The Tobeatic Wilderness Area is the largest

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the Canadian

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

, located in southwestern Nova Scotia. It contains nearly 120,000 hectares of land and spans parts of five counties,

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

Digby Digby may refer to: Places Australia * Digby, Victoria, a town Canada * Digby (electoral district), a former federal electoral district in Nova Scotia (1867–1914) * Digby (provincial electoral district), a provincial electoral district i ...

, Queens, Shelburne and

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

.Tobeatic Wilderness Area
Government of Nova Scotia Located adjacent to

Kejimkujik National Park Kejimkujik National Park () is a National Park of Canada, covering in the southwest of Nova Scotia peninsula. Located within three municipalities, Annapolis, Queens, Digby, it consists of two separate land areas: an inland part, which is coinc ...

, it was formerly known as the Tobeatic Wildlife Management Area, and the Tobeatic Game Reserve.

History

The name Tobeatic is derived from "Place of the Alder" in the

Mi'kmaq language The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

. Archaeological research shows that the Mi’kmaq people were present in the Tobeatic at least 4500 years ago. In 1927, a portion of the area was designated as a game sanctuary. In 1968, it was designated as a Wildlife Management Area. In 1998 it was designated as one of 31 Wilderness Areas in the province. It is managed by the Department of Environment and Climate Change for the province in partnership with the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables.Focus on the Tobeatic
Government of Nova Scotia In 2015, nearly 16,000 hectares were added to the wilderness area.

Geography

It contains large areas of

Acadian forest The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...

. The geography is varied, consisting of wetlands, woodlands,

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

s and barrens. The landscape was shaped by the last glaciation, which left glacial barrens, erratics, drumlins, eskers, moraines, hummocks, outwash plains and kettle lakes. It is composed of several geological units including the

Goldenville Formation Goldenville is a small community located near to Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia in the Municipality of the District of St. Mary's. The community is mainly a forestry community but also has a gold mining museum. History Nelson Nickerson found gold in ...

, the

Halifax Formation Halifax commonly refers to: * Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada *Halifax, West Yorkshire, England * Halifax (bank), a British bank Halifax may also refer to: Places Australia *Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook *Halifax ...

, and Middle to Late

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

biotite Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more alumino ...

monzogranite and leucomonzogranite. Wildlife includes eastern moose and white-tailed deer. The region has many lakes and rivers including the Shelburne, Clyde, and Tusket rivers.

Public access

Primitive hunting and public leasing of land is allowed, with hunters only allowed to hunt for six consecutive days commencing on the third Monday in October each year with only a muzzleloader, bow or crossbow. Campsites, canoe routes, and

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

s are not as developed or maintained as the nearby Kejimkujik. Motorized vehicle use within the reserve is not permitted. Along with Kejimkujik, the Tobeatic is part of the UNESCO designated Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve.

In popular culture

The area is the setting for the 1908 Albert Paine novel, '' The Tent Dwellers'', which chronicles a three-week fishing trip through the area.Proposed clearcut near pending expansion of protected wilderness area sparks concern
CBC News

References

{{Nova Scotia parks Protected areas of Nova Scotia Geography of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia Geography of Digby County, Nova Scotia Geography of Queens County, Nova Scotia Geography of Yarmouth County Geography of Shelburne County, Nova Scotia Tourist attractions in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia Tourist attractions in Digby County, Nova Scotia Tourist attractions in Queens County, Nova Scotia Tourist attractions in Yarmouth County Tourist attractions in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia