Restrictions on N.S. trail use cause complications for some residents, visitors

CBC

a day ago

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As Nova Scotia's trails were suddenly shut down late Tuesday afternoon, the move left some residents and visitors scrambling to find alternatives.
On Tuesday, the province announced it was banning hiking, camping, fishing and use of vehicles such as ATVs in the woods due to an elevated wildfire risk. Nova Scotia has seen limited rain recently, and no significant rainfall is in the forecast for the coming days.
Grand Pré resident Orion Leidl Wilson says he understands the need to mitigate the serious wildfire risk, but he believes the province should have given people more notice of the changes and thought the rules through more carefully.
"It was sudden, it's broad and it's vague," he said. "I think that it could have been communicated a lot better, like what is permissible.… It's been pretty frustrating to just have that kind of handed down yesterday and then try and scramble."
Leidl Wilson commutes by bicycle to his two workplaces in Wolfville and Centreville using the Harvest Moon Trail. With the trail off limits, his options are much less appealing and feasible, he said.
There is no public transportation that goes to Centreville, and the bus schedule to Wolfville is sporadic, he said.
Leidl Wilson said he could borrow a car, but he feels that is counterproductive, as car usage contributes to climate change, and climate change contributes to drought and wildfire risks.
There are other bicycle routes to his destinations, but Leidl Wilson said they all involve riding on roads that don't have shoulders, are poorly designed for cyclists and don't feel safe.
"I think that they didn't consider cyclist commuters with this ban," he said. "Like cyclists, you're not burning fossil fuels, you're not going to be throwing cigarette butts off your bike like people in cars do."
Leidl Wilson said he has applied for a permit from the Department of Natural Resources to allow him to use the trail, but he hasn't yet received a response.
Campers scrambling
Morgan MacDonald owns Sa'Mor Adventure Depot, a camping gear business in Antigonish, and manages Nova Scotia Overlanding, a Facebook group with more than 7,000 members.
Overlanding is a type of camping that involves using vehicles — often specially modified vehicles — that allow the driver to travel to remote locations.
MacDonald said he's been seeing and hearing both disappointment and understanding from people who had planned trips to Nova Scotia or locals who wanted to go camping in the woods.
He said he met one person at his shop on Tuesday who had planned to travel toward Canso, along the coastline to Halifax and then on to the South Shore. But after learning of the ban, he was trying to decide what to do.
"Booking at campgrounds is still an option, but of course most campgrounds are full," MacDonald told Information Morning. "And of course, with the extra amount of people that they will be receiving based on the lack of off-grid camping available, finding those accommodation spots will be a little bit more difficult."
MacDonald said as a business owner, he's worried about the impact of hot, dry summers and the potential for more bans.
"There's a lot of tourism revenue generated based on people travelling to Nova Scotia, local people staying within the province and exploring our backyard, basically, and this really affects the outfitters, the guides, the gear retailers such as ourselves."
Municipalities react quickly
After the province's announcement, municipalities had to act swiftly to figure out which trails in their areas would be open or closed, as they did not receive advance notice of the plan to implement the ban.
Christine Blair, the mayor of the Municipality of Colchester, said staff immediately began working to make those determinations and communicate with residents.
"It wouldn't have hurt to have a little more than an immediate response or to have had that discussed with the municipalities in advance — that would have been nice, too," Blair said. "But it happened, and when it happened, we dealt with it."
She said some residents had questions about what was and was not permitted.
"There's a bit of confusion with the public so we have had some calls, is this trail closed, is that trail closed, that type of thing."
Although the restrictions were a surprise, Blair said she supports the province's decision.
"Even though there's no smoking on our trails, we do see cigarette butts on occasion," she said. "So we want to be as safe as we possibly can. Wildfires are not something that we want."