In spite of a year that has been challenging in so many ways, our volunteers have contributed their time and their talents. We would like to extend our deepest thanks to each of those wonderful groups and individuals. While we can’t share each and every action, we wouldn’t be here without the passion and persistence of our supporters. Please keep reading to see just how far we’ve come.
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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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By Caitlin Grady of CPAWS NS
Originally published here
A lot has happened since the CBC investigative report by Michael Gorman uncovered the secret delisting of Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve by the Nova Scotia government. This backroom deal to turn a park into a golf course development has drawn huge public condemnation, and rightly so.
Here’s what we know so far:
2017 – Negotiations begin behind-closed-doors to delist Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve and remove the site from the Nova Scotia ‘Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan’.
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Nicole Munro
The Chronicle Herald
June 28, 2020
HALIFAX, N.S. — Starting Monday, an environmental lawyer will make his case to a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge to allow for a judicial review of the delisting of Owls Head Provincial Park and its negotiated sale to a private golf course developer.
But the two-day hearing is only the start to ensuring Nova Scotia’s Department of Lands and Forestry is open and transparent about all of its provincial parks, whether they’re officially designated or pending approval, Jamie Simpson said.
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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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“While Owls Head is making headlines as Nova Scotia’s ‘newest’ provincial park, it’s actually a park 47 years in the making,” said Lindsay Lee, Secretary of Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association. “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.”
To understand just how significant that is, it’s important to understand where we started.
(more…)“The evidence on this Motion clearly establishes that Owl’s Head was portrayed to the public as a Provincial Park. Government documentation and maps, going back as far as 1978, refer to the area as “Owl’s Head Provincial Park”. Further, it was managed by Lands and Forestry to maintain its reserve status. The public had every reason to assume Owl’s Head was a Provincial Park and, therefore, attracted protections not available on Crown lands.”
NS Supreme Court Justice Kevin Coady, Interlocutory Decision, Page 3 (Emphasis is Ours)