Performance Reporting

Goal 3: Provide and enhance park, fish and wildlife recreational services and opportunities for British Columbians and others.

The following table summarizes the 2003 – 2004 operating expenses by objective.

Objective 1: High-quality park facilities, services and recreation opportunities.

This objective focuses on the outdoor recreation opportunities provided by the ministry in the provincial parks system. Key areas in which the ministry is working to provide high-quality client service in provincial parks include implementing a new management model for B.C. parks to increase visitation through day use, camping and lodge usage; initiating further opportunities for delivery of appropriate park recreation services through partnerships with commercial operators; and monitoring park operations to ensure service standards and facilities are maintained and conservation and habitat-restoration priorities are met.

Performance Measure:

Visitor satisfaction with park and campground facilities and services

Rationale for the Performance Measure

Camping is one of the key types of outdoor recreation that the ministry provides, with campground facilities and services provided in provincial parks throughout the province. To assess client satisfaction, the ministry has conducted an annual satisfaction survey of visitors to campgrounds in the provincial parks system since 1985. This is an important outcome measure as the survey results enable BC Parks to capture campers' views about the quality of services being provided in campgrounds, and, therefore, to identify priorities for service and facility improvements.

Achievements and Key Issues

In 2003/04, the performance target was exceeded, with the satisfaction rating of 82% matching the highest rating attained in the last 10 years.

The Visitor Satisfaction Index is the overall rating, averaged for the province, that campers give in the survey to five categories: cleanliness of restrooms, cleanliness of grounds, condition of facilities, sense of security, and control of noise. The rating is based on responses of "excellent" and "above average." The ministry uses the index to determine how well these five particular services are being provided from year to year, and how effective service improvements have been. Figure 4 shows the visitor satisfaction index for the past 10 years.

Figure 4. Visitor satisfaction index from 1994 to 2003

Future Direction

In its 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan, the ministry increased the performance target for park visitation to reflect recent performance. The new target is to maintain or improve visitor satisfaction based on a five-year rolling average (which is currently approximately 80%). To improve customer satisfaction and increase the number of visits to provincial parks, the ministry will continue to focus on implementing its new parks management model and explore new ways of delivering park services through partnerships and commercial operators. In addition, the ministry will consider innovative ways to address changing demographics and camper demand for new services. These efforts will help ensure that B.C.'s parks will continue to showcase the natural beauty of the province, especially for visitors attending the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Objective 2: High-quality hunting, angling and wildlife viewing opportunities.

This objective focuses on the outdoor recreation opportunities the ministry provides related to fish and wildlife. The ministry is working to cooperatively manage stocking fish in lakes and streams and undertake conservation activities with the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC; implement new initiatives to enhance and diversify fish and wildlife recreation; increase the involvement of First Nations and other users in allocating natural resources for hunting, angling and wildlife viewing opportunities; and provide hunting and angling authorizations based on allowable harvest levels informed by science to ensure sustainability of resources.

Performance Measure:

Client satisfaction with fish and wildlife opportunities

Rationale for the Performance Measure

Hunting, angling and wildlife viewing opportunities are other key types of outdoor recreation that the ministry provides throughout the province. Client satisfaction is a key intended outcome of providing British Columbians and visitors with fish and wildlife recreation opportunities. This performance measure was selected to determine the ministry's effectiveness in achieving this outcome.

Achievements and Key Issues

The ministry intends to acquire the necessary data for this performance measure through a regular survey of hunters and anglers. In the fourth quarter of 2003/04, the annual paper-based survey of hunters and anglers that is used to collect harvest data included a portion on client satisfaction in order to obtain baseline data for this measure for subsequent years. This data is not yet available but may be included in the ministry's 2005/06 – 2007/08 Service Plan.

Future Direction

The ministry's plan to implement a comprehensive electronic licensing and permitting application has been replaced with a more gradual and incremental approach. The ability to collect survey data electronically may not be available in the near future. At such time as electronic licensing is in place, a survey may be developed and administered to hunters and anglers who purchase licences over the internet. An electronic survey method may pose some data challenges, but it is expected to be a more cost-effective means of data collection than the paper method used currently.

The ministry will focus its efforts on working with the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC to manage existing and create new fisheries. Currently, the society is responsible for stocking approximately 1,000 lakes and streams throughout the province annually and provides conservation fish culture services that support steelhead and sturgeon recovery programs. The society is also developing programs to inform and educate the public about fish in support of this important recreational and economic activity.

Objective 3: Optimize the economic contribution of park, fish and wildlife recreation.

This objective is an important factor that the ministry considers when determining the level and types of park, fish and wildlife recreational services and opportunities to provide under Goal 3. The ministry will promote participation in recreational opportunities; work with First Nations, governments and communities to develop parks and special tourism destinations; provide unique hunting and fishing opportunities to enhance regional tourism; and explore electronic service delivery to improve timeliness of licensing, authorization and permitting processes for fish, wildlife and park recreation.

