Provincial Crown Land

In Nova Scotia, 29% of the land base is Crown Land, which is held in public trust by the province for the benefit of the public. The vast majority of this land is publicly accessible (for hunting and other purposes). There may be additional access and activity restrictions on this land that are not documented in openly available GIS layers, and it is the user’s responsibility to verify permitted activities and obey all posted restrictions in the field.

These areas are shown in purple on the map, and are built into the app. They can be used even without cell coverage.

Private Land

71% of land in Nova Scotia is owned privately. Although public access to forest and unmaintained private lands is permitted, having permission to access property for the purposes of hunting is strongly advised. Knowing the size and shape of a piece of land makes it easier to discuss with a landowner, and being more informed could help with obtaining permission.

These boundaries are downloaded ‘on the fly’ as you view that portion of the map. An Internet connection is required the first time that area and zoom level is viewed. You can pre-cache regions of this layer by using the Manage Cache button (Add Region to Cache). These areas can also be tapped on to display the PID number and acreage of the property. Tapping for more info does require internet access.

Huntable Public Parks

This layer includes the boundaries (and additional information about) Wilderness Areas, Wildlife Management Areas, and National Wildlife Areas that allow hunting. Specific rules for both access and hunting may exist. When possible, links to additional content are provided for the specific areas.

These areas are shown in green on the map, and are built into the app. They can be used even without cell coverage.

Hunting Restricted Lands

Some land designations forbid hunting entirely or only offer very rare hunting opportunities. Those areas included in this layer include some Game Sanctuaries, Migratory Bird Sanctuaries, Wildlife Management Areas, National Wildlife Areas, National Parks, Military Reserves, Provincial Parks and Nature Reserves.

This is not a complete listing of every parcel of land the dis-allows hunting, as that is an impossible task. It is merely a visualization of the defined hunting restricted areas as listed above. No-hunting zones described in the Hunting and Trapping Regulations, which do not have digital boundaries published by the province, are NOT included in this layer.

These areas are shown in dark red on the map, and are built into the app. They can be used even without cell coverage.

Private Conservation Lands

Many parcels of private land are owned by Conservation organizations such as Nature Conservancy of Canada, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, and other conservancies. This layer maps and lists these private conservation lands in a searchable manner, and provides links to the organizations that own those lands.

Public access varies from organization to organization, and the user is responsible for determining access using the links provided.

These areas shown in orange on the map, and are built into the app. They can be used even without cell coverage.