Mistaken Point

The Mistaken Point World Heritage site lies almost entirely (99.97%) within the boundaries of the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve (State Party of Canada, 2016), and therefore fits into an existing conservation regime, managed by Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Natural Areas section, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Municipalities. Provincial Natural Areas staff work in close cooperation with several partners including Mistaken Point – Cape Race Heritage Inc. to protect, present and manage the site sustainably and to enhance tourism experiences and economic benefits for the local community (IUCN, 2016).

The 'Mistaken Point World Heritage Site Management Plan', prepared in 2013, which provides guidance within the context of the legally binding Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve (MPER) Management Plan of 2009, was deemed appropriate at the time of inscription within the framework of the management goals and policies for the wider Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve (MPER). A process for monitoring progress is in place, as described in the nomination file (State Party of Canada, 2016), which focusses specifically on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the site. However there is no information as of yet whether the long term management objectives are being met given the relatively little time since the site was inscribed under the World Heritage Convention. The MPER Management Plan and the Mistaken Point World Heritage Site Management Plan are implemented by the Natural Areas section (within the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Municipalities.  The Natural Areas team includes year-round local staff dedicated to site protection, conservation, management and promotion; the Natural Areas manager is responsible for the site.

The boundaries of the World Heritage site encompass all attributes of its Outstanding Universal Value (IUCN, 2016), including all of the key fossils and strata. The site and its buffer zone, in large part corresponds to the full coastline of Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve. The World Heritage site itself spans the coastal profile between ordinary low water-mark and extends inland to an easily identifiable natural feature, the turf edge (IUCN, 2016). A buffer zone extends further landward some 30 meters to account for the retreating profile over time (IUCN, 2016). The width of the buffer zone should be sufficient to absorb the very gradual, long-term retreat of the coastline due to natural erosion (World Heritage Committee, 2016).

Integration of the site's management into regional and national planning systems is deemed mostly effective, given that the conservation of the site's OUV is not necessarily affected by wider development issues and broader landscape /seascape management. The Mistaken Point World Heritage Advisory Council is designed to ensure the effective communication between the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Municipalities and local organizations and stakeholders as well as advise the provincial government on conservation issues and how the site is presented to the public (Newfoundland Labrador Government, 2018). Movement of the Natural Areas section to a new Department in September, 2020, provides opportunity for increased cooperation with municipal planning activities. The department is also represented on the Canadian-Newfoundland and Labrador Coastal and Oceans Management group which brings together a planning group comprised of provincial and federal government stakeholders in the area of coastal and ocean management.

Relationship with local communities is positive with various initiatives empowering stakeholders in active management of the site. Various mechanisms for stakeholder engagement are, or have been, in place including the Mistaken Point Ambassadors Inc (MPAI), Mistaken Point World Heritage Site Advisory Council, local development group Mistaken Point - Cape Race  Heritage Inc., Edge of Avalon Interpretive Centre; Reserve Interpreters Team, and Fossil Guardians (IUCN, 2016). Establishment of a community advisory committee has been the primary formal means of engagement with local people. The Mistaken Point Ambassadors were an advisory group that formed to guide the nomination effort; this group stayed engaged as a local advisory committee until the Mistaken Point World Heritage Advisory Council was formed in 2018. The Mistaken Point World Heritage Advisory Council is currently comprised of 13 members; four representatives of the local communities of Portugal Cove South, Trepassey, St. Shott’s and Biscay Bay, as well as one youth representative and eight further representatives of local development groups, municipalities and applicable federal and provincial agencies (Newfoundland Labrador Government, 2018).  The local development group, Mistaken Point – Cape Race Heritage Inc. owns the Edge of Avalon Interpretive Centre, which has exhibits about Mistaken Point and is the starting point for guided hikes to the World Heritage Site. The group partners with the government of Newfoundland and Labrador to present and promote Mistaken Point to the public. Since inscription, ranger and interpretation staff have visited every home in the community of Portugal Cove South to discuss Mistaken Point, traditional use permits and to engage in community relationship building for the World Heritage Site. Future visits will expand to neighbouring communities to further build relationships to protect and celebrate Mistaken Point.

The area of the World Heritage site is provincial Crown lands administered by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Almost all of the site lies within the boundaries of Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve and is therefore governed under the Newfoundland and Labrador Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Act and Fossil Ecological Reserve Regulations. The remaining 0.03% of the property is designated as a Crown Lands Reserve under the Lands Act. Designation under Lands Act allows development of trail infrastructure to enhance visitor safety and reduce ecological impacts (State Party of Canada, 2016).

There are partnerships with both provincial and federal wildlife enforcement officers who can be called upon for assistance with issues in the Ecological Reserve as needed. Wildlife enforcement officers have responded to calls for assistance in 2018 and 2019 by staff who were on patrol in the reserve. A federal police (RCMP) detachment in Ferryland also provides local law enforcement capacity. A constant presence through daily patrols along with community engagement leading to a local feeling of ownership have deterred law breaking within the World Heritage Site. Two Ranger positions were staffed over the reporting period. Rangers undertake daily patrols of the reserve and World Heritage Site and patrol hours have increased since inscription to well over 1300 hours each year in the past couple of years.

The site has not been subject to any requests from the World Heritage Committee to date, and therefore is not assessed under this criteria.

