About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
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.
Contributor Notes
Paul Kopas teaches political science at the University of British Columbia.
Editorial Reviews
This well-written account of the origins and administration of our national parks begins with a challenging assertion that “national parks are about meaning” and goes on to analyse what this meaning might be. […] Forest professionals will find most interest in the chapters detailing the growth and impact of public participation in management decisions during the 1970s and 1980s.
— BC Forest Professional, Vol.15, Issue 6, November-December 2008
This book scrutinizes the policy-making process for national parks since the mid-1950s and integrates the rationale and policies that have governed park administration. … 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 the environment.
— APADE, 2007
