Welcome Wostaweans
April 17, 2009
Hello Wostaweans:
Even though spring is open us, and we are not thinking of Cross country skiing, an important issue has arisen that we as a club need to address.
The most recent provincial budget has cutback on winter programs in many provincial parks including Mactaquac Park. What does this mean to the club? It means that we will no longer have access to Mactaquac Park and many of its attractions during the winter months, including the cross country ski trails. More importantly we lose our venue for hosting the Wostawea Ski Loppet. We have hosted the event here at Mactaquac for several years, and there is no natural replacement for this site.
The club will be sending a letter to various provincial departments stating the importance of the park to the club, in terms of recreation competition and physical education through cross country skiing.
However, we also think it is very important for us as individuals to send a response to our provincial government. Please send emails or letters to your local MLA, and ministers of; Tourism stuart.jamieson@gnb.ca; Health michael.murphy@gnb.ca; Wellness,Culture & Sport hedard.albert@gnb.ca. Probably wouldn’t hurt to include Shawne Grahams name to the list.
Here are some points that could be used in your letter to support keeping Mactaquac Park open in the winter.
- Mactaquac is used by many individuals, school and recreational groups .
- Macctaquac was established to provide a place for recreation and employment for people whose homes and farms were destroyed when Mactaquac Dam was built. However, tourists from all parts of N.B., as well as from N.S., PEI, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Maine have come to Mactaquac during winter.
- Tourists certainly will not come to Mactaquac if the park is closed. N.S. has a slogan, "Take the lid off Winter", which will encourage tourists to visit that province. N.B. could offer a similar program.
- It will be costly to close down and winterize all the buildings, provide regular checks for security/vandalism, and to open the park again in the spring. Some plowing may be required. When everything is considered, including detoriation of unheated buildings, the cost of keeping the park open in winter may not be that different from the costs involved in closing it.
- Mr. Jamieson said that people could still use the park. If this is to take place, does the Department of Tourism have an Emergency Action Plan in place to rescue people who may get injured?
- N.B. has a high rate of obesity. The provincial government is trying to address this problem by encouraging people, especially families, to be more actiive. Mactaquac Park, with its challenging sliding hills, skating rinks, snowshoeing opportunities and cross-country ski trails, is an ideal place for winter activities. Keeping the park open in winter will help reduce health care costs associated with obesity and heart problems.
- Based on the health benefits of being active in winter, perhaps the cost of keeping Mactaquac Park open in winter could be shared among the Department of Tourism, Department of Health, and the Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport.
- Competitive cross-country skiers will no longer be able to train at Mactaquac Park. Canada Winter Games will be held in 2011, so having Mactaquac as a training location will be even more important in the next two winters.
- Mactaquac is an important destination for school visits. Students have an opportunity to explore the park in winter on snowshoes or skis and to discover interesting aspects of nature in winter. For many students this may be one of the few times they get to experience and learn about the natural environment.
- Many special events take place at Mactaquac in winter, including sleigh rides, starlight skis, a provincial ski loppet, snowarama, First Nations BOS winter games, Owl Prowl, Maple Sugar event, Envirothon workshop. For the 2009 winter season 4020 people participated in these activities.
- Boy Scouts, and other groups such as Partners for Youth use the park for winter camping adventures.
- Church groups hold special family/youth outings at Mactaquac. It is one of the few areas where sliding, skiing, snowshoeing, and skating are all available in close proximity, plus the lodge and bathrooms are nearby. In total over 18,000 reported to have used Mactaquac in the winter of 2009.
This is a very important issue for the club, your involvement would greatly help the cause to restore activities at this great park.
Cheers
Eric L.
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