Letters to the Editor

Letter: Not Binary Choice

Bob Rosborough’s Feb. 20 opinion piece failed to address the key concerns about Owls Head Provincial Park. The question has never been whether or not golf courses should be developed on the Eastern Shore. There is no lack of private land on the Eastern Shore that would be as suitable, if not more, for such developments.

Any politicians or private interests who frame the situation as “golf vs. conservation” or “economy vs. environment” are not only misrepresenting the situation but also doing a disservice to Nova Scotians.

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By Save Owls Head, ago

Letter: Sensitive Ecosystem

In his Feb. 20 opinion piece, Bob Rosborough argues that the sale and construction of golf courses at Owls Head will help the economy of the Eastern Shore to “thrive and survive. Most certainly, people who live in the area deserve a healthy economy, but are golf courses and luxury condos the answer?

Rosborough describes the two wealthy Americans, Beckwith and Kitty Gilbert, who are behind the deal as “environmentally conscious” and, at the same time, notes that the land in question has been undisturbed for over 10,000 years “since the last ice age.”

This land was, at one point, environmentally significant enough to be designated as a park. Several scientific studies have determined that the ecology of the land is “globally rare.” It is difficult to make a valid argument that the Gilberts have any intention of caring for the natural environment when the golf courses they are proposing are decidedly man-made.

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By Save Owls Head, ago

Letter: All Nova Scotians have stake in Owls Head golf issue

Bob Rosborough’s Feb. 20 opinion piece, “Sick of critics taking swings at golf development,” leaves out a number of significant aspects of the current debate on Owls Head. These aspects are important to understanding the widespread and growing public opposition to the secret removal of the property, referred to as Owls Head Provincial Park, from the Parks and Protected Areas Plan, and offering it for sale to a private developer.

Owls Head has a long history of protection that can be traced back to the intense public discussions of the mid-1970s around the creation of a potential national park on the Eastern Shore. The large, unique coastal Crown block survived that process as a natural environment park component in the Eastern Shore Seaside Park System. It was recognized as a park by public agencies for 45 years and was included in the final 2013 plan that identified the sites to be designated for protection to meet the province’s 13 per cent target as site #694. 

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By Christopher Trider, ago

Letter: Leave Owls Head be

I think it is imperative to preserve wilderness lands in the province for recreational purposes. The COVID pandemic has underlined the importance of nature to our mental health.

Also, there is no question that the massive assault on wilderness areas the world over has placed our species, along with many others, in peril. We have so many unique and beautiful areas in Nova Scotia, and we can be a model for thoughtful conservation.

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By Save Owls Head, ago

Letter: Could Owls Head follow Trump’s Scottish template?

This American promised 6,000 jobs, a five-star hotel with 450 rooms, shops, a sports complex, time-share flats and two golf courses.

The reality? There is currently one golf course, open about 6-7 months, a practice range, a small clubhouse and renovated house with 16 rooms. Locals insist that they were deceived, their nearby sand dunes and plant life endangered and their peaceful existence irrevocably ruined.

Although this is the story of Donald Trump’s foray into Scotland, it could easily be the fate of Owls Head on the Eastern Shore.

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By Save Owls Head, ago
view of Owls Head shoreline

Letter: Owls Head, It Takes a Village

The McNeil/Rankin  “Sweetheart Deal for Owls Head” (Cooperator, December 2020) is an insult to all Nova Scotians, starting with Little Harbour residents like me.

Do they think we are a bunch of backward hillbillies? The citizens of Nova Scotia do not have to stand back and allow an American billionaire, Beckwith Gilbert, working behind closed doors with the former Minister of Lands and Forestry Iain Rankin, to destroy Owls Head Provincial Park and its rare ecosystem, all for just a few pennies.

Take the outrageously low selling price for hundreds of acres and miles of ocean front: $216,000. I paid more than that 6 years ago for less than an acre when we bought our property in Little Harbour. And Rankin let Lighthouse Links, Beckwith’s company, pay an appraiser to come up with this low estimate?

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By Save Owls Head, ago