Nova Scotia Guides Association

History

The Nova Scotia Guides' Association was organized at South Milford, Annapolis County, on August 6th, 1909. It was an amalgamation of several county guide associations located in Western Nova Scotia, particularly the counties of Annapolis, Queens, Digby and Yarmouth. These county organizations had been in existence for a number of years prior to the formation of the province wide association in 1909. An Act to Incorporate was passed on May 15, 1920.

It was felt by the guides themselves as well as other interested sportsmen that a provincial association might be better equipped to obtain professional recognition and improved game and habitat protection than would a number of local organizations all working independently of each other. It was also during this meeting at Milford House that the first annual Nova Scotia Guides' Association sports tournament was held. Subsequent annual meetings were held in Yarmouth, Shelburne, Digby, Liverpool, Lake Rossignol and Lake William. In 1978 a ten-year renewable lease for the present location at Hibernia was received from the Queens County Fish and Game Association.

The N.S.G.A. is a member organization of the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters promoting wildlife conservation and overseeing the the enforcement of provincial hunting, fishing, game farming and trapping regulations.

For a detailed history on guiding and wildlife management in Nova Scotia read:

Dodds, Donald. Challenge & Response: A History of Wildlife Management in Nova Scotia, Halifax: Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, 1993.

Parker, Mike. Guides of the North Woods: Hunting and Fishing Tales from Nova Scotia (1860 - 1960), Halifax: Nimbus Publishing, 1990.