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A warning to the snakes on Georges Island: prepare for company. Like, a lot of company.

Standing on the Seaport Market’s rooftop patio with Georges Island as a backdrop, MP Andy Fillmore announced Friday the island will be finally opened to the public.

Right now the island is only open by appointment for special tours or rare events.

The federal and provincial governments are spending $2.07 million on a permanent, 45-metre timber pile wharf with floating docks on each side to welcome tour boats, water taxis and personal crafts. There’s another $1.6 million from Parks Canada for improvements on the island including washrooms as well as interpretation and wayfinding signs. Construction and management of the wharf will be the responsibility of Develop Nova Scotia.

“At long last we are opening up Georges Island!” Fillmore announced.

Construction will start before this winter and Georges Island National Historic Site will finally be open to public visitation by the next tourist season.

“I want you to imagine a time very shortly where you and your family can pack a lunch and jump in a water taxi, or a kayak or a tour boat … and set out for this beautiful little island,” Fillmore said.

The former city planner said it was a personal mission for him over the past five years and Friday’s announcement felt like Christmas. He also promised the Mi’kmaq and Acadian communities their stories will be told on Georges Island.

“For centuries Georges Island has been an important part of Halifax’s history dating back to its original Indigenous caretakers, to its role in our city’s defence complex from the mid-18th century to the Second World War, including the tragic internment of Acadians during the expulsion.”

It was very exciting news for Eric Nielsen who looks after the island for Parks Canada.

“In the very near future we’re going to have a visitor experience to add to the gem for Halifax as a tourism destination, a cultural heritage destination,” Nielsen said, adding their projected opening date is June 15.

“We’re going to improve visitor facilities, improve pathways, undertake vegetation control. We’re also going to ensure that our visitor areas are safe and stable,” Nielsen said. “The buildings are in declining condition and so our attention is to ensure our buildings are safe for visitors to go into.”

And don’t worry about the snakes, they’ll be fine.

“I think the snakes are ready,” Nielsen said.

Parks Canada staff have started an environmental assessment, he said. A biologist and a park ecologist from Kejimkujik National Park have looked at the snake population and examined where the projected visitor areas will be.

“It’s relatively easy from a visitor control point of view to segregate where the snakes live from where the visitors will be. We feel we can do this without imposing on the quality of life for the snakes.”

Nielsen said he doesn’t know how many garter snakes are on the island but they are unusual because they are an isolated population and so most of them are black.

It’s hard to say how many visitors will pour onto George’s Island when it opens next summer, Nielsen told reporters Friday. Plans for ferries and tour boats are still being worked out, as well as any admission costs.

“There are three million visitors a season who walk along the Halifax waterfront so it takes a very small percentage to provide a substantial operation at Georges Island,” Nielsen said. “We are hoping we can have in the range of 200-300 visitors a day through the visitors season to provide a sustainable operation.”

They’ll test the waters over the next two years before determining if they need to expand the operation, he added.

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