The National Park Service’s Shared Beringian Heritage Program was established in 1991 after the presidents of the United States and the Soviet Union endorsed a proposal to establish an international park agreement between the two countries. The international park, if established, will help link protected lands and the peoples of both sides of the Bering Straits in cultural exchanges, and in exchanges of scientific capabilities and findings, conservation ethics and philosophies, and natural and cultural resource management technologies.
While a formal international park agreement has not yet been signed, the United States and Russia remain committed to this goal. In the meantime, with it’s Beringian Heritage International Park Program, the National Park Service is accomplishing many of the goals that an international park agreement would promote. A brief description of program and some of its accomplishments follow.
Mission Statement
The Shared Beringian Heritage Program recognizes and celebrates the contemporary and historic exchange of biological resources and cultural heritage shared by Russia and the United States on both sides of the Bering Strait. The program seeks local resident and international participation in the preservation and understanding of natural resources and protected lands as well as working to sustain the cultural vitality of Native peoples in the Central Beringia region. To these ends, the Beringia program promotes free communication and active cooperation between the people and governments of the United States and Russia concerning the Central Beringia region.
Background
The concept of an international Beringian park was first proposed by scientist Walter Orr Roberts in the 1960’s, but there was no specific action on his proposal for twenty years. In 1986, under the authority of the 1972 US-USSR Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection, a working group was established to address "Conservation and Management of Natural and Cultural Heritage". Specific activities, characterized as themes, were developed by the working group in protocols in June and October of 1987. The Beringian Heritage International Park project came out of the theme entitled "Research, Conservation and Management of the Beringian Heritage".
In 1989, American and Soviet planning teams presented the concept of an international park during a tour of Native villages in Northwest Alaska and the Chukotka Peninsula in Russia. A report of their efforts, including recommendations for an international park, can be found in the Beringian Heritage Reconnaissance Study published in 1990.
At a summit conference on June 1, 1990, President Bush of the United States and Soviet President Gorbachev announced their intention to create an international park spanning the Bering Strait. The park would include already existing National Park Service units in Alaska and as yet undesignated national park units on the Russian side. The summit conference agreement called for cooperation in studying ecology, archaeology and cultural heritage on both sides of the Strait. While park management policies would remain with each government, the international park agreement would encourage cooperative efforts among park managers and researchers, the easing of travel restrictions between the nations for research, and joint projects on issues of common concern.
After Presidents Bush and Gorbachev signed their agreement to create an international park, there was interest in Washington to introduce legislation before Congress to create such a park. Draft legislation to establish the Beringian Heritage International Park was submitted to Congress in November 1991, but was not acted on by Congress. Subsequent attempts to redraft the legislation with the cooperation of native groups in Northwest Alaska and conservation organizations were not successful.
It became apparent to the National Park Service (NPS) and others, that it was necessary to encourage more local support and involvement in the activities that an international park designation would promote, before efforts to introduce legislation that would be supported by a wide range of interests would be successful.
The NPS receives, as part of its annual operational appropriation, funding to support research and community projects through its Shared Beringia Heritage Program. Efforts have been made to seek greater local and regional participation in these research, cultural and educational activities. In 1996, a five member Beringia Panel was established to make recommendations to the NPS on priorities for funding of Beringia projects. Two members of the Panel represent the National Park Service and the other three members are representatives of the three Alaska Native Regional Corporations in north and northwestern Alaska (Nome, Kotzebue and Barrow). This relationship has proven to be beneficial in building a productive working relationship between the NPS and local interests.
With the assistance of the Beringia Panel, the program has been successful at enhancing local support through the encouragement of village based projects. The NPS now has several projects that have been developed and initiated at the local level. These projects range in scope from cultural celebrations to educational opportunities for village youths.
There are many models of national and international parks around the world. Certainly on the national level, an international park designation in the Bering Straits area would hold an important symbolic gesture of goodwill between the United States and Russia. On the local level, the designation can promote communication and exchange between people in both countries who share a common cultural and natural heritage. An international park is, in reality, a program of cooperation between two nations in the areas of conservation, indigenous lifestyles and scientific inquiry. The NPS will designate four of its existing park units in the region to be the American component to the international park. Already, the Beringia program uses these parks as a basis for the research being accomplished, as it works with many of the surrounding communities from St. Lawrence Island to Barrow. Much of this work centers on educational and cultural work, areas of interest to the local people.
Increasingly the Beringia projects, whether academic or community based, have a "Russian component" to them. Some of the studies involve doing some or all of the research on the Russian side. This year Beringia projects in Russia include a survey of the traditional use of seabirds, the facilitation of native-to-native cooperation on polar bear habitat use in both countries, and a retrospective study of how the border between the two countries being opened for the past ten years has affected people in both countries.
Another process for increasing cross-border awareness and appreciation for the unique natural and cultural values found in the Bering Straits region is the annual "Beringia Days Conference" held each fall in Anchorage. These meetings allow American and Russian park managers, scientists, Native and NGO organizations, and anyone interested in the region an opportunity to get together to discuss topics of interest and to reiterate the benefits of an international park for Beringia. This year, thirteen Russian specialists will be in attendance from throughout the Russian Far East and Moscow.
The National Park Service continues to work at all levels to garner support for the international park. This includes, in addition to the work being performed in Alaska, relationships with the Russian federal government, the regional government of Chukotka in Anadyr, the Far Eastern Branch of the Academy of Sciences, and representative from Russian villages and Native and non-governmental organizations.
Progress on an international park agreement continues on the Russian side as well. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation reaffirmed support for the Shared Beringian Heritage International Park. The regional Chukotka Administration established by decree, a nature-Ethnic Park Beringia, appointed a park director and hired staff to administer the park. The Chukotka Administration asked the Pacific Institute of Geography in Vladivostok to produce a second feasibility study for a park in Chukotka that would be designated as the Russian component to the international park. The results of this study are due to be published soon.
The Russian Academy of Sciences is becoming increasingly involved with the international park efforts. They have signed a letter of intent with the NPS to become an active player in the Beringia region and will prepare a science plan for the proposed international park. They will also work with federal authorities on the designation of national parks in Chukotka that could be components of the international park.
Indigenous groups in Russia have welcomed the concept of an international park. They see such a designation as a means of protection of their subsistence lifestyle and continued federal involvement and oversight of the lands that are important to them for their survival. The National Park Service maintains contacts with and support for several Russian Native organizations at the grass roots level that share common environmental and cultural concerns.
The process for implementing an international park includes building one level of trust after another with all interested parties. This process takes time and focus. The National Park Service will continue its efforts to do so through it’s Shared Beringian Heritage Program.