Ontario Parks
Encyclopedia
Ontario Parks is the branch of the Ministry of Natural Resources
that administers the provincial park
s in Ontario
, Canada
. The Ontario Parks system covers over 78,000 square kilometres (30,460 sq mi), about 10 percent of the province's surface area or the equivalent of an area approximately equal to Nova Scotia
. The Ontario Parks system is often used as the model for other parks systems in North America. This can be attributed to its delicate balance of recreation, preservation, and conservation. Many parks in Ontario also offer a Natural Heritage Education
program.
Ontario Parks' mandate is to protect significant natural and cultural resources in a system of parks and protected areas that is sustainable and provides opportunities for inspiration, enjoyment and education: now and for future generations.
, originally designed to protect loggers
' interests from settlement. The management and creation of provincial parks came under the Department of Lands and Forests in 1954 and led to a period of accelerated park creation: a ninefold increase in the number of parks over the next six years. In the 1970s the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources' (MNR) was formed. Currently, Ontario Parks does not have full agency status, but is a branch of the Natural Resource Management Division of the MNR.
The history of Ontario's provincial parks stretches for over 100 years. Here are some of the milestones from the past century plus:
1893 - Algonquin Park is created as a public park and forest reservation, fish and game preserve, health resort and pleasure ground.
1894 - Rondeau becomes Ontario's second provincial park.
1913 - The Parks Act sets aside land not suitable for agriculture or settlement.
1954 - Ontario still has only 8 provincial parks: Algonquin, Quetico, Long Point, Rondeau, Presqu'le, Ipperwash, Lake Superior and Sibley (now known as Sleeping Giant).
A Division of Parks is created within the Department of Lands and Forests. This heralds a new and aggressive program to create more parks, primarily on the Great Lake and northern tourism highways.
1960 - There are now 72 provincial parks in Ontario, hosting over 5 million visitors annually.
1967 - Ontario introduces a new policy that divides parks into specific categories, or classes, with compatible sets of uses.
1970 - Polar Bear, Ontario's largest provincial park at 24,000 square kilometres, is created.
1978 - Ontario Provincial Parks: Planning and Management Policies are approved by Cabinet giving Ontario one of the world's leading parks planning systems.
1983 - The new land use planning system leads to the announcement of 155 new parks to be designated.
1985 - There are now 220 parks in Ontario encompassing over 5.5 millions hectares of land.
1993 - Ontario celebrates the centennial of the provincial parks system and Algonquin's 100th anniversary.
1996 - The provincial parks system adopts a new entrepreneurial operating model where revenue generated by parks can be reinvested in the parks system. This is symbolized by a new name, Ontario Parks, and a new visual identity.
1996 - Ontario Parks partners with the Natural Conservancy of Canada to create Legacy 2000, a program to protect significant natural areas. Under this agreement more than 11,000 hectares are secured.
1999 - Ontario's Living Legacy is announced. This land use strategy identifies 378 new protected areas, including 61 new parks and 45 parks additions. Ontario's Living Legacy will protect over 2.4 million hectares of land, including additions to the provincial parks system of over 900,000 hectares.
2001 - Ontario now has a total of 280 provincial parks encompassing 7.1 million hectares or almost 9 percent of the province's area. Over 9 million visitors annually enjoy Ontario Parks.
2007 - Introduction of new legislation: "Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act" with 329 provincial parks and 292 conservation reserves.
Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario)
The Ministry of Natural Resources is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario that responsible for Ontario’s provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands and waters that make up 87 per cent of the province...
that administers the provincial park
Provincial park
A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...
s in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The Ontario Parks system covers over 78,000 square kilometres (30,460 sq mi), about 10 percent of the province's surface area or the equivalent of an area approximately equal to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. The Ontario Parks system is often used as the model for other parks systems in North America. This can be attributed to its delicate balance of recreation, preservation, and conservation. Many parks in Ontario also offer a Natural Heritage Education
Natural Heritage Education
Natural Heritage Education is an educational program offered by Ontario Parks in some provincial parks in Ontario, Canada. It is designed to provide education focusing on the natural and cultural heritage of the park its surrounding area...
program.
Ontario Parks' mandate is to protect significant natural and cultural resources in a system of parks and protected areas that is sustainable and provides opportunities for inspiration, enjoyment and education: now and for future generations.
History
The Ontario Parks system began its long and rough history in 1893 with the creation of Algonquin ParkAlgonquin Provincial Park
Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Central Ontario, Canada, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Canada. Additions since its creation have increased...
, originally designed to protect loggers
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
' interests from settlement. The management and creation of provincial parks came under the Department of Lands and Forests in 1954 and led to a period of accelerated park creation: a ninefold increase in the number of parks over the next six years. In the 1970s the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources' (MNR) was formed. Currently, Ontario Parks does not have full agency status, but is a branch of the Natural Resource Management Division of the MNR.
The history of Ontario's provincial parks stretches for over 100 years. Here are some of the milestones from the past century plus:
1893 - Algonquin Park is created as a public park and forest reservation, fish and game preserve, health resort and pleasure ground.
