Land use policies include general land use intent as well as permitted and restricted uses in an area (e.g., public road use, new commercial tourism) and selective guidelines associated with some land uses. There are two broad types of land use policy information: primary and overlay.
These policies relate to the principal land use area (i.e., provincial park, conservation reserve, enhanced management area, forest reserve, general use area, wilderness area, dedicated protected area). Policies for primary land use areas include a wide range of activities and uses which are described in policy reports in the Atlas.
Overlay areas occur in certain locations. Some examples include Crown game preserves, significant waterfowl areas, deer yards and special study areas. The boundaries of these overlay areas generally do not match those for the primary land use area and may overlap more than one primary land use area.
Policies for overlay areas are typically focused on a specific use or for a small grouping of related activities and may differ from those for the overlapping primary land use area(s). For example, a use may be permitted in the primary land use area, but restricted in the overlay area (see example). Where primary land use area policy addresses an activity that differs from the overlay area policy, it is the overlay area policy that applies.
Example: The Geikie Island Crown Game Preserve (represented by diagonal lines) is in the Lake Nipigon Conservation Reserve (represented by green fill). Hunting and commercial fur harvesting are not permitted in the Crown game preserve portion of the conservation reserve, but are permitted activities in other areas of the conservation reserve (Note: the entire conservation reserve is not shown on the map).
Modified: January 31, 2007