t a qua l i t ys tandard for the development of o the r f a c i l i t i e s in thea rea mainta in ing the unique and appea l ing ru r a l marinecharac te r of the West I s l e s .


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1 Informat ion Serv ice

Many v i s i t o r s would a r r i ve a t the West I s l e s withoutproceeding d i r e c t l y i n to the na t iona l marine park. Toachieve the best v i s i t o r unders tanding , apprecia t ion andenjoyment o f the marine environment , Parks Canada wouldprovide ways of in t roducing the v i s i t o r to the grea t e s tposs ib le var i e t y o f hab i t a t types and marine fea tu res ina s t imula t ing manner. Since t i s impossible toencounter a l l habi t a t s o r fea tures , in only onea c t i v i t y , t would be important to encourage the v i s i t o rto pa r t i c ipa t e in a combinat ion o f ac t i v i t i e s , o ra c t i v i t y packages, t ha t would permi t a fu l l exper iencewith the sea . I t would a l so be important to provideinformation brochures , panel disp lays , b i l lboa rdannouncements exp la in ing the fea tures and l oca t ions o fspec i f i c i n t e rp re t i ve events enabl ing the v i s i t o r toplan h i s / he r day so as to pa r t i c ipa t e in a var ie ty ofac t i v i t i e s .

Recommendation

I t i s recommended t ha t a genera l in format ion s e rv i c e ,inc luding park s t a f f , be loca ted a t major en t ry po in t sto the proposed nat ional marine park , such as near the


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St . George e x i t o f f Highway N o . 1 and on CampobelloI s land . Brochures and bi l lboa rd announcements shoulda l s o be exh ib i ted a t fe r ry and boat excurs ion t e rminalsand i n t e rp re t i ve panel d i sp lays should be provided onf e r r i e s shu t t l e boats and tour boats . This informat ionwould d i r ec t v i s i t o r s to the park and o ther areas o fl oca l and r eg iona l in te re s t .

2. Vis i tor Cent re

In nat ional marine parks a l l v i s i t o r s would not havethe capab i l i t y to walk in the i n t e r t i d a l zone observethe d i f fe rences in spec ies o f mollusks and submergedp l an t s o r fu l l y apprec ia t e the seascape and underwaterl i f e without some s s i s t n e ~ I t i s important toprepare the v i s i t o r by in t roducing him/her gradua l ly tomarine surroundings . The purpose o f the v i s i t o r cen t rewould be to expla in to v i s i t o r s by var ious means thefea tures both na tu ra l and man-made and the ac t i v i t i e swhich are inheren t to the West I s l e s giving thev i s i t o r a preview o f the range o f ava i lab le ac t i v i t i e s .As the cen t re from which o ther ac t i v i t i e s couldcon t inue the v i s i t o r i s sub t ly given an understandingo f the park program and subsequent ly would be b e t t e rab le to organize h i s / he r t ime ac t i v i t i e s and exper ience


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while in the park . The v i s i t o r cen t re would provide afocal poin t for park v i s i t o r s during a l l weathercond i t ions and would be f l ex i b l e to changing v i s i t o rneeds and des i re s . The v i s i t o r s exper ience could beenr iched a t the cen t re by observ ing the fu l l range ofpark ac t i v i t i e s on f i lms , var ious disp lays , and awel l -developed i n t e rp re t i ve program. After t h i sexper ience , v i s i t o r s could take par t in on-s i t eac t i v i t i e s such as boat t ou r s , scuba d iv ing , o r walksalong the seashore with a grea te r understanding andthe re fore enjoyment o f underwater and marine resources .

Recommendation

I t i s recommended t ha t a park v i s i t o r cent re be provideda t the v i s i t o r a c t i v i t y area , o r a reas , o f the nat ionalmarine park . A v i s i t o r a c t i v i t y area should bedesignated as to provide a focal poin t for a l l parkv i s i t o r s . Pote n t i a l v i s i t o r a c t i v i t y areas wi th in thes tudy area include: Green Point , Deer Is land Point ,But ler Poin t , East Quoddy Head W ilson s Point , andnear the Study Area a t S t . Andrews.


