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HISTORICALLY SPEAKING WITH ED COLEMAN: Dikeland has benefited generations of Nova Scotians

Most people look at dikeland as wide open, unfenced fields where hikers and hunters can roam unhindered wherever they please.

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The fact is that most dike fields are in private hands and have been for a couple of hundred years. Some of it is fenced and access in places is controlled.

The exception is what’s known as a common area, usually the fields behind aboiteaux, or tidal sluices, which is shared space amongst dike owners.

Generally, care of the common area is the responsibility of the dikeholders, but it is regulated by the government.

Since the Dike Act was passed in 1949, maintaining the outer protective walls has also been the responsibility of the federal government.

When the New England settlers, also referred as Planters, arrived here in the late 18th century, they received subsistence and generous grants that included dikes and woodland. Some descendants of the original grantees still own and work those dike fields today.

Thanks to diking by the Acadians, cleared land around Grand Pre and the Avon and Canard rivers were waiting when the Planters arrived. But there were problems in the early years of settlement. James........

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