An important contribution to our understanding of national park policy in Canada. -- Rick Rollins, co-editor of Parks and Protected Areas in Canada: Planning and Management This book is particularly important in light of growing public interest in the environment. Biodiversity issues occupy a significant place in current policy debates. Many of Canada's national parks and our diverse formally protected areas face mounting pressures. Paul Kopas tells us why, and skilfully addresses the critical conservation issues in a historical context. -- Robert Boardman, co-editor of Canadian Environmental Policy

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.

"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