The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Saskatchewan's regional parks have received a financial boost from the province in the form of a $1,015,000 grant. The announcement was made Monday at Nickle Lake Regional Park near Weyburn. The park will receive $18,039 to help cover the cost of building new campsites, re-roof three buildings and upgrade washrooms. "Regional parks reflect regional pride and make an important contribution to our quality of life," Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Dustin Duncan said. "They were developed by people in local communities who saw a need for local recreation areas for the present and into the future. This grant will help regional parks continue to be an important part of our province's recreation system." The Saskatchewan Regional Parks Association administers the grant money. "These funds go toward improvements in all areas of our parks such as campgrounds, playgrounds, equipment purchases, golf courses, administrative support and water quality," Saskatchewan Regional Parks Association President John Froese said. "With this funding and the matching dollars from the regional parks, more than $2,000,000 in capital projects will be carried out in the regional parks this year to improve the quality of camping and lifestyles for the people of Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan Regional Parks Association will use up to $125,000 of the money to administer the grant program and support its member parks. The remaining funds will be used for grants to be given to qualifying member regional parks. The grant money must be matched dollar-for-dollar by the qualifying regional park and must be used to upgrade the park. The $1,015,000 grant is part of an earlier commitment by the province to provide the province's regional parks $2.4 million over four-years. This program is now in its second year.
