DCHP-2

parks officer DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. & adj. — Administration, especially Yukon and Northwest Territories

  a warden of a national or provincial park.

  The term parks officer refers to 'an official responsible for patrolling and maintaining a national, provincial, etc. park' (see COD-2, s.v. "park warden"). Examples of duties include facility maintenance and rule enforcement (see the 2013 quotation). While the term is most prevalent in Australia and New Zealand, its use is documented in most parts of Canada (see Chart 1). Use in Canada is dominated by the Yukon and the Northwest Territories (see Chart 2). Its use is possibly motivated by combinations of proper names, e.g. Niagara Parks, and the common noun "officer", as shown in the 1960 quotation. Eventually, the compound noun parks officer developed.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "parks officer", which is marked "Cdn".

  • Parks officer, as opposed to park officer can be considered a Yukonism and Northwest Territories-ism in the North American context.