A multi-regional analysis of heritage management: An approach to building new partnerships

Wood, Barry

Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta (WLNP) and the geographic regions adjacent to it including Akamina Kishinena Provincial Park (AKPP) and portions of the Flathead Provincial Forest, British Columbia, Glacier National Park, Montana (GNP), the Castle-Carbondale River Valleys, Front Range Canyons and Foothills of Alberta are rich in natural resources and Precontact cultural heritage sites. WLNP and GNP and more recently AKPP have been protected as National and Provincial Parks in order to preserve the scenic beauty and stretches of remote mountainous wilderness. Past archaeological and ethnographic studies and other research conducted under the umbrella of this Master's Degree Project (MDP) also attest to the use of the study region by First Nations people as a trade, transportation and cultural diffusion corridor affected by the diverse physiography and variable paleoenvironmental conditions over many millennia. This MDP explores the roles of public and private agencies and stakeholder representation in the Precontact Cultural Heritage Site Management Process and further identifies issues affecting that management. The objective of this MDP research is to examine overall geographic complexities, legislative frameworks, agency and stakeholder perceptions, levels of cooperation, levels of field inventory and those natural and cultural processes that have affected and continue today to affect cultural heritage sites. This was undertaken in order to provide recommendations for the identified issues and strategies designed to assist in the future development of an effective Cultural Heritage Site Management Plan.