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December 4, 2000
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)
 

The following statement was issued today by Sandra Kelly, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation (Acting) . It was also read in the House of Assembly:

I am pleased to update my honourable colleagues today on governments efforts to have the Main River designated as a Canadian Heritage River. Together with my honourable colleague, the Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods and stakeholders groups including Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limiter, we have completed a draft management plan for the Main River which will form the basis for obtaining Canadian Heritage River status.

Attaining Canadian Heritage River Status for the Main River will be a significant step toward protecting and preserving a portion of the Main River watershed, especially its natural heritage features, and will also be an important part of the solution to some of the other issues surrounding the Main River watershed.

The package includes a detailed approach to managing the protected area corridor and a draft Stewardship Agreement between key stakeholder groups. As a step toward achieving Canadian Heritage River designation, the provincial government proposes to establish a Provincial Waterway Park in the corridor of the Main River, and also proposes to designate the remainder of the viewshed as a Special Management Area, thereby providing additional protection to the Provincial Waterway Park.

An innovative approach is being suggested to manage the activities of industry and government outside the Waterway Park and the "Stewardship Agreement" has been drafted to ensure that activities outside the protected area do not cause negative impacts inside the protected area.

By accomplishing Heritage River status we will also contribute to the protection of the Pine Marten and old growth forest, as a well as provide a unique and outstanding tourism attraction and ecotourism opportunities which will bring economic benefits to the surrounding area, as visitors from around the world come to experience the natural beauty of Main River.

The package clearly addresses the most critical Main River issues including the protection of the viewscape, protection of the endangered Pine Marten population in the watershed area and road decommissioning in the viewshed.

In addition to Heritage River issues, government is also addressing several parallel issues:

1) government has created a committee consisting of the Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper and Gros Morne National Park to address the ecological integrity of Gros Morne;

2) government is committed to identifying an ecological reserve north of the Main River to include a large and representative portion of old growth forest;

3) new discussions have been initiated with area outfitters and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper to address concerns related to the impact of harvesting plans on outfitting.

We are now prepared to receive and review public input into the draft management plan, and as such on December 5 and 6, 2000, there will be public open houses in Pollard�s Point and Corner Brook respectively, where the management plan will be explained and comments received. Government will accept comments up to December 18, 2000 on the document.

Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues are aware, this government is committed to successfully attaining Canadian Heritage River designation for Main River, and we are confident that this management plan will meet the natural and recreational goals of the Canadian Heritage River program in a manner which fairly and reasonably balances industry�s needs and the need the protect our natural heritage.

Thank you Mr. Speaker.

2000 12 04    3:00 p.m.


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