This manual identifies the legal and policy foundation for planning of the province of Ontario's protected areas. It establishes a provincially consistent, transparent and predictable approach to protected areas planning. The planning process is presented as an ongoing cycle of collecting and analyzing information, decision-making, monitoring, and evaluating. The manual outlines minimum process and content requirements for preparing management direction. It also identifies application of the Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves (2005) and other components outside of the formal planning process but important in the ongoing management of protected areas.--Includes text from document.