Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve is a biologically diverse 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 Park for 15 years, and emphasize that it needs our protection.
Owls Head 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 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 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 fewer than 40 breeding pairs of piping plovers, so we must make every effort to protect them.
Recommended Reading:
We Must Protect Owls Head Park to Safeguard Biodiversity
Timeline of Promised Protections
How You Can Help
Piping Plover photo courtesy of Jason Dain
