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A recreation area is a type of
A recreation area is a type of protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
designated in some jurisdictions.
By country
Canada
In theprovince
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, recreation areas are lands set aside for recreational use. These lands are also being evaluated to determine whether the area should be "upgraded" to full protected area status, or returned to integrated resource management lands.
United States
In theUnited States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, National Recreation Area
A national recreation area (NRA) is a protected area in the United States established by an Act of Congress to preserve enhanced recreational opportunities in places with significant natural and scenic resources. There are 40 NRAs, which emphasiz ...
s are administered by several different agencies. They typically do not meet the strict guidelines to become national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
s.
In U.S. state park systems, recreation areas may also fail to meet some criteria to be designated state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
s, such as having multiple non-contiguous properties. Size is not necessarily a defining criterion. For instance, in Michigan, the largest state recreation area, Waterloo Recreation Area
Waterloo State Recreation Area is the third-largest park in Michigan, encompassing over of forest, lakes and wetlands. Located in northeast Jackson County and parts of Washtenaw County, the park is the largest in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan ...
is while the smallest state park is the Tri-Centennial State Park and Harbor
The William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor (formerly named ''Tri-Centennial State Park and Harbor'') is a public recreation area located on the Detroit River just east of downtown Detroit, Michigan, on a portion of the city's International R ...
.
References
Outdoor recreation Protected areas {{Protected-area-stub