THE BRITISH COLUMBIA FOREST SERVICE IN THE FIELD OF RECREATION IN PROVINCIAL PARKS AND FORESTS
British Columbia is experiencing a period of industrial expansion resulting in vastly increased populations and attendant aggravation of social and economic problems.It faces increasing and changing demands on natural resources. People are no longer satisfied with trees to meet their industrial needs. They are demanding forests to protect their watersheds, to frame their roadsides, to clothe their scenery. They want trees and forests to foster fishing and sustain and shelter wildlife. Today people have learned about recreation, and they demand trees and forests for recreational use.These new forest uses have great economic significance in addition to whatever social values they may represent. The people of the United States spend more than 12 billion dollars a year on vacation and holiday travel. More than 150 million people were attracted to American National and State parks and recreation areas in 1949, and it has been shown that Glacier National Park alone lured 36,000 visitors and a 14 million-dollar revenue to the State of Montana in that year.British Columbia is interested in this rich new market for its forests and recreation resources. Its first provincial park was set aside in 1911, and during the ensuing 40 years the Provincial park system has grown to 62 areas comprising more than nine million acres. Additional recreational opportunities exist in 36 million acres of Provincial forests.