Climate Change and National Historic Sites
Climate change is an issue that is widely discussed in our
society; however this discussion does not often focus on the fact
that climate change while having a profound effect on our future it
also affects our past, in the damage it causes to historic places.
Climate change is bringing about a rise in global temperatures,
resulting in changes such as the thawing of permafrost, an increase
in the occurrence of large storms along the coastline and the
accelerated erosion of the coastline. These changes brought about
by climate change are problematic in Canada because a number of
Canada's Historic Places are in areas where they are now at risk,
especially in the north and in coastal regions. There is a growing
risk that some of Canada's Historic Places may be badly damaged or
destroyed as a result of climate change. In response to the threat
posed by climate change to Canada's heritage Parks Canada has begun
engaging in studies and discussions of strategies for the
preservation of our common heritage.
Prince of Wales Fort National Historic Site of
Canada lies just west of the town of Churchill, Manitoba, one
of the coldest regions in Canada. Built over the course of forty
years in the eighteenth century this National Historic Site has
endured harsh 
winds and freezing temperatures,
favourable only to polar bears, for over 200 years. Despite damage
caused by an attack on the fort by French soldiers, which drove the
resident Hudson's Bay Company from the fort in 1782, and subsequent
abandonment for 150 years the fort has remained largely intact. It
is only within the last twenty years that the stone walls have
begun to show the cracks and bulges of water damage, degradation of
mortar from the increased sun radiation and temperature. After over
200 years of solid existence this monumental reminder of Canada's
past is being stolen away by the relentless progress of climate
change.
Just over 200 kilometres south of Prince of Wales Fort, another
of Canada's historic places is in danger from the effects of
climate change. Built in 1788, the third incarnation of the York Factory stands on the Hayes River in
Northern Manitoba. This National Historic Site was an important
lynch pin in the Hudson's Bay Company fur trade for two and a half
centuries. Unfortunately this long standing historic place could be
completely gone in as
little as 100 years. The ground
underneath York Factory is in a state of permafrost, but as the
climate warms this permafrost has begun to thaw so that the ground
supporting the factory has become less solid thus the Hayes River
that runs next to the factory is able to erode the banks more
quickly. Every year the river encroaches further on the York
Factory, the remains of the first two York Factories have already
been lost to the river. The York Factory is an especially important
historic site in connection to Canada's historic fur trade and its
loss would be the loss of an important connection to our past.
The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site
on the coast of Nova Scotia is another extremely important part of
Canada's past, a location of profound struggle between the British
and French Empires during the Seven Year's War. Also important to
the site are the surrounding 
grounds which could still contain
important archaeological remains from the original fortress and
town of Louisbourg. While a few decades ago large storms occurred
on the coast of Nova Scotia only every few years, such storms have
begun to occur almost every single year possibly as a result of
climate change. Every year the storm surge brought on by these
large storms wash away more of the shoreline around the Fortress of
Louisbourg and take important archaeological remains with it. If
this trend continues it could result in the loss of a terrible
number of archaeological remains that provide context to the fort
and Canada's history.
An extensive National Historic Site threatened by climate change
is the Dawson Historical Complex which is comprised of
the eighteen historical buildings, built in
the nineteenth century
during the Yukon Gold Rush, which form the core of Dawson City. An
important feature of Dawson City is the fact that been built so far
north means that the city was built on ground in a state of
permafrost. Recent climate change makes it more and more likely
that the permafrost upon which Dawson City was built will begin to
thaw. The loss of the stable permafrost ground upon which the
historic buildings of Dawson City stand will compromise the
stability and architecture of the buildings, and result in the loss
of an important historic site from an important page in Canadian
history.
These are a number of Canadian Historic Places threatened by
climate change. As climates become warmer more permafrost ground
will melt, the sea levels will rise, severe storms will become more
frequent and our fragile national heritage will face increased
danger of destruction. Historic Places are infinitely important to
understanding and learning more about Canada's past but the future
of these structures, which have stood for hundreds of years, is
uncertain. Climate change is not simply a danger for the future; it
also poses a significant threat to our past.