Group News
“Back at Owls Head”
Statement from the Nova Scotia Chapter of the Canadian Parks And Wilderness Society (CPAWS):
This summer, CPAWS-NS has visited Owls Head numerous times. Accompanied by a range of biodiversity experts, we have been completing a series of surveys to record the rich natural diversity of this coastal headland.
Our team has identified over 75 species of birds that occur here, undertaking surveys from the land and on the water. Later this month, we’ll be out again with our snorkels, studying eelgrass beds in the area.
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Partnerships
CPAWS-NS Explores the Eastern Shore Islands
Originally published by CPAWS NS here
Featured photo by CPAWS NS
Located in the Mi’kmaw traditional territory of Eskikewa’kik, the Eastern Shore Islands include hundreds of islands stretching along the coast from Clam Harbour to Liscomb Point. This is the largest archipelago in eastern North America, and it’s only a short drive from Halifax.
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Articles
Once a leader in conservation, N.S. now falls behind, report finds
Nova Scotia was once considered to be a leader in Canada for the creation of new protected areas, but in a new report, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) says that’s no longer the case.
“Owls Head is probably the most egregious example we have seen this year of the Nova Scotia government showing their disregard for our protected areas in this province,” she says. “Here is a coastal gem on the eastern shore, that has been recognized as a significant conservation site for decades, and the government was all too comfortable secretly delisting the site without consultation.”
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Group Actions and Events
CPAWS: Community scientists descend
Original Post from CPAWS NS, here. Featured photo by Nicole Tomasic
Nova Scotia’s coastline is home to an abundance of birds – shorebirds, seabirds, waterbirds, and even woodland species. Recently, CPAWS-NS helped organize an expedition to Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve, with a group of expert birders, to document the diversity first-hand.
Owls Head is a coastal headland that supports a variety of habitats including bogs and wetlands, estuaries, salt marshes and beaches. Our birding team set out to identify bird species across these habitats and document the ecological significance of this unique region.
Legal
Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association
Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association (Forest Watch) is one of the applicants in the court case to save Owls Head Provincial Park. Along with wildlife biologist Bob Bancroft (President of Nature Nova Scotia), Forest Watch has requested a time extension to ask for a judicial review as well as requested the judicial review itself.
While Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association has never been an applicant in a court case before, the group felt compelled to take legal action after the provincial government secretly removed Owls Head Provincial Park from Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan.
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Legal
Delisting Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve
By Caitlin Grady of CPAWS NS
Originally published here
A lot has happened since the CBC investigative report by Michael Gorman uncovered the secret delisting of Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve by the Nova Scotia government. This backroom deal to turn a park into a golf course development has drawn huge public condemnation, and rightly so.
Here’s what we know so far:
2017 – Negotiations begin behind-closed-doors to delist Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve and remove the site from the Nova Scotia ‘Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan’.
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Group News
Timeline of Promised Protections
Owls Head Provincial Park: A Recognized Candidate for Protection for Nearly 50 Years
“While Owls Head is making headlines as Nova Scotia’s ‘newest’ provincial park, it’s actually a park 47 years in the making,” said Lindsay Lee, Secretary of Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association. “After nearly five decades of public consultations, government plans and scientific studies, Owls Head Provincial Park is finally getting the legal protection it needs and deserves.”
To understand just how significant that is, it’s important to understand where we started.
(more…)“The evidence on this Motion clearly establishes that Owl’s Head was portrayed to the public as a Provincial Park. Government documentation and maps, going back as far as 1978, refer to the area as “Owl’s Head Provincial Park”. Further, it was managed by Lands and Forestry to maintain its reserve status. The public had every reason to assume Owl’s Head was a Provincial Park and, therefore, attracted protections not available on Crown lands.”
NS Supreme Court Justice Kevin Coady, Interlocutory Decision, Page 3 (Emphasis is Ours)