Changing societal values and carrying capacity in park management: 50 years at Pinery Provincial Park in Ontario

Abstract

All park planning and management decisions in parks are ultimately based on values. These values and meanings are translated into various forms and functions within parks. Dearden and Rollins (2009) stated that in Canada there has been a changing emphasis in park roles, and therefore changes in the underlying values and meanings over time, largely from an overt emphasis on recreation to an increased emphasis on ecological protection. This article traces the changes in values underlying the planning and management activities in Pinery Provincial Park in Ontario from 1957 to 2009. After the park establishment in 1957, increases in use reached a high of 1.2 million visitors in 1970. The recognition of problems associated with this very high use, by sectors of civil society and within the Parks Branch, led to a major evaluation of park management. New staff members were hired and a new approach to park planning and management was implemented. In 1971 a park Master Plan was approved for Pinery Provincial Park, the first of its type in Canadian park history. This plan used the concept of carrying capacity, with recreational and ecological components, as the underlying theoretical construct. This was the first time this theory had been used in park planning in Canada, and possibly anywhere. The plan and its implementation revealed that value changes, a domain change, can cause domain changes, leading into a new management regime.