Protected Area Management Exercise

Context

The purpose of this exercise is:

To be exposed to different approaches to protected area management;

To become familiar with the National Park Service’s mission, objectives, and management approach;

To build an in-depth understanding of a non-US protected area (pair exercise) and be able to compare that PA to a domestic PA;

To assess the differences between international and domestic protected area management.

This is an individual exercise that builds upon the work you and your partner did in the pair assignment. The goal of this final paper is to compare the international PA from the pair assignment with Acadia National Park. I expect that you will build upon your research for the pair assignment while also incorporating new research on Acadia National Park for a comparison between a domestic PA and an international PA. Because you have already done much of the work on the international PA, the bulk of your research/writing will be on Acadia National Park and then the comparison.

You need to address the following topics/questions for Acadia National Park in the body of the document. You also need to address the following topics for your international PA but this will largely be in the comparative summary table:

*Underlined questions indicate questions that were not on the pair assignment but that need to be addressed for both PAs.

(1) Introduction

Date of creation of the PA.

What was the purpose (objectives) for the establishment of Acadia?

What are the important historical dates for Acadia (i.e., administrative changes, funding changes, shifts in mission, new programs/management focus, etc.)?

What are the key conservation features (natural heritage—landscapes, ecosystems, species—and/or cultural heritage) of Acadia?

(2) Context

Description of the sociocultural, economic, and political context of Acadia (ethnic groups, communities nearby the PA, economic activities, political system of the country, role of the NPS).

How does the PA fit within the international IUCN category system and how does that designation relate to Acadia’s management agenda? What are the major threats to Acadia? What are the main pressures or issues (e.g. war, poverty, human impacts, corruption) affecting the PA?

(3) Management

List the organization(s) responsible for PA management. What are the major PA programs in Acadia (e.g. ecotourism, environmental education, monitoring, research, outreach, etc.)? What are the major management priorities in Acadia?

What role, if any, do NGs play in PA management (e.g. management, planning, training, funding, etc.)?

How is PA management/administration funded?

(4) Comparison and conclusion

Choose five key differences between Acadia and your international PA. How are they different? How are they similar? The points of comparison should be central to PA management, rather than superficial. For example, if your PA is an IUCN category 6 while Acadia is a category 2, explain the difference between each category and why that is important to each PA/how the category designation influences PA management.

Comparative Summary Table. Emphasis here on summary. You cannot hope to fit everything in this table so please choose the key elements of each section to include for both PAs. This is where the majority of the information from your international PA is going to be located. This table can be as long as necessary to summarize all of the information from the pair assignment. Key words, bullet points, and other forms of summary are expected. Feel free to alter the table to convey information (as long as you clearly address all points in a visually comprehensible way). The length of the table does not count toward your page limit.

	International PA (PA from	Acadia National Park
	Pair Flyer)	(domestic PA)
Country
Date of creation
Purpose of establishment
(objectives, values)
Key biological and cultural
features protected
Context (social, political,
economic). Situate your PA in
the context of the surrounding
area.
Designated IUCN Category
Major threats to management
Managing organizations
(government, NGOS,
community, etc.)
Major management objectives
Major PA programs
(educational, ecotourism, etc)
Where does funding come
from?