PARK MANAGEMENT 



10 - 1 - X 



12 - 1 X X 



2 - 7 X X 



100 - - X X 



Ninety-seven Provincial Parks were in operation during the 



1969 park season. This included Cyprus Lake Provincial Park, 



in operation for its first season. This Natural Environment 



park contains 1,149 acres situated on the northeast coast of 



M the Bruce Peninsula, about six miles southeast of Tober- 



7 EC 27 X X mory. It contains the spectacular cliffs and vistas of the 



1 ~ ~ X X Georgian Bay coast, made available to visitors from a sec- 



\ — — X X tion of the Bruce Trail, as well as inland lakes, forests and 



^ — — X X bogs. 



A considerable increase in park use was experienced in 

 IQ _ _ _ _ the 1969 camping season. The number of visitors increased 



Q}/^ _ |i, y^ X by 10.8 per cent, while the number of campers leaped by 



81/2 _ _ _ X 21.4 per cent from that of 1968. This shows an obvious re- 



covering from the previous year's slump of seven per cent 

 in day-use and three per cent in campers, for a substantial 

 7 — 2 X X net gain this year. 



INTERPRETIVE SERVICES 



Interpretation of natural and cultural resources to visitors 

 in Provincial Parks is gradually developing into a program 

 of services which is outstanding among comparable North 

 American park systems. The interpretive goals are to trans- 

 mit information about the environment, primarily to park 

 visitors, and thereby to motivate wise use of resources, 

 35 £(3 5 X X stimulate appreciation of park facilities, and enhance the 



30 EC 4 — X visitors' recreational experience. 



Since 1944, when the interpretive program was begun, 

 the annual number of interpretive contacts made with the 

 public has increased to three-quarters of a million indivi- 

 dual messages. This spectacular growth has thus been more 

 rapid than the growth in total annual visits to the parks. 

 However, as increasing numbers of outdoor recreationists 

 come from city centres, they require additional informa- 

 ^ IQ _ _ j^ X tional-educational services for their proper orientation to 



X 35 _ 4 X X P^'"'^ facilities and their enjoyment of the outdoors. 



X 4 _ _ _ _ Moreover, in serving sheer masses of recreationists, the 



_ 5 _ 2 X X Department must seek public participation in protecting 



_ gQ _ _ X — the public trust; and interpretive messages have proven to 



X 200 — — X X t»e an important means of tackling conservation problems 



_ 40 — — — — such as wilderness littering, overcrowding, and vandalism. 



By interpretive services, increased protection has been won 

 for fragile components of the park environments, and cur- 

 ~ 43 EC 5 - X rent projects are helping to combat abuse of wild flowers 



~ '0 - 1'4 X X and threatened faunal species. 



X 8 — '/2 X X Important program additions in 1968 include the develop- 



ment of an audio-visual program on wilderness camping 



behaviour for presentation at Quetico and Algonquin Parks. 



This film has been directly related to a substantial decline in 

 interior littering in both parks. 



2 - - - X 



X 32 - 3'/2 - X 



X 6 - - - - 



- 25 - 15'/2 X X 



2,343'2 I72'2 



41 



