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Bulletin No 155, October 2004
Twenty-seventh Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting
Cape Town, South Africa, 24 May – 4 June 2004
Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Managed Area No. 2:
McMurdo Dry Valleys, Southern Victoria Land McMurdo Dry Valleys
1. Description of values to be protected and activities to be managed
The McMurdo Dry Valleys are characterized as the largest relatively ice-free region in Antarctica with approximately 30% of the ground surface largely free of snow and ice. The region encompasses a cold desert ecosystem, whose climate is not only cold and extremely arid (in the Wright Valley the mean annual temperature is –19.8°C and annual precipitation is less than 100 mm water equivalent), but also windy. The landscape contains glaciers, mountain ranges, ice-covered lakes, melt-water streams, arid patterned soils and permafrost, sand dunes, and interconnected watershed systems that influence the McMurdo Sound marine ecosystem. The Area contains records of past climate and is important to the study of climate change. The extreme climate of the region serves as an important analogue for the conditions of ancient Earth and contemporary Mars.
The Area is characterized by unique ecosystems of low biodiversity and reduced food web complexity but, as the largest ice-free region in Antarctica, the Area also contains relatively diverse habitats compared with other ice-free areas. The Area contains unusual microhabitats and biological communities (such as endolithic and Cryoconite systems) as well as special geological features and minerals (for example, salt deposits and desert pavements). Some of these special geological features contain an extremely long record of natural events. The long-term data sets for environmental observations that have been collected in this region are some of the longest in Antarctica.
These scientific values are of global importance because they form a valuable resource for understanding landscape processes and ice sheet stability. The Area contains unique deposits that record planetary change. The soil, rock, water, and ice environments and their associated biota are of scientific value as model ecosystems. Finally, the species that reside in the Area provide a biological resource for understanding adaptation to extreme environments, and are true end members of ecological continua.
The Area is also valued for its wilderness quality, representing a nearly pristine environment. The dramatic landscape creates unique vistas of high aesthetic value.
Activities conducted in the area include a variety of scientific research, science support operations, media, arts, education, and tourism. A Long Term Ecological Research site has been established in Taylor Valley.
2. Aims and objectives
The Area requires special management to ensure that its scientific, wilderness, ecological, and aesthetic values are protected from increasing human activity and potentially conflicting interests.
- The specific objectives of management are to:
- Facilitate scientific research while maintaining stewardship of the environment;
-
Assist the planning and coordination of human activities to manage conflicts among different values, activities and operators.
- Ensure long-term protection of ecosystem integrity and special features through minimization of cumulative environmental impacts of human activities;
- Minimize possible introductions of alien plants, animals and microbes;
- Promote transportation modes with the least environmental impact;
- Minimize the use of fossil fuels;
- Minimize the footprint of facilities and scientific experiments, including proliferation of field camps.
3. Management activities
- National Programmes should establish a McMurdo Dry Valleys Management Group to oversee coordination of activities in the ASMA.
- National Programmes shall promote the dissemination of information.
- Ensure personnel have been briefed, particularly on the Environmental Code of Conduct.
-
Copies of the management plan shall be kept in stations and huts and be available to all persons.
- Tourism and any other non-governmental activities should be coordinated with National Programmes.
- Visits to evaluate the Management Plan.
Note that guidelines for the conduct of specific activities and for specific zones within the Area are found in Appendices B, C, D, and E (also see section 7 of this Management Plan).
4. Period of designation
Designated for an indefinite period.
5. Maps and photographs
The following maps are included in the
plan:
Map A: Map of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Area
Maps B–N: (not reproduced here).
6. Description of the Area
The McMurdo Dry Valleys are located in southern Victoria Land along the western coast of McMurdo Sound, southern Ross Sea, at approximately 77°S, 162°E. An area of approximately 15,000 km2 is designated as an Antarctic Specially Managed Area (hereafter referred to as the “Area”) to manage human activities in the valleys, for the protection of scientific, wilderness, ecological, and aesthetic values.
6(i) Geographical coordinates, boundary markers, and natural features
The boundaries are defined on the basis of the hydrological
catchments in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, including all of the ice-free ground
and
adjacent areas within these catchments, all of the Convoy Range, and
the catchment of the
Alph
River. Boundary markers are not installed.
