Regional park

A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.

Definition

A regional park can be a special park district covering a region crossing several jurisdiction boundaries, or a park system of a single jurisdiction, such as a province, county, or city.

By country

Canada

Saskatchewan

There are 101 regional parks in Saskatchewan. All parks are operated by volunteer boards.

Italy

Regional parks in Italy are administered by each region in Italy, a government unit like a U.S. state.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, regional parks are administered by regional councils rather than the Department of Conservation or territorial authorities.

United States

Definitions

In the United States, a regional park is sometimes referred to as a 'Metropolitan Park (Metropark)' or as an open space reserve. The terms region and metropolitan can have different meanings in U.S. local government agencies. Regional parks can be administered by a regional park board, a state, county or other units of local government. A special authority can be set up, under the joint jurisdiction of two or more government bodies or as an independent park district to administer parks. Individual parks may or may not cross governmental boundaries. The park district holds the authority, similar to fire protection districts, to manage and raise taxes to cover park acquisition and management costs.