Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources and Renewables minister vows to protect beloved park from development

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.

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Government to protect Owls Head

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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A Letter from Halifax Trails

Greg Taylor is the creator of the popular website Halifax Trails. For more than a decade, the site has offered photos, maps, and detailed guides to help people embark on their outdoor adventures. Greg Taylor was recently featured in a CBC article. He’s been an unwavering supporter of the Save Owls Head movement and recently sent the following letter to Premier Houston.

As a local eco-tourism guide, I can speak to you from experience that our parks and nature areas are extremely valuable. I get hundreds of thousands of visitors to my website every year who are looking for authentic outdoor adventures. Nova Scotia’s natural beauty constantly goes viral on social media and people from around the globe contact me for more info. If we build it, they will come. Eco-tourism needs to be what leads NS into the future and can be kickstarted by redirecting current subsidies of dead and dying, polluting industries that keep us chained to economics from the past.

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RICHARD BELL: Lighthouse Links Folds After Province Demands Serious Public Consultation

The Cooperator has learned that Lighthouse Links withdrew from the letter of Offer to purchase Owls Head Provincial Park and convert it into a luxury housing development with a few golf courses after learning that the province had determined that the company’s plans for public consultation were inadequate, and that the province would require a more thoroughgoing public consultation process.

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