Wildlife Officials Win the Crowd in Wallace
Wildlife officials who were roasted in June became the toast of the town in Wallace tonight. Al Hanson and Andrew Kennedy of the Canadian Wildlife Service met again with the Wallace Area Development Association (WADA) to talk about the walking trail in the Wallace Bay National Wildlife Area.
In June the officials defended themselves for removing a bridge that locals constructed to complete a walking circuit in the wildlife area. Removing that bridge effectively closed the trail for the past summer.
Tonight, they announced an aggressive construction plan that would not only replace the bridge, but would also add two more bridges, update the dykes on which the trail is built, and update the trail completely.
Hanson surprised some when he said the work has already begun and they hope to have the trail fully refurbished and open for next spring. He said, “We will be replacing three bridges. Our goal is to have an approximately three metre wide, natural surface footpath.”
Andrew Kennedy pointed out that natural hemlock or cedar would be used in the bridge construction, they will not use pressure treated lumber as it is not in keeping with the true nature of the protected area. He added, “We would expect it to be open for next spring.”
The work will be done by Ducks Unlimited, which has a long-standing working relationship with the federal department.
Rob Fraser is in charge of maintenance for Ducks Unlimited for all of Nova Scotia. He said, “We are the people who constructed those dykes.” Fraser says work is underway to repair a serious washout area. There will be heavy equipment and dump trucks working in the area to restore the dyke. He added, “It is one of the bigger jobs I’ll undertake this year.”
The trucks need to build their own access into the site. If the weather allows, the completion target is Christmas. If delayed, Fraser says they will be done by late spring.
Call for Dialogue
The gathering was delighted and Hanson scored even more points when he suggested his department also wants to improve communications with the local community. The Chair of the Wallace group welcomed the news. Doug Perry said, “We were maybe too disrespectful last time you were here,” then he added, “We would still like to keep our nose in it because it is important to us, and important to tourism.”
WADA member Al Thorley said, “We were proud of the fact that we thought we were taking care of it (the walking trail), and didn’t know we weren’t supposed to.” Hanson responded, “We do appreciate your interest. If you didn’t care, that would be more concern for us.” He suggested the two groups get together once each year to discuss any plans for the wilderness area.
In the photo, Bruce Peers (left) talks with Al Hanson about land his family sold to Ducks Unlimited which became part of the Wallace wildlife area.
The meeting concluded on a very positive note and it was clear that both sides have found common ground and purpose.