As the warmer weather settles in, many of Canada’s National Parks are gearing up for another busy summer tourist season and Nova Scotia’s Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site is one of them.
On May 18th, 2018, both the park and seaside park will open to the public.
But visitors to the park should be aware of a new firewood importation ban in effect for this season.
The Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has found an invasive pest/species in the counties surrounding the park so measures have been taken to prevent the critter from entering the park and damaging the forests and woodlands.
“Opening weekend is a very popular time, people are itching to go camping and go for a picnic so it’s a great time of year to get out there,” says Sophie Borcoman, Visitor Experience Manager at Kejimkujik National Park. “The (CFIA) has found a little pest called the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid; in this case, the Hemlock, which is so representative of people’s experience in the park, it’s an iconic tree, it’s part of our wonderful, dense, old growth forests and we really would like to protect them.”
As a result, visitors to the park cannot bring firewood from home or purchased at the side of the road; the only fire burning materials allowed into the park are those that have been heat treated, kiln dried, plastic wrapped/packaged or pressed.
The ban will also help to prevent the spread of the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle, European Fire Ant and Emerald Ash Borer.