All geographic coordinates in this Management Plan are given in decimal
degrees format.
6(ii) Restricted and managed zones within the Area
There are three types of managed zones within the Area: Facilities Zones, a Tourism Zone, and Special Features.
6(ii)(a) Facilities Zones
Facilities Zones have been established to contain temporary and semi-permanent facilities within pre-defined areas.
The following management activities should be undertaken for Facilities Zones:
- Alternative energy sources and energy efficiency should be considered in the planning and maintenance of activities within the Facilities Zones;
- Waste management should be considered in the planning and maintenance of activities within the Facilities Zone;
- Facilities Zones should be periodically assessed for usefulness, improvement or removal;
- As appropriate, contingency plans for emergencies should be developed to take into account the special needs of specific Facilities Zones;
-
Facilities Zones should not be located on or in close proximity to Special Features.
6(ii)(b) Tourism Zone
The Tourism Zone is located in an area of high aesthetic value in the Taylor Valley, where safe and easy access and movement within the area can be reasonably assured with minimal impact to science activities or the environment.
6(ii)(c) Special Features
Special Features are designated areas which are of particularly high scientific value and which are particularly sensitive to human disturbance.
6(iii) Structures within and near the Area
The main structures in the Area are located within the Wright and Taylor valleys, at Marble Point, at Cape Roberts, and at Odell Glacier.
6(iv) Location of other protected areas within the Area
There are four existing ASPAs within the Area. A permit is required for entry into these protected areas. They are:
ASPA 123, Barwick and BalhamValleys
ASPA 131, Canada Glacier
ASPA 138, Linnaeus Terrace
ASPA 154, Botany Bay
7. Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct in this section is the main instrument for the management of activities.
7(i) Access to and movement within the Area
Access is normally by
helicopter from
Ross Island, or over sea ice via New Harbour
or Marble Point.
Designated helicopter pads should be
used
for helicopter
landings.
Overflight restrictions
are in
place over
ASPA 123, ASPA 131
and ASPA 154.
All pedestrian access
and movement
should minimize disturbance to the soil and vegetated
surfaces. The
use of vehicles should be restricted to lake ice, or at Marble Point,
New Harbor, and
Cape Roberts.
7(ii) Activities that may be conducted in the Area
These include scientific research; operations in support of science; media, arts, education; management activities; and tourism visits within the Tourism Zone.
All activities should be conducted to minimize environmental impacts. Alternative energy sources should be used to minimize fossil fuel usage.
Tour operators should provide visit schedules to National Programmes. Tourism movements should avoid stream crossings and should be confined to the Tourism Zone.
7(iii) Installation, modification, or removal of structures
Care should be exercised when locating and establishing installations to minimise their environmental impact.
7(iv) Field camps
Field camps are small temporary camps for research and are generally remote from Facilities Zones. Care should be exercised to minimise the impact of campsites.
7(v) Taking or harmful interference with native flora or fauna
This is prohibited, except in accordance with a permit issued under Article 3 of Annex II of the Protocol on Environmental Protection.
7(vi) Collection or removal of material found in the Area
Material not covered by 7(v) above should only be collected or removed for scientific and associated educational purposes or essential management purposes and should be limited to the minimum necessary for those needs. Any meteorites taken are to be collected and curated according to accepted scientific standards and to be made available for scientific purposes. Material of human origin likely to compromise the values of the Area may be removed unless the impact of removal is likely to be greater than leaving the material in place. In this case the appropriate authority should be notified.
7(vii) Waste management
All materials taken into the Area should be collected and removed to the maximum extent practicable. In accordance with Article 4, Annex III of the Protocol on Environmental Protection, wastes shall not be disposed of onto ice-free areas, into fresh water systems or onto snow or ice which terminate in such areas or have high ablation.
7(viii) Requirements for reports
Reports of activities in the Area should be maintained by the Management Group and made available to all parties.
Tour operators should record their visits, including the number of visitors, dates, and incidents, and submit these data to the Management Coordination Group.
8. Provisions for the exchange of information in advance of proposed activities
In addition to the normal exchange of information, Parties operating in the Area should exchange information through the Management Coordination Group.
9. Supporting documentation
Publications and Management Plans
Management Plans for ASPAs 123, 131, 138, and154.
Appendices
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