Reports and articles from scientists on the high biodiversity of Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve
Recently, CPAWS NS and a team of volunteers completed numerous underwater transects to document the eelgrass beds at Owls Head Provincial Park. CPAWS NS has been undertaking scientific surveys at Owls Head all summer. Thank you to CPAWS NS for your work to protect this special marine ecosystem. Thank you also to Dr. Kristina Boerder and Simon Ryder-Burbidge for sharing their photos with us.
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This article has since been republished with permission in the January edition of the Eastern Shore Cooperator.
Biodiversity (a contraction of “biological diversity”) comprises all life on Earth. Greater species diversity supports healthier ecosystems and even improved human health.
“We are in the midst of both climate and biological diversity (extinction) emergencies, wherein we are at or beyond planetary thresholds for being able to recover. Such intact ecosystems as Owls Head are our ecological life-support systems. We need them in order to survive as a species, as do the other species with which we share this land, many of which are endangered1.”
Dr. Karen Beazley
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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Richard Bell
Eastern Shore Cooperator
July 13, 2020
At a hearing before Supreme Court Judge Kevin Coady on June 29, opponents of the province’s plan to destroy Owls Head Provincial Park learned that the fate of the 600-plus acres of coastal land may hinge on the narrowest of legal points
On December 18, 2019, CBC’s Michael Gorman wrote that through a Freedom of Information request, he had learned that the Cabinet, acting on a request from the Department of Lands and Forestry, had delisted Owls Head Provincial Park on March 13, 2019, but had hidden the decision from the public.
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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.
Today, we are sharing in-depth excerpts from the Report on the Ecological Importance of Owls Head Crown land. Dr. Jeremy Lundholm, PhD, and Caitlin Porter, MSc, voluntarily provided this information to the court and have subsequently given us permission to share it online. You can find their unabridged report at the bottom of this page. If you’d prefer, you can read the post of their conclusions instead.
We are sharing excerpts from the “Report on the Ecological Importance of Owls Head Crown land” with the permission of its authors, Dr. Jeremy Lundholm, PhD, and Caitlin Porter, MSc. You can find their unabridged report at the bottom of this page, should you wish to read it in full.
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Owls Head has long been surrounded and shaped by the ocean. The rugged landscape reflects the legacy of the ice age, and the hardy ecosystems that developed after the ice retreated mirror the unique environment in which rare plant communities now thrive.
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