Because the area of open land between Harbord Road and Griffin Road that contains Curl Curl Lagoon is generally referred to as John Fisher Park, there is often an assumption that this area - being a 'Park' - will have environmental values worthy of special protection and preservation measures.
That so many visitors use the Park daily for passive recreation, exercise and the simple enjoyment of nature shows how highly its environmental attributes are valued by the community.
However, it is also true that almost all of the dry land area of John Fisher Park has, since 2000, been categorised as 'Sportsground' as shown in the Categorisation of John Fisher Park & Abbott Road Land in the John Fisher Park Plan of Management. The proportion of the dry land area categorised as 'Park' is miniscule.
Both these facts need to be recognised whenever stakeholders are attempting to reconcile the competing interests of environmental protection and provision of sporting facilities in this area.