Mandate

Our mission-statement

As a public trust, BC Parks’ mission is to protect representative and special natural places within the province’s Protected Areas System for world-class conservation, outdoor recreation, education and scientific study.

Fundamental to implementing BC Parks’ mission is integrating reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples into everything we do.

BC Parks is committed to serving British Columbians and their visitors by:

  • Protecting and managing for future generations a wide variety of outstanding park lands which represent the best natural features and diverse wilderness environments of the province
  • Providing province-wide opportunities for a diversity of high quality and safe outdoor recreation that is compatible with protecting the natural environment

Inherent in this mandate is the requirement to maintain a balance between BC Parks’ goals for protecting natural environments and outdoor recreation, as well as supporting our reconciliation commitments to Indigenous Peoples.

BC Parks is also responsible for the management of the provincial system of ecological reserves, established under the authority of the Ecological Reserve Act. The purpose of the Ecological Reserves System is to:

  • Maintain British Columbia’s ecological diversity through the preservation of representative, and special natural ecosystems, plant and animal species, features and phenomena

Ecological reserves offer long-term research and educational opportunities as well as limited, non-consumptive public uses, such as nature photography and bird watching.

Our mandate

BC Parks’ authority is drawn from three pieces of legislation, the Park Act, Ecological Reserve Act and the Environment and Land Use Act, and their associated regulations, policies and agreements.