Taking the Air: Ideas and Change in Canada's National Parks

Natural resource management is a major area of Canadian policy, as recent literature reveals. Yet analysts have devoted little attention to the management of parks and protected areas. In Taking the Air, Paul Kopas takes a comprehensive approach to this aspect of policy debate. He scrutinizes the policy-making process for national parks since the mid-1950s and interrogates the rationale and policies that have governed their administration.

Kopas argues that national parks and park policy reflect not only environmental concerns but also the political and social attitudes of bureaucrats, citizens, interest groups, Aboriginal peoples, and legal authorities. He explores how the goals of each group have been shaped by the historical context of park policy, influencing the shape and weight of their contributions.

In the context of Canadian nation-building and environmental policy, this book will be useful to policy analysts, planners, academics, and students in fields ranging from environmental studies to tourism and recreation. It will also interest general readers concerned with Canada's parks and environment.