On May 12, 1955, the same paper said that "Mr. Sparks and his associates are generally credited with 'selling' the late Prime Minister Mackenzie King the idea of setting aside a national recreation area on the outskirts of Canada's capital.

"[5] A noted conservationist, tariff expert and successful businessman, he waged battles against government corruption in the 1920s, playing a key role in the 1926 Customs Investigation, and defended workers' rights in the 1930s, helping Conservative MP Harry Stevens establish the Select Committee on Price Spreads.

As chairman of the research committee of the Federal Woodlands Preservation League, Sparks had urged the Bennett government to commission a survey of the Gatineau forests in a letter of April 3, 1935, to Interior Minister T. G. Murphy.

[7] They include a December 13, 1937, memorandum to the office of Prime Minister King outlining a proposal for creating the park; a preliminary master plan proposal for Gatineau Park sent to the Federal District Commission on October 9, 1945; and a 1946 memorandum to the Standing Senate Committee on Tourist Traffic.

[14] Sparks' influence continues to be evident throughout Gatineau Park, most notably in policies advocated in successive NCC master plans.

The extent of that influence was acknowledged in 1950 by French urban planner Jacques Gréber in his landmark report on Canada's capital: The Advisory Committee to the Federal District Commission on Gatineau Park, of which Mr. P. Sparks is Chairman […] are in full and enthusiastic accord with us on the possibilities of this wooded reserve, and have, in large measure, inspired our recommendations relative to practical developments of this providential asset of the Capital Region.

It is a special place, one to be cherished and taken care of.His grandson, Rod Crawley, also related vivid impressions of Percy Sparks: I remember holding his hand, being led on walks along well-worn paths, made by him, listening to and witnessing the unfolding natural world.

Pop built a wonderful set of swings at "Stone Acres," his farm on the Meech Lake Road.