Not applicable

Total annual funding provided by the provincial government to operate the Mistaken Point site is approximately $600,000 (Newfoundland and Labrador Government, 2018a), which more than meets the commitment of $500,000 per year outlined in the nomination dossier. The budget includes $470,000 each year for staffing, and approximately $65,000 each year for operational support.  In addition, a $15,000 annual operating grant and approximately $50,000 of site revenue each year are provided to the not-for-profit development group, Mistaken Point – Cape Race Heritage, which operates the Edge of Avalon Interpretive Centre.  There are additional project funds that may be provided for special projects such as the $150,000 of provincial government funds that supported conservation research at Mistaken Point from 2016 – 2018.

The staff complement at Mistaken Point was increased following inscription to meet the staffing resource outlined in the nomination document: four year-round and nine seasonal staff. A manager and Natural Areas staff at provincial headquarters continue to oversee management of Mistaken Point and provide planning, ecological and GIS support. Training has been provided to staff each season since inscription on such topics as Wilderness and Remote First Aid, interpretation theory, interpretive script development, techniques for delivery of interpretation programming, team building and multi-cultural awareness,  In most cases, staff from the local partner group, Mistaken Point – Cape Race Heritage, were also able to participate in these training opportunities.

Education and the promotion of Mistaken Point's values is a central theme in the site's management (Newfoundland and Labrador Government, 2018), and interpretive programs are centred around guided tours of the fossil sites and educational material presented at the Edge of Avalon Interpretive Centre. For conservation purposes and visitor safety, guided tours to the fossil-bearing surfaces are strictly controlled (Newfoundland and Labrador Government, 2018b). Tours are generally booked to capacity during the summer months. The site is now seeing an increase in visitation during shoulder seasons which are extended longer than most other tourism destinations in NL (mid-May through to mid-October). Visitor feedback has been positive. For example, in 2019 out of 596 responses collected, 538 visitors gave the guided hike a 5 on a 1-5 rating scale (5 being most satisfied). Initiatives to involve school groups and other programs like girl guides and boy scouts are a priority for the year-round interpreter, to expand education, awareness and youth interest in the OUV of the site. Interpreters use visitor surveys and research to improve the delivery of interpretive programs. Since inscription, interpretive panels and tour information handouts are now offered in French as well as English. The exhibit room has been improved with a wall mounting of a cast depicting one of the spectacular fossil-bearing surfaces at Mistaken Point. The tour organization in the exhibit room has been improved in order to deliver the significant story of this site under a more interactive, smooth flowing, and informative program, which accommodates visitors from many different backgrounds.

The values of the site are naturally resilient to pressure from tourists, given the nature of the geological values. A full-time onsite manager to oversee the work of several professional natural history interpreters, as well as several local student placements to assist in this interpretation have been installed within the management team since the inscription of the site (Newfoundland and Labrador Government, 2018b). There is also evidence of adaptive management in the site. For example, to mitigate the threat of erosion of fossils by foot traffic, visitors were required to wear quilted ‘Bama Sokkets’ starting in 2009. However, it was subsequently found that this may not be an effective management intervention, especially in wet conditions, which led to the discontinuation of the use of ‘Bama Sokkets’ to replace them with a hydrophobic alternative (Matthews and McIlroy, 2019). To mitigate the potential effects of foot traffic at Mistaken Point, 'specific commitments were made to UNESCO, prior to the designation, limiting the number of visitors to the site each year' (Newfoundland and Labrador Government, 2018b). Providing a full complement of staff at Mistaken Point for the operating season is a top priority for the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Municipalities. This enables the available tours to be fully subscribed. In addition, student positions now have earlier start dates than in previous years and one or two positions may be extended into the fall. This reportedly provides sufficient staff resources to run tours at full capacity throughout the tourism season. 

The monitoring framework is set out in detail in the nomination file for the site's inscription on the World Heritage list and thus relates directly to the values of the site which comprise its OUV, as well as the threats to them. Indicators used to monitor the state of conservation of the site’s palaeontological values include those relating to natural weathering and erosion and human-caused impacts, the level of scientific interest and activity in the values of the site and the ecological integrity within the site (State Party of Canada, 2016). On-site staff, especially the year-round staff, are responsible for the monitoring activities as outlined in the management plan. Fossil-bearing surfaces are checked regularly for material accumulation, and removal of larger, loose detritus occurs if it imposes a threat to the fossils. Staff are also investigating additional methods of monitoring the site, including high detailed mapping of all significant paleontological sites within the property, aerial drone surveying of the site after significant weather events, and time lapse camera monitoring of highly sensitive areas. 

Research of the site's extensive suite of Ediacaran fossils has traditionally been a strong point for the site. Indeed the ongoing research at the site continues to shed light on the evolution of life during that period, including new discoveries which further our understanding of the diversity of life during that geological time period (Darroch et al., 2018; Gehling & Droser, 2018; Mitchell & et. al 2015; Mitchell & Kenchington, 2018; Mitchell et al. 2019; Matthews et al., 2020). Furthermore, the Mistaken Point Scientific Advisory Committee was formed following inscription of the site and comprises experts in Ediacaran palaeontology, geology and earth sciences to provide technical and academic advice for the conservation and preservation of the Mistaken Point fossils (Newfoundland and Labrador Government, 2018), making research a cornerstone of the site's management.