Department of Natural Resources staff member Mark Shaw works to put out fires in the Upper Tantallon area on May 30, 2023. (Province of Nova Scotia / File)

UPDATED TUES., AUG. 5 at 5:20 p.m.

With drought conditions affecting most of Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston announced Tuesday that the province is banning all activities in the woods and on trails, with few exceptions.

“We’re hearing from rural fire departments that are worried about low water levels in the ponds and lakes that they use and really about their overall ability to respond to emergencies,” Houston said at an early afternoon news conference.

“As tinder-dry conditions continue to persist from one end of the province to the other, the risk of wildfires increases and the risk is very, very high right now.

“Effective 4 p.m. today, we’re telling Nova Scotians stay out of the woods. We are restricting travel and activities that really aren’t necessary for most of us. Hiking, camping, fishing and the use of vehicles in the woods are not permitted. Trail systems through woods are off limits. Camping is allowed but only in official campgrounds.”

Houston said the fine for violating the new restrictions is the same as flouting the burn ban — $25,000. So far this year, seven people have been fined. Officials didn’t disclose where those fines were levied.

The province implemented a provincewide ban on open fires on July 30. Hot, dry conditions are expected to last in Nova Scotia for at least two weeks. 

“I know it’s inconvenient and I know it’s the height of summer vacation … but we have to stay out of the woods. It’s a small price to pay right now to avoid the kind of devastation we saw from the wildfires in 2023. And nobody wants that.

“We need all Nova scotians to help keep our firefighters safe along wih everyone else by following the measures we’ve put in place. I’m counting on you to do the right thing. Don’t light a campfire, stay out of the woods and stay safe.”

Commercial activities in the woods will also be restricted. Forestry, mining and any other work must be approved by a local Department of Natural Resources office.

Beaches and parks are still open, but any fires are banned. Private landowners may use their own properties but can’t allow others to use their wooded areas.

Fireworks are also part of the ban. In response to a reporter’s question about whether the penalty for setting off fireworks during a burn ban should also be increased to $25,000, the premier said “that sounds like a good idea to me. (It) should be.” It was unclear whether the fine would be increased.

Houston said the move to restrict activities in the woods was made based on advice from Natural Resources officials.

Minister Tory Rushton said Nova Scotia has already had about 100 wildfires so far this year. He said they were extinguished quickly, but the kind of blaze that officials have battled is different.

“The fires we’re seeing right now are burning deeper into the root system and going deep underground and that kind of fire takes a long time to put out which is exhausting our resources,” Rushton said.

“The aim is to limit unnecessary travel in the woods and activities.”

Dave White, president of the Queens County ATV Association, told QCCR on Tuesday that he supports the province’s decision.

“I think that the premier and Minister Rushton are absolutely making the right call and relying on the right people to give them good information,” White said. 

“As much as I want everybody to have recreational opportunities, now is not the time.”

White said his group and others are meeting with provincial officials on Wednesday to find out what the new restrictions mean for major ongoing work on trail maintenance.

“Those are commercial practices, but I suspect that those will be suspended until conditions improve. Obviously, our priority is to protect our woods and that leads to our community, and our friends, family and our firefighters. That’s the No. 1 thing that we’re looking at right now.”

His group and the Queens Rails to Trails Association have posted on their Facebook pages that all trails are closed.

“It’s important that people follow this. The opportunity to use our trails will come again,” White said.

“Our standard line is we’re not just building rails, we’re also building community, and that means working together to keep everybody safe and happy and healthy.”

Parks Canada issued an advisory late Tuesday afternoon (read that here) detailing these closures in Queens County:

• All trails in Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site
• Backcountry camping at Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site
• All trails at Kejimkujik National Park Seaside

Front-country camping, beaches, and day-use areas (including Jakes Landing equipment rentals) at Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site are still open.

The Region of Queens issued its own news release late Tuesday afternoon with details about which parks and trails are closed in the county. (Read the full news release here.)

The following municipal trails are closed:

• Pine Grove Park, including Anniversary Trail which connects Pine Grove
  Park to the Trestle Trail
• Trestle Trail, including the extension that begins at White Point Road and
  George Street and continues running parallel to George Street to connect
  to the Trestle Trail, ending on Bristol Avenue
• Meadow Pond Trail
• Queens Place Trail

People who use the Trestle Trail or other wooded trails to get to other parts of Liverpool or Queens County should use Queens County Transit or a taxi service while the restrictions are in place, the region says in the release.

Path Lake Park and Scout Camp Park are also closed. Other non-wooded municipal parks throughout Queens such as
Tupper Park, Centennial Park, Privateer Park, Port Medway Lighthouse Park, sports fields and playgrounds remain open.

The covered picnic areas at Beach Meadows Beach Municipal Park are off limits, because they’re surrounded by wooded areas, but the beach is still open.

The municipal leaf and yard waste site in Western Head is also closed immediately. The region will be posting closure notices in those areas affected, the release said.

White pointed out that Queens County has many options for exercise, including beaches, parks, the walking track at Queens Place Emera Centre and the new all-weather outdoor track at Liverpool Regional High School.

