By Pepper Parr
June 21st, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
For a period of time Covid19 had us all staying indoors. Then we were allowed to go out and boy did we ever go out.
In some locations it looked as if we took all our garbage with us. As a result popular destinations along the Bruce Trail have become trail use “hotspots” which is not quite what the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC) had in mind when it came to promoting responsible use of the trails.
The more well-known conservation areas tend to be hotspots because of the facilities and parking . At Mount Nemo and Crawford Lake are now being managed via reservation systems to control visitation.
The BTC is responsible for a continuous footpath (~900 km) that travels through private and public lands. With over 300 access points the BTC cannot issue day use permits, create reservation systems, regulate timed entries, or other visitor management techniques being done by other land-management agencies.
However, as a conservation organization facilitating public access to natural spaces in a UNESCO World Biosphere, the Bruce Trail Conservancy has an important role to play in addressing hotspot issues and minimizing their impacts.
The Bruce Trail people recently hired six Trail Ambassadors to perform visitor outreach and litter clean-ups and to patrol and chat with people asking them to respect the trail and take their garbage with them.
The people you will bump into will have badges on their shirt or jacket.
Related news story:
Ambassadors take up station on Bruce Trail
