Conserving Common Ground: Exploring the Place of Cultural Heritage in Protected Area Management

Abstract

That parks and protected areas are places where the conservation of cultural heritage can and should take place has not always been immediately apparent. However, today there is widespread acknowledgement that the management of cultural heritage resources needs to be brought into large-scale planning and management processes in an integrated and holistic manner. This is particularly true in protected areas, which not only contain significant cultural heritage resources, but are also often mandated to conserve these resources and can benefit significantly from the effort. This dissertation aims to address the challenge of integrating cultural heritage conservation into protected area management. Focusing specifically on Alberta, this research employs a qualitative methodology to undertake a broad document analysis and a series of in-depth qualitative interviews with protected area managers to identify the current state of cultural heritage conservation in the provincial protected area system, as well as the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities that exist. Using this information, a set of policy recommendations are developed. Ranging from high-level policy goals to site-specific tools and resources, these recommendations aim to support more effective cultural heritage conservation in Alberta.