1894 - Rondeau becomes Ontario's second provincial park.
1913 - The Parks Act sets aside land not suitable for agriculture or settlement.
1954 - Ontario still has only 8 provincial parks: Algonquin, Quetico, Long Point, Rondeau, Presqu'le, Ipperwash, Lake Superior and Sibley (now known as Sleeping Giant).
A Division of Parks is created within the Department of Lands and Forests. This heralds a new and aggressive program to create more parks, primarily on the Great Lake and northern tourism highways.
1960 - There are now 72 provincial parks in Ontario, hosting over 5 million visitors annually.
1967 - Ontario introduces a new policy that divides parks into specific categories, or classes, with compatible sets of uses.
1970 - Polar Bear, Ontario's largest provincial park at 24,000 square kilometres, is created.
1978 - Ontario Provincial Parks: Planning and Management Policies are approved by Cabinet giving Ontario one of the world's leading parks planning systems.
1983 - The new land use planning system leads to the announcement of 155 new parks to be designated.
1985 - There are now 220 parks in Ontario encompassing over 5.5 millions hectares of land.
1993 - Ontario celebrates the centennial of the provincial parks system and Algonquin's 100th anniversary.
1996 - The provincial parks system adopts a new entrepreneurial operating model where revenue generated by parks can be reinvested in the parks system. This is symbolized by a new name, Ontario Parks, and a new visual identity.
1996 - Ontario Parks partners with the Natural Conservancy of Canada to create Legacy 2000, a program to protect significant natural areas. Under this agreement more than 11,000 hectares are secured.
1999 - Ontario's Living Legacy is announced. This land use strategy identifies 378 new protected areas, including 61 new parks and 45 parks additions. Ontario's Living Legacy will protect over 2.4 million hectares of land, including additions to the provincial parks system of over 900,000 hectares.
2001 - Ontario now has a total of 280 provincial parks encompassing 7.1 million hectares or almost 9 percent of the province's area. Over 9 million visitors annually enjoy Ontario Parks.
2007 - Introduction of new legislation: "Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act" with 329 provincial parks and 292 conservation reserves.
Provincial park classes
Ontario Parks system uses a classification system to divide the provincial parks into the following categories:- Recreational parksRecreation Park (Ontario)Recreation Park is the classification given by Ontario Parks to provincial parks which are primarily intended for recreation. They usually contain campgrounds, modern facilities, beaches, boat launches, picnic areas, hiking, and other utilities used in modern recreational camping....
"typically have good beaches, many campgrounds and lots of outdoor recreation opportunities. Most recreation parks provide services that may include toilets and showers, laundromats, interpretive programmes, playgrounds, boat launch facilities, hiking trails and picnic tables." - Historical Class ParksHistorical Class ParksHistorical Class Parks is the designation given by the Provincial Parks System of Ontario, Canada, for parks which emphasize the protection of historical and cultural resources, in an outdoor setting....
"emphasize the protection of historical and cultural resources, in an outdoor setting." - Natural environment parksNatural Environment Park (Ontario)"Natural Environment Park" is the designation given by the Ontario Provincial Park System to parks which act as both recreational parks and Nature Reserves. They protect wildlife, while allowing camping and other recreational activities....
"protect the landscapes and special features of the natural region in which they are located, while providing ample opportunities for activities such as swimming and camping." - Nature reserve parksNature Reserve Park (Ontario)Nature Reserve is the designation given by the Provincial Parks System of Ontario, Canada, for parks which protect specific areas of at risk or unique flora or fauna. Very few are open to the public, and virtually all of them forbid camping, fishing, or any other potentially environmentally...
"are established to represent and protect the distinctive natural habitats and landforms of the province. These areas are protected for educational and research purposes. Due to the fragility of many of these natural features, only a few nature reserves are accessible to the public." - Waterway parksWaterway parksWaterway Parks is the designation given by the Provincial Parks System of Ontario, Canada, for parks which are river corridors that provide canoeists with high-quality recreation and historical river travel....
"are river corridors that provide canoeists with high-quality recreation and historical river travel." - Wilderness parksWilderness parksWilderness Class Parks is the designation given by the Provincial Parks System of Ontario, Canada, for parks which are large areas left to nature where visitors may travel on foot or by canoe. Offering little if any facilities for visitors, these areas provide the solitude of an undisturbed,...
"are large areas left to nature where visitors may travel on foot or by canoe. Offering little if any facilities for visitors, these areas provide the solitude of an undisturbed, natural setting."
The parks
, Ontario Parks system manages 65 recreational class parks (394.8 km2), six cultural heritage class parks (67.4 km2), 80 natural environment class parks (14,675.3 km2), 109 nature reserve class parks (1,152 km2), 62 waterway class parks (14,446.2 km2), and 8 wilderness class parks (48,237.5 km2).- For the list of all parks under administration by Ontario Parks, see: List of Ontario Parks
See also
- List of Canadian provincial parks - for parks in other Canadian provinces.
- List of Ontario parks
- Parks CanadaParks CanadaParks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
- List of British Columbia Provincial Parks
- National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
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