The Nova Scotia Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-NS) has released a valuable report documenting its field surveys at Owls Head Provincial Park. “Located on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore, Owls Head is an intact coastal wilderness of high conservation value that has been a priority for protection Read more…
“After nearly five decades of public consultations, government plans and scientific studies, Owls Head Provincial Park is finally getting the legal protection it needs and deserves.”
… However, the park is one of many areas needing protection, said Lee. There are 125 provincial parks, nature reserves and wilderness areas awaiting the same designation and could face delistment.
“Without stronger legal protections, Nova Scotia’s parks and protected areas will perpetually be at risk,” said Lee.
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Christopher Trider talks to Portia Clark of CBC’s Information Morning about the government’s recent announcement about legally protecting Owls Head Provincial Park.
Christopher Trider worked for the Department of Natural Resources (now DNRR) for 21 years. As a provincial park planner, Christopher specialized in acquiring and protecting coastal properties. He designed well-loved coastal parks including MacCormacks Beach Provincial Park, Rainbow Haven Beach Provincial Park, Lawrencetown Beach Provincial Park, Pomquet Beach Provincial Park, and many more.
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Opponents took fight against proposed golf course development all the way to N.S. Supreme Court
“I’m very pleased and I think it’s a step in the right direction,” said Bob Bancroft, a biologist who sought a judicial review of the former Liberal government’s decision to delist Owls Head from the Parks and Protected Areas Plan.
… Bancroft said he hopes lessons will be learned in the process.
“I hope that all the underlying measures of how this all happened are dealt with. We need to protect this from happening again.”
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Fine words but no action from the Department of Environment and Climate Change nor from its sister Department of Natural Resources and Renewables.
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Sheldon MacLeod featuring Jamie SimpsonSaltwireJanuary 21, 2022 Originally published here Listen to “The ongoing legal legacy of Owls Head” on Spreaker. It was an issue that dogged Iain Rankin in the last general election in Nova Scotia. Since then, we have a new premier, a new government and a new Read more…
In November, a beloved piece of coastal parkland in Atlantic Canada was saved from development, but environmentalists cautioned the fight wouldn’t be over until the land was officially protected. Now, they’re one step closer to that goal.
… For Christopher Trider, a member of Save Owls Head Provincial Park and a former provincial park planner, Rushton’s comments are good news.
“You know, there’s still a row to hoe, for sure. But this is really, really a step in the right direction,” he said. For now, Trider and others are waiting to see if Owls Head will become a provincial park or a protected area and how it fits into the province’s goal of conserving at least 20 per cent of the total land and water mass in the province by 2030.
In late November, an American couple withdrew an offer to purchase 285 hectares of crown land known as Owls Head to develop a golf course along the Eastern Shore. That appears to have been the catalyst for a decision by the Houston government to protect Owls Head as a provincial park or potential wilderness area.
“The government has committed to protecting Owls Head lands as part of its 20% land protection goal (mandated in the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act passed in October),” said Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton in an email. “The process to protect those lands is underway but we don’t have any further details to share at this stage.”
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