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HCA closes conservation areas amid coronavirus pandemic

The Hamilton Conservation Authority now has 12,000 pass holders, compared to six thousand at the start of the pandemic.
The Hamilton Conservation Authority now has 12,000 pass holders, compared to six thousand at the start of the pandemic. Ken Mann

The Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA) is closing all of its conservation areas.

The closure takes effect on Wednesday and is in response to the province’s direction to limit the spread of the new coronavirus by closing non-essential business operations.

The HCA says no day use will be permitted until further notice in its 14 conservation areas and those who enter will be trespassing and subject to fines.

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The closure of the trails applies to everyone, including 6,000 seasons-pass holders.

HCA Chair Lloyd Ferguson predicts the board will eventually extend those passes into 2021 to account for the lost time.

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Ferguson adds that they became concerned this past weekend, when they noticed “there wasn’t a lot of social distancing, particularly on the trails and at the waterfalls.”

HCA areas include Christie Lake, Confederation Beach Park, Devil’s Punchbowl, Dundas Valley, Eramosa Karst, Felker’s Falls, Fifty Point, Fletcher Creek, Spencer Gorge, Tiffany Falls, Valen’s Lake, Westfield Heritage Village, Wild Waterworks and several natural areas.

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