Save Owls Head Provincial Park

• Globally rare plant ecosystem
• Over 5 miles of coastline
• Biodiverse bogs & salt marshes
• Offshore eelgrass beds, which absorb a tremendous amount of carbon and support our fisheries
• Tier 1 (top-priority) conservation rating
• Important for habitat for native & migratory bird species
• Over 88 species of birds have been recorded, including the provincially endangered barn swallow & Canada warbler
• Included in the government’s significant habitat database for nesting piping plovers
• Part of a wildlife corridor

Owls Head Provincial Park has a “Tier 1” (top-priority) conservation rating based on extensive consultations with citizens, environmental organizations, industry representatives, and the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs. Even a private real estate valuation commissioned by the prospective developer declared that the “highest and best use” for the property would be ‘conservation’ or ‘recreation’ (such as hiking and kayaking).

Owls Head Provincial Park is a biodiverse property with undisturbed coastal heathlands, salt marshes and bogs, a freshwater lake, estuaries, beaches, and a rugged coastline. It is bordered by offshore eelgrass beds and is home to several species of conservation concern, including a “globally rare” Broom Crowberry (Corema conradii) ecosystem. Scientists from Saint Mary’s University have been studying the plant communities of Owls Head Provincial Park for years, and emphasize that it needs our protection.

Owls Head Provincial Park provides vital ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and climate regulation, protecting the coasts from storms, flood protection, water filtration, and habitat provision.

As a 268-hectare coastal landscape on the Atlantic Flyway, Owls Head Provincial Park is an important habitat for native bird species and a refuge for migratory birds. Its shoreline has been identified as habitat for the endangered and beloved piping plover. In Nova Scotia, there are only about 45 breeding pairs of piping plovers, so we must make every effort to protect them.

Recommended Reading:

• We Must Protect Owls Head Provincial Park to Safeguard Biodiversity
• Timeline of Promised Protections
• How You Can Help

Piping Plover photo courtesy of Jason Dain

The Facebook group Save Owls Head Provincial Park/Little Harbour is collecting signatures for a formal petition, calling on the government of Nova Scotia to formally protect Owls Head Provincial Park and all of the remaining properties awaiting designation.

If you believe that our network of protected areas is worthy of protection and that citizens should have a voice in this decision-making process, we hope you’ll help us deliver that message to the Nova Scotia Legislature.

Standing Up For Our Parks and Protected Areas

The Save Owls Head Provincial Park/Little Harbour from Becoming Golf Courses Facebook group is a grassroots movement of 6,000 concerned citizens and scientists, passionate about saving the ecologically significant property known as Owls Head Provincial Park.

Dozens of environmental associations, such as the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS NS), the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, and World Wildlife Fund Canada have called for the park to be formally protected. Individuals have sent thousands of letters to the provincial government. In order to hold the Nova Scotia government accountable, supporters of Owls Head Park raised $15,000 toward court costs in just 6 days.

This is our blog, where you can read letters from scientists and citizens alike. The topics cover everything from governmental ethics to wetlands and marine ecosystems.

If you would like to volunteer, or if you have questions, information, or photos to share, please contact us.

General Inquiries

• info@saveowlshead.org

Content Editor & Administrator

• Lindsay Lee
  email: lindsaylee@saveowlshead.org