The Protected Landscape Approach - Centre for Mediterranean ...

14. Collaborative management of protected landscapes
Operating within a working landscape of strongly independent New England communities,
the Commission leverages limited human and financial resources to carry out an extensive and
geographically broad mission. Without authority to own land or powers to regulate land use,
the Commission has had to be diligent and entrepreneurial in its outreach and ability to be
responsive to opportunities. To this end it relies on a combination of public education,
public-private partnerships and “targeted” investments. The Commission has been able to
integrate issues related to the environment, community development and preservation, land-use
planning, and economic development.
The Commission has reached out to other institutions and built cooperative linkages to
address management issues within the Blackstone River Heritage Corridor including partner -
ships with local institutions such as Chambers of Commerce, tourism councils, and conser -
vation NGOs. A good example is the creative approaches used to bring public attention to water
quality problems along the river. According to the Corridor’s Superintendent, Michael
Creasey, “We knew that a typical ‘Save our Watershed’ approach wouldn’t work here… so
instead we brought people to the river to show them the potential benefits of the river to their
communities and the local economy.” It takes local people out in canoes for tours and involves
them in voluntary clean-up projects. It has built a 49-passenger boat to serve as a “river
classroom,” is building a series of river landings along the historic canal, and is establishing a
bicycle path. These and other projects help to create connections among the many environ -
mental, historical, and economic and community values of the landscape. As Creasey notes,
“the success of the Heritage Corridor is based on creating a vision and engaging people so they
place value on their region and on something that others might not readily see” (Creasey, 2001).
Beaver Hills Ecosystem, Alberta
The Beaver Hills ecosystem constitutes part of the last remaining natural habitat in east-central
Alberta. Covering a large area, approximately 1,500 km 2 , the knob and kettle topography of the
Cooking Lake Moraine rises 60m above the surrounding plains. The area, with abundant tree
cover and numerous water bodies, is highly productive for wildlife – in particular, ungulates,
waterfowl and migratory birds. Beaver Hills lies 45km east of Edmonton, one of the fastest
growing metropolitan regions in Canada. The amenity value of the Beaver Hills landscape
provides highly sought-after living and recreation space. Residential develop ment, infra -
structure expansion, agricultural improvement, oil and gas development, and de mands for
outdoor recreation have fragmented the region’s traditional land-use mosaic.
Protection of the Beaver Hills has a long history and over 25% is now in designated
conservation areas. Elk Island National Park (194km 2 ) is the largest of these, but other
significant protected areas include the Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Grazing, Wildlife and
Provincial Recreation Area; the Ministik Bird Sanctuary; Miquelon Lake Provincial Park; the
Strathcona Wilderness Centre; and a number of provincially designated natural areas. Some of
the government-managed areas have integrated sophisticated community engagement into
their management planning (see Box 2 on Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Grazing, Wildlife and
Provincial Recreation Area). In addition, conservation initiatives involving private landowners
have become increasingly important in recent years (Burak and Swinnerton, 1998; Kwasniak,
1997).
One recent partnership project, the Beaver Hills Initiative, has evolved to safeguard the
area’s natural capital and the local quality of life. The need for a bioregional approach to protect
195