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magazine / oct09
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October 2009 issue |
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FEATURE
Northern Peninsula (Page 1 of 4)
Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula is a region of depleting human and natural resources. Just the sort of place for a fisherman to be reborn as Bjorn the Beautiful.
By Russell Wangersky with photography by Ned Pratt
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The Viking Trail showcases the region's starkness.
Photo: Ned Pratt |
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As she walks the shoreline near her home in Norris Point, N.L., Marina Sexton can look across Bonne Bay to
a geological and metaphorical masterpiece: the Tablelands. Tinged pink in the day’s final light, the Tablelands appear
more suited to Arizona than to the Island of Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula. The barren, flat-topped formation
arrived from the depths of the planet — mantle thrust up from a collision of tectonic plates millions of years ago.
| Except for the few residents who have full-time
jobs at the local hospital or in Gros Morne
National Park, people here have to hold down
two jobs. The young find this hard to accept. |
On this day in July, the Tablelands are lacerated by bands of snow. The sharp-edged rock, peridotite, may be wondrous
to look at but it is virtually devoid of the usual nutrients that sustain plant life. And therein lies the metaphor. For Sexton
and fellow residents, the Northern Peninsula is running decidedly short of the nutrients that support livelihoods and healthy communities.
Survival here takes rock-hard sturdiness and a steely disposition.
“You’ve got to be inventive,” Sexton
tells me. “Hard-working and inventive. You’re out cutting your wood. You’re getting your
lobster pots ready.”
For Sexton, being inventive means running both a dental practice and a hotel in Norris Point. When time allows,
which is not often, she also performs stand-up comedy. Except for the few residents who hold down full-time jobs
at the local hospital or in Gros Morne National Park — the region’s tourism jewel — people here have
to do one job and then work hard at something else as well. It is an experience
that younger generations are finding hard to accept.
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| Click map to enlarge |
“It seems like our brightest, for the most part, are leaving,” says Sexton. “We’re all becoming seniors. The population
demographic is really changing faster than it is elsewhere.”
In some respects, the Northern Peninsula is a classic Newfoundland story of a region long on resources but short
on luck. Like an elongated thumb pointing north on Newfoundland’s west coast, the peninsula spent thousands
of years as an ocean storehouse, hosting and feeding people, from the 4,000-year-old Maritime Archaic people to the
Paleo-Eskimos, from the Dorset to the Beothuk and the Norse and, finally, the European settlers. Fishing communities
grew up here in every coastal nook.
Now, the ocean’s cupboards have gone bare. The closing of the cod fishery in 2003 sent all of Newfoundland reeling,
and the recovery has been uneven. The birth of the offshore petroleum industry on the island’s east coast has been a
boon that arrived at the perfect time. Over on the west side, however, the Northern Peninsula still
acutely feels the absence of the cod fishery, and its communities are searching
for a new identity and for reasons to keep their young
from leaving for good.
| Comments on this article | Leave a comment | Check your facts, the northern cod fishery was closed in 1992 with a complete moratoriam in 1993 of the Gulf (of St Lawerence) which the northern penninsula borders. You only missed by 10-11 years. I would expect better from your magazine.
We own and operate two bed and breakfasts in Dilod, NL and we certainly acknowledge the transportation issues that we face each season for the traveling public. However, we find living on Trinity Bay in a rural outport to be one of the best kept secrets and best places to live in Canada.
Jim, I must say, I totally agree with your comment. When my husband and I read this article, we thought, wow, this guy didn't do his research (and we can't believe Canadian Geographic published it). The article is like a tired, lazy attempt to write a story, which draws on old, tired stereotypes of NL. There is a more accurate article in the National Post, which states, "One would have to be living under a rather large rock - the size of the province itself - not to be aware of the current economic boom Newfoundland is experiencing". Well, I guess the author of this article is living under a rather LARGE rock. He paints NL as a desolate, dying province, and barely makes mention of the current economic boom it's experiencing (and yes, it's effects are felt on the West coast too). And anyone who knows anything about NL, knows it is no longer the poor, desolate province it once was. I mean really, if you're going to publish a story, do your research first!
Much of the information in this article is outdated and incorrect. Some of the photos are several years old. I would have expected better from both Russell and Canadian Geographic.
It is a truely wonderful area to visit. Sadly, there is little bus transportation available, cars are nearly impossible to rent during tourist season, and the railroad was decommissioned. Until Newfoundland addresses its transportation issues, this region will only receive a small portion of its potential visitors.
Wow, your take is quite cynical., not to mention inaccurate. Gros Morne and the Northern Peninsula are wonderful places to visit,and live.
Got to say some of your take on the economics of the area are a bit tired and out of touch. Working in western Canada has been around for ever. A jewel of an area ,you really need to go back and dig a little deeper in your reporting. Not sure what you mean by depleted resources?
I climbed Gros Morne for the first time this July. The views are spectacular. Newfoundland's West coast is a jewel — and the provincial park in Pistolet Bay is superb for camping (but bring a sweater).
My wife and I just returned from a week long adventure in to L'anse aux meadows. it was a great trip. Highly recommend it to anyone. However, the season is very short and the sites are mostly closed now, so book early and head out there next summer!
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