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I visited Algonquin Park as a child!
Don't you love the glasses?! |
I've visited 20 parks, that I can recall. Algonquin Park was my first!
There is a difference between Federal and Provincial Parks, but we are blessed with a fair number of natural places to visit. Both have
Learn To Camp programs and journalists seem to have a hard time differentiating them. No matter. They are parks!
Federal vs. Provincial and Public Ownership
Less than 11% of Canada's land is in private hands ; 41% is federal crown land and 48% is provincial crown land. The YUKON, the NORTHWEST TERRITORIES and NUNAVUT are administered on behalf of Canada by
ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS AND NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT through the
Territorial Lands Act and Public Lands Grants Act .
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The wonderful volunteers picking up garbage
at the side of the road in Algonquin Park were very busy.
Wish we'd had time to help!
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Who Owns Park Land?
The
provinces sold crown land to homesteaders, farmers, business owners and granted land to demobilised soldiers (200 acres for enlisted settlers and 600 acres for officers); regulated the use of resources: forestry, mining, furs; manage recreational land use such as fishing, hunting, camping. (Read more at:
Ghosts of the Day 1,
Ghosts from the Day - Part 2, |
Ontario Visual Heritage Project. Much harm was done in places like Georgian Bay, where for-profit clear-cutting logging conflicted with the fishing industry. Silt destroyed spawning grounds in Georgian Bay, ruining a way of life for all. Some park lands were expropriated from landowners in the early development of parks, such as the local Lally Family in MPP.
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| Sharbot Lake in her fall colours |
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| Bon Echo visitor crosses the road |
Friends of Ontario Provincial Parks are community-based, non-profit groups what help fundraise, and support the activities of parks. They support the interpretive, educational and recreational objectives of our parks. All have a volunteer board of directors, general members, and/or volunteers.
Many non-profit groups apply for government grants to support volunteer work, hire employees. This is why there is a Board of Directors, to ensure that, as Transfer Payment Agency, money is spent wisely and according to Canada Revenue laws, good governance protocols and fiduciary responsibility .
The beauty of this, is that hard-working volunteer fundraisers are not hampered by Ontario Parks, Federal Parks cutbacks, or Capital Expenditures funds. Grants are numerous:
a)
Trillium Grants b)
Cultural Strategic Investment Fund grant
c)
Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund Grant: Valley Heartland, to name a few.
By the way, if you are interested in reading about park life from the view point of a park ranger,
make sure you read Nevada Barr's books. She is a mystery writer, also an experienced USA Park Ranger, and sets each book in a different US park. Make sure you read them in chronological order, as she develops her heroine/main character (Anna Pigeon) over the series!