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serv iced campgrounds could be loca ted on Deer I s land i fthe f e r ry se rv ice i s upgraded to permit regu la r use byr e c r e a t iona l vehic le s o r near Green Point on the main-land . Suf f i c i en t camping oppor tun i t i e s are ava i lab le a tpresent on Campobello I s land .

Accommodation such as motels ho t e l s hos t e l s andfu l ly- se rv iced campgrounds should be loca ted in o r nearcommunit ies such as those exis t ing in the West I s l e s oron the mainland. These types o f accommodationf a c i l i t i e s should wherever f eas i b l e be s i t ua t e d nearor adjacent to the proposed na t iona l marine park andshould be provided by the pr iva t e s e c to r .

4. Community In f ra s t ruc t u re and Related Serv ices

I f a na t iona l marine park i s es tab l i shed a t the WestI s l e s there would be an increase in the demand forcommunity i n f r a s t ruc tu re such as water supply sewaget rea tmen t e l e c t r i c i t y and r e l a t ed se rv ices such asr e t i a l o u t l e t s r e s t au ran t s improved fe r ry se r ivces toand from Deer I s land automobi le se rv ice s t a t i o n s anddiv ing boa t ing and equipment ren ta l shops.


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s i gn i f i can t por t ion of the t o t a l rec rea t iona l andi n t e rp re t i ve exper ience a t West I s l e s could be providedby pr iva t e se c t o r bus inesses who would opera te in o raround the proposed na t iona l marine park provid ing goodsand se rv ices re la ted to na t iona l marine park v i s i t a t i on . Some examples would inc lude tou r boat opera to rsboat and b icyc le r en ta l s diving equipment r en t a l ands a l e s f i sh ing equipment and ba i t shops food andre f reshment s e rv i c e s souveni r shops t r a i l e r and t en tcampgrounds and cen t res where the v i s i t o r could v i s i tand explore the opera t ion o f a herr ing weir lobs te rpound t rou t - r ea r i ng pond and o ther types o f aquacul -t u r e being c a r r i e d out . Tours of sa rd ine packing p lan t sand f i sh process ing opera t ions a re a l r eady conducted inthe area and with ca re fu l o rgan iza t ion and planningt h i s type o f a c t i v i t y could be fur the r promoted so t ha tt o u r i s t s could fo r example observe the feeding o fsalmon the ga ther ing o f he r r ing from a wei r or theprocess ing o f f i sh produce from the sea .

Co l labora t ion among pr iva t e s e c to r bus ines ses nat ionalmarine park o f f i c i a l s and representa t ives of thet o u r i s t i ndus t ry would he lp to ensure an adequate suplyof se rv ices and a s s i s t in disseminat ing informat ion tov i s i t o r s thereby enabl ing t o u r i s t s to make the most o f


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t h e i r v i s i t to West I s l e s . .For example boat opera to rswho have working knowledge of the i n t e rp re t i ve messageo f the proposed na t iona l marine park would be ab le topoint out na t u ra l , cu l t u ra l and h i s t o r i c fea tu res tha ta re important in any pa r t i cu l a r area . These var iousgroups and bus iness opera to rs could decide for them-se lves the most e f f e c t i v e mechanisms for improving t he i rr e l a t i onsh i ps with v i s i t o r s , u l t ima te ly to the mutualbenef i t o f bus iness e n te rp r i s e and t o u r i s t s in thereg ion .

Recommendations

I t i s recommended t ha t information on community se rv icesand f a c i l i t i e s be made ava i lab le a t the proposed parkinformat ion f ac i l i t y so as to inform v i s i t o r s o fcommunity se rv ices and f a c i l i t i e s in the nearby region .

I t i s recommended t ha t , wherever feas ib le , the pr iva tesec tor be encouraged to provide var ious types of goodsand se rv ices r e l a t e d t o na

West Isles Marine Park-Visitor Use

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