Exercise #3: Connecting Past and Present
February 21, 2026 By: JingYuan Zhu T00745320
The Canadian Press (2025) reports that B.C.’s Joffre Lakes Park will close to recreational visitors from September 2 to October 3, 2025, to allow the land to recover from a busy summer and to enable the Líl̓wat and N’Quatqua Nations to conduct cultural practices. In this instance, protection is enacted through governance. Following periods of heavy visitation, park managers opt to close the area so the land can rest and to provide Indigenous Nations with meaningful respect and cultural space, rather than prioritizing the park as a site for profit and entertainment. Cronon demonstrates that the creation of parks has often fostered the notion of “uninhabited wilderness” by excluding Indigenous peoples and their land uses (Cronon, 1995). I also wish to draw on Cronon’s concept of a “middle ground,” which suggests that spaces ranging from cities to wilderness can be understood as part of “home,” a domain where we assume responsibility and strive to protect what is valuable for future generations (Cronon, 1995).
The Canadian Press. (2025, August 19). B.C. ‘s Joffre Lakes Park closing for a month for recovery, First Nations’ practices. CityNews. https://toronto.citynews.ca/2025/08/19/b-c-s-joffre-lakes-park-closing-month-recovery-first-nations-practices/
Cronon, W. (1995). The trouble with wilderness; or, getting back to the wrong nature. In W. Cronon (Ed.), Uncommon ground: Rethinking the human place in nature (pp. 69–90). W. W. Norton & Company.
I found your connection to Cronon really interesting, especially the idea that parks were historically framed as “uninhabited wilderness.” The Joffre Lakes closure seems like a good example of how park management is starting to recognize Indigenous cultural practices and stewardship instead of treating parks as just recreational spaces. It also shows how conservation today can involve giving land time to recover, not just managing it for tourism.