‘Very concerned, very cautious’ : Parks Canada provides update on storm damage to P.E.I. National Park

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Virtually one month after post-tropical storm Fiona slammed the province, there are nonetheless areas of the P.E.I. Nationwide Park that Parks Canada employees haven’t been capable of entry due to intensive injury.

Karen Jans, P.E.I. subject unit superintendent for Parks Canada, instructed a legislative standing assembly Oct. 21, the destruction was even worse than the final huge storm in 2019.

“Whereas Dorian hit us proper by means of the Cavendish sector, Fiona actually spared us nowhere,” mentioned Jans. 

“There was nowhere within the nationwide park the place there hasn’t been a big affect.” 

Roughly three to 10 metres of shoreline was misplaced as a result of erosion attributable to the storm. At Greenwich, the floating boardwalk was severely broken, and it’s unlcear when it will likely be secure to restore it, mentioned Jans. 

“One in all our colleagues likened (Greenwich boardwalk) to an enormous that reached down, grabbed it, tossed it up and twisted it,” mentioned Jans. 

“It’s unhappy to see. It’s heartbreaking.” 

Parks Canada has spent the final month prioritizing the cleanup of principal roads to make sure when the general public are invited again to the park it’s secure. 

As soon as the primary roads are cleared, Parks will shift its efforts to repairing infrastructure.

“We all know Gulfshore Parkway, we’ll must make it secure. We’re most likely going to must realign a few of that highway,” she mentioned.  

Parks doesn’t have entry to federal labour incentives, and with the labour scarcity for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic started, these repairs will probably be a pricey and time-consuming affair that may take extra a number of years  to finish. 

That mentioned, as a result of Parks is a federal group, there will probably be no price to the province, mentioned Jans. 

“This isn’t one thing you are able to do in a single season,” she mentioned. 
The particles from the fallen timber will keep within the park for use for future development tasks, and huge parts of the wooden will probably be given to the campgrounds within the space for use as hearth wooden. 

Parks is contemplating utilizing the wooden for different tasks exterior of the province as nicely, equivalent to when a number of downed timber had been despatched to Cape Breton to make cabins after Dorian in 2019. 

Nevertheless, a lot of the particles within the wooded areas will probably be left to decompose the place it fell, because the vitamins supplied will enrich the soil, resulting in regeneration. 

“We’ve years and years of expertise doing restoration. We discovered lots from Dorian and we utilized that studying to Fiona,”

-Karen Jans

Jans additionally introduced the park will probably be open to the general public subsequent summer time, however it’s nonetheless unclear what that may seem like. For now, although, the park stays largely closed to guests.

Volunteers who’re hoping to assist with the cleanup are being discouraged for now.

“We’re very involved and really cautious. These timber are torqued, they don’t behave like common timber when they’re reduce,” Jans mentioned.

Updates are supplied each Thursday on the Parks Canada web site to tell the general public which elements of the park are opened and which stay closed. 

Mike Montigny from Parks Canada instructed committee members Parks Canada doesn’t need individuals to imagine as a result of these areas are opened that they’re completely secure to go to. 

“We try our greatest, we all know individuals need to come to those locations. We acknowledge individuals need to be there,” mentioned Montigny. “Time will assist heal this.” 

Montigny additionally detailed how Parks Canada is planning to revive the dune programs earlier than the winter. 

Dwelling shorelines have been steered in some areas, however it will probably not be a long-term answer on the north shore, because the wave and wind programs probably wouldn’t assist the infrastructure. 

“We acknowledge we’re in a retreat, however it’s a managed retreat,” mentioned Montigny. 

“The residing shoreline is one thing to by us a bit of time.” 

Rafe Wright is a Native Journalism Initiative reporter, a place lined by the federal authorities. He writes about local weather change points for the SaltWire Community in Prince Edward Island and might be reached by e mail at [email protected] and adopted on Twitter @wright542.