Protect South Moresb » .- 
     
    
   
   
    
     Negotiations toward establishment of a new National Park in the 
     
     South Moresby area of British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands were . 
     
     given a boost at the Sept. 22 meeting of the federal Environment Minister 
     
     Tom McMillan and the BC Minister of Environment and Parks, Austin Pelton. 
     
    

    
     The two ministers expressed their desire to sign a Federal—Provincial 
     
     agreement as soon as possible and agreed that a solution must be found by 
     
     the end of the coming year. They have instructed senior officials of both 
     
     governments to meet immediately to complete the negotiations. 
     
    

    
     A major obstacle to establishing a National Park in South Moresby has 
     
     been removed. Mr. McMillan informed Mr. Pelton that Environment Canada 
     
     would pay $25 million and interest as the Federal Governments's share of 
     
     compensation for the forest lands of Pacific Rim. The Ministers accepted 
     
     the proposed boundaries of the Phase III addition to Pacific Rim National 
     
     Park, including the famous West Coast Trail and Nitinat Triangle. 
     
    

    
     Both Ministers expressed optimism that preservation of the wilderness 
     
     character in the spectacular area of South Moresby would be an internation— 
     
     al attraction. 
     
    

    
     Mr. McMillan calls the park "the highest single priority of the Parks 
     
     Service of my department, reflecting as it does a recognition of the dis- 
     
     tinctive flora and fauna and scenic beauty of this wilderness paradise." 
     
    

    
     Mr. McMillan said that in seeking park status for the South Moresby 
     
     area, a priniple of the Federal Government in the negotiations is that 
     
     Haida land claims not be prejudiced. He highlighted the natural, histor— 
     
     ical and cultural significance of the South Moresby archipelago and its 
     
     importance to the Haida people. He indicated that once the two governments 
     
     have reached a preliminary understanding on the terms of an agreement, En— 
     
     vironment Canada and Haida representatives will meet to discuss Haida in— 
     
     volvement in park planning and management. . 
     
    
   
   
    
     Polar Bear Pass 
     
    
   
   
    
     The first National Wildlife Area in 
     
     Canada's far North was established in 
     
     September on Bathurst Island, Northwest 
     
     Territories. The area will be called 
     
     Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area. 
     
     Located approximately 150 km northwest 
     
     of Resolute, the site stretches from 
     
     Goodsir Inlet on the east coast of Bath— 
     
     urst Island to Bracebridge Inlet on the 
     
     west coast, along a fertile inland valley. 
     
     Environmentalists around the world have 
     
     called for protection of its rich ecology, 
     
     citing its value as musk-ox habitat, as 
     
     a nesting place for many bird species, 
     
     and as a travel route used by polar bears. 
     
     Peary caribou, a threatened species, are 
     
     also found in the area. Polar Bear Pass 
     
     is a breeding habitat for Atlantic Brant (a small goose) that migrate, by 
     
     way of Iceland, to spend winters on the coast of Iceland. 
     
    

    
     The site has been described as an Arctic oasis by scientists from the 
     
     National Museums of Canada, which maintains a research station nearby. 
     
     Polar Bear Pass is the most extensively vegetated area on Bathurst Island, 
     
     the basis of its value to wildlife. .