The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) opened its trails on Friday, May 15 for the first time since mid-March.
Byron Wesson, Director of Conservation Services for the NVCA said, “We are pleased to be back in business and to see people hiking our trails and taking all the natural beauty our properties have to offer. We know much of what we do is different now but nature has remained intact and in fact a little more vibrant, so there is lots to take in while enjoying it.”
Wesson added, “We had a hundred people visit our conservation areas over the weekend and they were respecting the rules. We would typically see more people on a May long weekend but this one was like no other in my memory.”
Only the trails are open at this time, and amenities such as washrooms will be closed for the foreseeable future.
The NVCA asks visitors not to gather in groups of larger than five people, and to stay at least two metres (or six feet) away from other groups.
In regard to people respecting these rules over the past weekend, Wesson said, “We did have staff monitoring throughout the weekend. There is also a level of trust that we have rely on. We fortunately do not see the large crowds of people gathering as experienced in the GTA. That has never been an issue for us.”
Conservation Halton, for example, is requiring people to reserve time to go to one of its parks, once they open May 22. Wesson said, “We do not have crowd control issues like Conservation Halton. At this time it is not something we would need to consider.”
NVCA did not do upkeep during the shutdown but staff spent the week prior to May 15 preparing the properties to open. Wesson said, “We know people have been counting the days to get outside and we wanted to be ready for them.”
As with all conservation areas in Ontario, NVCA is owned and managed locally, not by the province. Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) is working to reopen properties across the watershed by Friday, May 29, 2020.
The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority is a public agency dedicated to the preservation of a healthy environment through specialized programs to protect, conserve and enhance our water, wetlands, forests and lands.
Visitors to NVCA’s conservation areas are required to purchase a daily parking pass ($6.50/day) or an annual parking pass ($45/year). Daily parking passes are available for purchase at the conservation area or at home. To purchase an annual parking pass, please email [email protected].
Rosaleen Egan is a freelance journalist, a storyteller, and a playwright. She blogs on her website rosiewrites.com