“We still have lots of options for recreation,” White said.

Thousands of hectares and many homes were destroyed and thousands of people evacuated in wildfires in May and June 2023 in Shelburne County and Tantallon. 

The restrictions announced last week and Tuesday will stay in place until Oct. 15, or until conditions improve with several days of steady rain.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Thomas Raddall Provincial Park. (Tourism Nova Scotia)

Campsite bookings at provincial parks in Nova Scotia are now open.

Reservations for parks in the western part of the province opened on Wednesday. 

Campers can book spots at Thomas Raddall Provincial Park in Port Joli, Rissers Beach, The Islands in Shelburne, Blomidon, Ellenwood Lake in Deerfield or Valleyview in Bridgetown.

Reservations for other areas of the province, including the Eastern Shore and Cape Breton open on Thursday and Friday.

You can book a spot by calling 1-888-544-3434 or online at parks.novascotia.ca.

A picnic in Kejimkujik. Photo courtesy Parks Canada

If the early bookings are any indication, it’s going to be a busy year at Kejimkujik.

Almost 10,000 campers raced to book their favourite spots at the National Park and Historic Site when the online reservation system opened on March 31, a nine percent increase over last year.

The feat is more remarkable considering Parks Canada rolled out a new online booking system this year, requiring all users to create new accounts.

Visitor Experience Manager at Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site Sophie Borcoman says Keji is consistently one of the most popular parks in Canada.

“Kejimkujik, every year we have such a loyal fan base of 85 percent repeat visitation who come back year after year, multiple generations,” said Borcoman. “And we’ve for, between Jasper and Banff, as being the most popular site.”

The park, which straddles Queens and Annapolis Counties features a variety of sites for tents trailers and RVs, located near services and washrooms, or in the backcountry, far away from anyone.

In recent years, many roofed accommodations have been added including rustic cabins, oTENTiks and Oasis all within an easy walk of inclusive washrooms.

The washrooms were completely renovated just two years ago to provide a toilet and sink behind a private door in the washroom facilities and private individual showers, making them more inclusive and eliminating the need for traditional separate male and female facilities.

Borcoman says despite the large number of bookings there are still lots of sites available between the May long weekend and the end of October when the park closes.

In fact, the park is offering a new service that will make it easier to book last minute.

Every Tuesday, staff will post how many sites are available in the coming week on their Facebook page, listing unbooked sites as well as any last-minute cancellations.

Borcoman says staff at Kejimkujik are constantly looking for ways to highlight the attributes of the park and historic site and encourages people to visit their web page for dates and times of several special events taking place including an ultra-marathon and the dark-sky weekend.

Kejimkujik also hosts many interpretive programs honouring the Mi’kmaw, the First People of the area.

Visitors can take a guided petroglyph tour, visit a Mi’kmaw encampment or watch and talk to master-builder Todd Labrador as he builds birchbark canoes.

Kejimkujik will open for camping May 19.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Front country rustic cabin at Kejimkujik National Park. Photo Parks Canada

It appears staff at Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site will be busy this year.

The park began accepting reservations on February 17 and 9,167 camp sites were booked almost immediately.

Acting visitor experience manager Mark Schmidt says the number of reservations is down slightly from 2020 but that’s to be expected.

“We’re roughly 17 percent less than we were on our opening of reservations last year. Now the one thing I do have to point out though is, we opened our reservation system in February this year. Last year it was in April. It was closer to the opening of the park, there was still a lot of uncertainty about travel beyond the provincial borders.”

Schmidt expects the number of reservations will exceed last year by the time April rolls around.

Kejimkujik closed part of its camping for the 2020 season to install new washrooms and underground infrastructure.

It was the first major renovation in the park in 50 years.

Schmidt says they’ve been hearing rave reviews from people about those upgrades and the park continues to improve the visitor experience.

The Ukme’k trail, which means ‘twisted’ in Mi’kmaq, is a 6.5 km trail connecting the visitor centre to the Mersey River trail that was updated in 2021 to not only improve the experience for hikers but expand its appeal to other users.

“It’s a multi-use experience in that it’s something that’s meant for all levels of users. But it also incorporates unique features specifically for mountain biking,” said Schmidt. “So there’s a handful of really cool optional features that will test the skills of mountain bikers that are out there.”

Schmidt says he’s most excited about the newly constructed Mills Falls Bridge which takes visitors from the Mill Falls day-use area across to the Ukme’k trail.

“It’s the first of its kind in Canada, in terms of the type of bridge that it is,” said Schmidt. “It’s actually placed in a way that you’re on the lower part of the falls so you have this feeling, like when you’re standing in the middle of the bridge, that you feel the power of the water underneath you.”

Schmidt says there are still many sites available, and others will open as people’s plans change and they change their reservations.

While summer is the peak time for visits to Keji, Schmidt says people shouldn’t miss exploring the park during the shoulder seasons as well.

“The park is amazing and different in all seasons,” said Schmidt. “So, if you come in the summer you need to come back in the fall because it’s such a different experience. I encourage everybody to get out and enjoy themselves.”

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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