CKNS Mapping update
The recent members survey showed that paddle-oriented maps are one of the most valued services CKNS offers. Our online library of printable maps is popular and is slowly growing, thanks to funding from the Nova Scotia department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage, and the department of Environment and Climate Change. But members said they would like to be able to purchase hardcopy expedition-ready maps. Selling hardcopy maps is a service CKNS provided in the past. Today, CKNS is looking into options to sell maps directly from the website, but for now members have to download maps from the library and send them to a printing service such as Staples where they can be printed out full size, and laminated if desired.
Another popular CKNS map service is the Backcountry Paddle Routes of Nova Scotia map available on the Members Only page. This map, built on the Google My Maps platform, is part of the Community Mapping Project led by CKNS volunteer Ryan O’Neill. The map shows nearly 2400 paddle-related features such as water access points, portages and campsites, across Nova Scotia. Approaching nineteen thousand views since it was unveiled last year, the Backcountry Paddle Routes map has become the go-to resource for backcountry travel in the province.
While CKNS has received much praise for the Backcountry map, it must be kept in mind that it is a work in progress and many features may not have the most current information available, or any at all. Most portages and campsites on the Backcountry map are there because that feature was found on an old paper map, book or other source.
The Backcountry Paddle Routes map is a crowd-sourcing data project which relies on input from the paddling community to increase its accuracy. To date, paddlers have done an amazing job reporting on the condition of many of the portages and campsites on the map, but there are many left to go. Contributions can be anything from pictures, videos, trip logs, GPS tracks, waypoints or any other tidbits that might be useful to someone else planning a trip. Each Backcountry map feature has a unique reference number that can be used when providing information about it. Members are urged to report what they find on their expeditions so it can be added it to the map. Merely confirming the information that is already on the map is helpful as that allows others to know the last time a portage or campsite was used, and it’s condition. Please submit information via email to mappingcommittee@ckns.ca.
Some of the features shown on the Backcountry Paddle Routes map are on private land. In Nova Scotia the public has the right to access undeveloped private land under most circumstances, but CKNS would like to remind members that this access is a privilege that comes with responsibilities. These include crossing private property without lingering, no camping, no cutting trees or branches, no campfires and no littering. And if a paddler encounters a ‘No Trespassing’ sign it should be respected. Please report any ‘No Trespassing’ signs to CKNS.
The Community Mapping Project looks forward to lots of new information from paddlers as the new paddling season gets underway in a couple of months!
