A Geographic Approach to Co-Border Parks Between the United States and Canada: Policies, Cooperations and Conflicts.Examples include Glacier and Waterton Lakes, Wrangell-Saint-Elias and Kluane, North Cascades National Parks, Chilliwack Lake and Skagit Valley Provincial Parks

• Main Author: Moumaneix, Caroline
• Other Authors: Université de Lille 1, Eric Glon
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: Co-Border Parks; National Parks; United States; Canada; Conservation of natural resources; Public policy; Public lands; Land ownership; Conflicts of interest and jurisdiction; Cross-border cooperation; Rural population; Parcs co-frontaliers; Parcs nationaux; États-Unis; Conservation des ressources naturelles; Politique publique; Terres publiques; Propriété foncière; Conflits d'intérêts et de juridictions; Coopération transfrontalière; Population rurale; [SHS.GEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Geography; glacier*
• Online Access: https://hal.science/tel-04347574; https://hal.science/tel-04347574/document; https://hal.science/tel-04347574/file/These-Moumaneix-2012.pdf

The first national park, Yellowstone, was born in 1872 in the United States. Canada was inspired and then moved away from this model. The commonalities between these two countries are numerous: wilderness, conquest and control of the territory, the creation of the first parks, strong emblems of identity. The comparison of co-border parks between the United States and Canada highlights their reciprocal contributions. Given these elements, we should see real dynamics of cooperation, proximity in zoning and park management policy, a similar place for local populations and few conflicts on either side of the world’s longest peaceful border. However, our study, based on interviews with park employees and residents and analysis of official documents, reveals discrepancies between these co-frontal parks. Wilderness and the international border are perceived differently. The reality of cross-border cooperation does not correspond to official discourse. Multiple internal borders fragment parks and affect their ability to cooperate. These limits reveal the importance of local populations, allochthonous and indigenous, associations, unequally taken into account by the management authorities. Private enclaves in American parks lead to significant conflicts between their owners and the National Park Service. In Canada, internal tensions are more limited. Through a common desire to protect the wilderness, the co-frontal parks display unequal cooperation and internal fragmentation that outline bordering regions giving another dimension to the international border. Using the same model, Canada and the United States differ in the management, cooperation and involvement of local populations. Because the United States is no longer the only model for parks, Canada may be an alternative model. Le premier parc national, Yellowstone, est né en 1872, aux États-Unis. Le Canada s’est inspiré puis éloigné de ce modèle. Les points communs entre ces deux pays sont nombreux : la wilderness, la conquête et la maîtrise du territoire, la ...