This might be the most beautiful place on earth. But only half of it is protected — for now – The Narwhal

Nov. 1, 2023

Throughout Torngat Mountains National Park, hundreds of sites tell the story of people, wildlife and change in northern Labrador. But it’s all connected to the coastal waters — the proposed site of the first Inuit-led national marine conservation area

The worn peaks of the Torngat Mountains slope into rubble before crumbling into the Labrador Sea. They dip into verdant valleys and shallow bowls perched thousands of metres into the sky. The peaks grow taller as you travel north, replaced by straight-blade ridges and jagged tops. Trees peter out of the subarctic landscape long before you reach them, but low brush and willow, fireweed and berries crawl across their shores and climb as far as they can find soil. These stoic tortoises and feisty razorbacks proffer adventure to those who seek it, but perhaps they’re more interested in telling you a story — if you’ll listen.

Torngait, in the Inuttitut dialect, means “place of spirits.” It’s from this word that the Torngat Mountains derive their name and from the Inuit that they derive their protection. In 2005, the Labrador Inuit Association and the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador signed the Labrador Inuit Land Claim Agreement. It established the Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve — the precursor to the national park that followed in 2008.

Unlike those before it, Torngat Mountains National Park was co-led by the Indigenous people of these lands, rather than imposed on them. The Labrador Inuit Association’s chief negotiator, Toby Andersen, said at the time that the park reserve was “the Inuit gift to the people of Canada”: a place where cultural heritage and natural beauty can be both protected and appreciated. All 9,700 square kilometres of land, right up to the low-water mark. While several of Canada’s national parks attract millions of visitors annually, just 489 people visited the Torngats this past summer — making it one of the most beautiful places on earth that few people will see with their own eyes.

Read More: https://thenarwhal.ca/torngats-inuit-marine-conservation-area/