Since its inception in 1911 Parks Canada’s management practices have documented our nation’s ever-evolving relationship to nature. The adaptive management plan currently employed in Newfoundland’s Gros Morne National Park (GMNP) is no exception. Formed in 1973, the park inherited a complex social-ecological history including settler communities who have inhabited the landscape for 400 years, neighbouring First Nations and inuit groups, an extirpated t op predator (the Newfoundland wolf), a collapsing woodland caribou population and an inordinate number of introduced and invasive moose.

A UNESCO world heritage site since 1987, GMNP managers at first attempted to conserve the park as a pristine wilderness, catering to tourists and allowing locals only cursory resource access. Yet as the unhunted moose population continued to thrive, their devastating impact on the balsam fir forests were soon observed. The implementation of the lethal reduction pilot project in 2011 marked a shift in social relations with the park now engaging with local hunters to help reduce the moose population within the park. GMNP’s adaptive management plan, defined by soft starts, careful monitoring, and a flexible approach responsive to successes and failures.

After 5 years the adaptive plan has shown measurable success, Parks Canada’s innovation setting an example for new management in the face of complexity and rapid change. However, analysis of the social and ecological feedbacks highlight some key areas requiring further consideration in order to ensure the adaptiveness and responsiveness of the plan. Reviewing government reports, academic papers and local media as well as personal communications revealed lingering questions about adaptive capacity, vulnerability and resilience, cultural values and norms, local ecological knowledge and transformability of social-ecological systems.

Based on understanding of social-ecological concepts and literature and focused research on both the historical, cultural and ecological history of GMNP, recommendations were made for ongoing adaptation of management strategies. Recommendations include two broad suggestions (1) bridging regional and provincial context and (2) involving local people in the adaptive management process. Each recommendation is supported by interventions and actions that could guide Parks Canada and various regional actors in developing future adaptations that are inclusive of both cultural values and long-term ecological goals.