Performance Measures:

Number of basic hunting and angling licences sold

Rationale for the Performance Measure

Fish and wildlife recreational services and opportunities are important sources of regional tourism throughout the province. The economic contribution from these sources is an important factor that the ministry considers when determining the level and types of fish and wildlife recreational services and opportunities to provide. This performance measure currently reports the actual number of hunters and anglers benefiting from these recreational opportunities in British Columbia as the trend in this data should provide a reasonable indication of changes in the economic contribution resulting from fish and wildlife opportunities.

Achievements and Key Issues

In 2002/03, the number of non-resident hunting and angling licences sold increased from the previous year (see Figure 5). However, the number of licences sold to residents declined. Licence fees were increased in 2002/03 and 2003/04 in response to the recommendations of the Recreation Stewardship Panel Report, which may be contributing to a short-term decline as residents adjust to the new prices. B.C. provides world-renowned opportunities, particularly for wildlife, and non-resident hunters tend to purchase their licences well in advance of the hunting seasons as the licences are generally included as part of a package with a guide-outfitter. These licences would have been purchased before factors such as SARS, fires and terrorism were issues. Resident hunters and anglers would have been able to respond more quickly to these factors and cancel planned hunting and fishing trips.

Figure 5. Number of basic hunting and angling licences sold from 2000/01 to 2002/03

Future Direction

Economic contribution can be estimated and reported in various ways. With the demographic characteristics of hunters and anglers changing, and increasing pressures placed on fish and wildlife populations, the focus when allocating fish and wildlife resources for recreation purposes is shifting from increasing the number of participants to providing unique opportunities matched to the preferences of participants. With this shift, changes in the number of basic licences sold may no longer provide a good indication of changes in the economic contribution of fish and wildlife recreation.

The ministry is working with BC Stats to develop an economic model for estimating economic contribution more directly. As well, the ministry will review trend information and the performance measure in preparation for its next Service Plan to determine if adjustments to the measure or targets are appropriate.

The ministry is monitoring the revenue the government receives per participant (approximately $83 per hunter and $15 per angler in 2002/03 versus approximately $80 per hunter and $15 per angler in 2001/02), and it will be considered in making adjustments to recreational opportunities provided. The ministry will also work with the Government Agents Branch of the Ministry of Management Services, which is responsible for the management of Angling and Hunting Licence Vendor Operations throughout the province, to monitor the cost-effectiveness of the current delivery method.

Number of recorded visits to B.C. parks

Rationale for the Performance Measure

Recreational services and opportunities provided in provincial parks make an important contribution to local economies throughout British Columbia. This economic contribution is an important factor that the ministry considers when determining the level and types of park recreational services and opportunities to provide. A measure of the economic contribution of parks is being provided through an estimate of the number of park visitors (measured as the number of recorded visits to provincial parks). The trend in this measure should provide a reasonable indication of the trend in the economic contribution.

Achievements and Key Issues

There were approximately 17.4 million recorded visits to provincial parks in 2003/04 (see Figure 6). This figure was approximately 5% lower than in 2002/03. A key reason for this decline in recorded visits was various natural phenomena that occurred. Forest fires burned throughout the province during part of the summer, which is the peak season for park visits. As well, toward the end of the camping season, Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan regions experienced severe flooding. Other factors that contributed to a general reduction in tourism in the province (e.g., SARS and the threat of terrorism) would also likely have affected the level of park visits. The introduction of parking fees in some of the more popular parks may also have been a factor.

The ministry has been streamlining how park recreation is provided, and this has included changing the sampling method used for collecting visitor data. The target of 23 million was based on data from the previous sampling method (e.g., 23.5 million in 2000/01 and 22.8 million in 2001/02). Hence, it is more meaningful to compare the 2003/04 results to those from 2002/03. (See Appendix D: Notes on Data Completeness, Reliability and Methodology for more information about the methodology for this measure.)

Figure 6. Number of recorded visits to B.C. parks from 1998/99 to 2003/04

Future Direction

The ministry's target is to increase recorded visits to provincial parks by 20% by 2010. This is expected to be attained through a general growth in tourism in British Columbia as well as through the provincial resort strategy initiative and working with communities on the development of key parks and special tourism destinations. Tourism BC is forecasting growth in visitor volume in 2004 of 1.5% for B.C. residents and 2.8% overall. (Source: Tourism British Columbia. 2004 Tourism Outlook. March 2004.)

As with the performance measure above — the number of basic hunting and angling licences sold — changes in the number of participants will become a less accurate indicator of changes in the economic contribution of park recreation as the types of experiences provided become more varied. Hence, work may be undertaken to more directly estimate the economic contribution of parks to the provincial economy.