The U.S. National Park Service has proposed a General Management Plan that includes wilderness designation within the eastern region of Everglades National Park, Florida. This plan would enable managers to conserve environmental resources, but also limit recreational and livelihood opportunities of Miccosukee and Seminole tribal communities. Given the potential impacts, this stakeholder group has expressed major discontentment and responded with implemented strategies of social power. The purpose of this study was to deconstruct indigenous perceptions of social power with regards to proposed wilderness designation based on a poststructural theoretical perspective. Participants were identified and selected based on criterion and snowball sampling techniques. Data were collected in the summer of 2007, and included a triangulation of methods: interviews, participant observation, and archival documents. An inductive thematic analysis was employed, and validation of findings was confirmed through constant comparative analysis. Several themes emerged from the data analysis. In particular, the majority shared a distrust of management and questioned their competence in effective land management practices. Additionally, an emergent theme focused on indigenous perceptions of power. The indigenous stakeholders perceived themselves to wield significantly more power than the non-indigenous groups, largely empowered by their respective ownership of subsistence land claims that offered representation in decision-making. Moreover, the indigenous groups expressed perceptions of power in negotiation for conservation through strategies of persuasion. For these groups, power was exercised as a political instrument to influence the government to ensure proper conservation methods are implemented. This strategy of negotiation is reflective of power as resistance to dominant land management paradigms. These findings have major practical implications and applications. Given the standard implementation of public involvement to foster stakeholder support of management practices, land managers might consider collective consensus in decisionmaking to foster empowerment and trust. Also, future research might focus on examining power based on place and community attachments and the mechanizations of power, such as multi-directionality, differentials, and strategies of negotiations.

Access to document: C18_Tinelle_Bustam.pdf

Les activités récréotouristiques et d’interprétation pratiquées dans les parcs nationaux : Facteurs explicatifs
Pascale Marcotte, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (Trois-Rivières, Canada); Laurent Bourdeau, Université Laval (Québec, Canada)

Dans les parcs nationaux, les activités d’interprétation de la faune et de la flore apparaissent comme des composantes de l’expérience des visiteurs. Tout en pratiquant une activité, les touristes peuvent apprendre à mieux connaître la forêt et les règles de protection environnementale. Si, pour certains visiteurs, les activités d’interprétation représentent une des principales raisons de visiter un parc national, d’autres visiteurs préfèrent se rendre dans les parcs nationaux afin d’y pratiquer d’autres activités récréotouristiques de façon libre ou non organisée. Si nous savons que ces deux types d’activités de loisir sont pratiqués dans les parcs nationaux, nous ne connaissons que peu de choses sur le profil des visiteurs qui pratiquent ces activités. Dans cet article, nous présentons les résultats d’une étude réalisée auprès d’individus qui ont visité un parc national au Québec (Canada). Cette recherche vise à identifier le profil des visiteurs qui participent aux activités d’interprétation ou qui pratiquent des activités récréotouristiques libres. Les données de cette étude furent recueillies auprès de visiteurs qui ont participé à des activités d’interprétation (ex. visites guidées sur la faune ou la flore) ou des activités récréotouristiques (ex. randonnées pédestres, kayak). À la fin du séjour dans le parc national, les visiteurs devaient répondre à un questionnaire auto-administré (n = 5160). Les résultats obtenus à l’aide d’analyses multivariées permettent d’identifier le profil des visiteurs qui composent chacun des sous-segments d’activités pratiquées (interprétation et récréotourisme) dans les parcs nationaux. De plus, les analyses réalisées permettent d’identifier l’impact des caractéristiques socio-économiques – sexe, âge, revenu – sur les activités de loisir pratiquées par les visiteurs des parcs nationaux. Nos résultats démontrent une différence statistiquement significative entre le profil des visiteurs qui réalisent des activités d’interprétation et ceux qui n’y participent pas, mais pratiquent des activités récréotouristiques. L’étude présente les implications de ces résultats pour les gestionnaires des parcs nationaux qui veulent répondre aux différents besoins de loisir des visiteurs.

Accès au document : C18_Pascale_Marcotte.pdf

River Valley Alliance - Development of a Capital Region Valley Park
Bruce Wilson, River Valley Alliance (Edmonton, Canada)

Our presentation is about an experience that started with a bold dream to create one of the best and largest metropolitan park systems in North America. The development of The Capital Region River Valley Park involves the cooperation and partnership of seven regional municipalities with a combined population of over 1 million people, connecting 88 kilometers and 18,000 acres of river front land. Over 14 million visits are currently made each year to the river valley, which is expected to continue to grow as the population of the region rapidly expands over the next 25 years. In 1996, The River Valley Alliance (RVA) was founded as a volunteer organization, with a vision to protect, preserve and enhance Alberta Capital region river valley park system for year round accessibility and the benefit of its citizens and visitors. The RVA completed a preliminary concept plan for this world class park in 1998, and a trail plan connecting the park in 2000. In 2003, the RVA formally incorporated the partnership of seven municipalities as shareholders in a not for profit municipal corporation. In 2005 the RVA initiated preparation of a detailed concept plan to provide the framework for transforming the vision into reality. A Plan of Action for the Capital Region River Valley Park was completed in the Spring of 2007, and unanimously adopted by the RVA shareholder municipal Councils. This presentation will outline the overall plan, its costs and benefits, and guide attendees through the development of a partnership that has now attracted the attention and support of many different stakeholders including the provincial and federal governments. Development of the park has progressed from a vision, to a plan, to implementation. Through adoption of the Plan of Action as municipal policy, policy, best practices, the RVA is demonstrating how a dream can become a world class natural attraction, protecting the beauty and integrity of the resource and utilizing it to enhance the quality of life of the residents of the region and for the benefit of future generations. For more information on the RV and this Plan of Action visit www.rivervalley.ab.ca