Owls Head - Vision Air

Lawyer: Roughly half of N.S. provincial parks awaiting designation, like Owls Head was before delisting

Nicole Munro
The Chronicle Herald
June 28, 2020

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HALIFAX, N.S. — Starting Monday, an environmental lawyer will make his case to a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge to allow for a judicial review of the delisting of Owls Head Provincial Park and its negotiated sale to a private golf course developer. 

But the two-day hearing is only the start to ensuring Nova Scotia’s Department of Lands and Forestry is open and transparent about all of its provincial parks, whether they’re officially designated or pending approval, Jamie Simpson said. 

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How Nova Scotia naturalists forced the province to uphold its Endangered Species Act

Zack Metcalfe
Canada’s National Observer
June 22, 2020

Featured Photo: Canada Warbler by Jason Dain

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The Nova Scotia government just lost a 16-month lawsuit to a flower, moose, turtle, two birds and a tree, which, it goes without saying, has never happened before.

Zack Metcalfe

This is the first time Nova Scotia’s Endangered Species Act has been the subject of legal action, and the first time such legislation has been upheld in a Maritime court, setting several legal precedents that could have enormous consequences for regional conservation. […] Juniper Law is preparing for another lawsuit against the Department of Land and Forestry for its controversial decision to delist Owls Head Provincial Park on the province’s eastern shore, and attempt to sell it to a developer for the construction of three golf courses, thus undermining the sanctity of other protected areas across the province.

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Rally 2/20/2020 - photo Peter Barss

JAMIE SIMPSON: Up to citizens to challenge government when laws not followed

Contributed by Jamie Simpson
The Chronicle Herald
June 3, 2020

Thank you for the thoughtful editorial in Wednesday’s paper (“EDITORIAL: Judge to province: Listen to the Lorax,” June 3), and for drawing attention to Justice Brothers’ decision regarding the Department of Lands and Forestry’s systemic and chronic failure to fulfill its legal obligations under Nova Scotia’s Endangered Species Act. Combined with the recommendations of the Lahey Report, which stressed the need to adopt an ecological approach to forestry, the department has an opportunity to reinvent itself and let go of the outdated (and reckless) “clearcut, plant and spray” ideology. 

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Press Release: Filing of a Lawsuit to Stop the Sale of Owls Head Provincial Park

Press Release Announcing the Filing of a Lawsuit to Stop the Sale of Owls Head Provincial Park. Includes profiles of participants and links of resource sources.

Opponents of the provincial government’s decision to sell Owls Head Provincial Park to a wealthy American investor to build 3 golf courses has launched a lawsuit at the end of January in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in an effort to stop the sale. The applicants are the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association (ESFWA) and Robert Bancroft.

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