CPAWS

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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By Save Owls Head, ago
Nova Scotia Owls Head Park Reserve Map

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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By Caitlin Grady, ago
Owls Head Aerial

A filthy rich American wants to profit from turning Owls Head into a golf course, and he apparently wants the Canadian taxpayer to subsidize the effort

Tim Bousquet
Morning File,
May 15, 2020
Halifax Examiner

Yesterday, Chris Miller, of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, received a stack of documents in response to a Freedom of Information requested related to the provincial sale of Owls Head, and tweeted about them.

You’ll recall that Owls Head, which was once listed as a potential future provincial park on the Eastern Shore, and which includes an area with a “globally rare” ecosystem, was delisted as a provincial property that will receive legal protection, so that it can be sold to a company called Lighthouse Links Development, which wants to turn it into a golf course.

Read the full article> (Owls Head is story #3)

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By Save Owls Head, ago

RICHARD BELL: Groups Unite to Oppose Owls Head Park Sale

Eastern Shore Cooperator
Posted on March 12, 2020
By Richard Bell

Read Full Article>

In a show of province-wide opposition to the government’s controversial decision to sell Owls Head Provincial Park, 23 groups submitted a joint letter to Premier McNeil on Tuesday, March 10 calling on the government to do three things:

  1. “Stop the sale of publicly-owned lands at Owls Head
  2. Protect Owls Head as a legally-designated protected area
  3. Fully implement the Nova Scotia Parks and Protected Areas Plan”
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By Save Owls Head, ago

Save Owls Head Provincial Park: Joint Letter

Office of the Premier
7th Floor, One Government Place
1700 Granville Street
Halifax, NS
B3J 1X5

March 10, 2020

Dear Premier Stephen McNeil:

Owls Head is an ecologically significant area along the Eastern Shore that is deserving of legal protection. It contains a number of rare ecosystem types, as well as important habitat for migratory birds and species-at-risk. It is a key headland within the “100 wild islands” ecosystem.

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By Save Owls Head, ago

Conservation biologist creates website to help save Owls Head

Full Article Here>

Stefan Sinclair-Fortin
The Signal
January 28, 2020

Government says Owls Head isn’t a provincial park, but their documents say otherwise

Controversy over the proposed sale of coastal Crown land known as Owls Head provincial park in Eastern Shore has prompted Chris Miller to create a website urging people to speak out.

Miller, executive director of the Nova Scotia chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, said he created the site last week because of the number of people who reached out to him.

“A lot of people are really concerned about it, and people are contacting me and are (asking) ‘How can I help, what can I do?’” Miller said in an interview.

“So I’m directing them to submit letters to the government, for them to reach out to their MLAs.”

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By Save Owls Head, ago