FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Rally to Save Owls Head Provincial Park from Private Sale and Development

Members of the Facebook Group Save Little Harbour/Owls Head From Corrupt Backroom Deal will be holding a rally to save Owls Head Provincial Park on February 20 2020 from 12:30pm to 3:30pm starting at Grand Parade and then marching to Province House to hear from speakers.

“We are holding this rally because we want the government to reverse its secret decision to sell Owls Head Provincial Park to a private developer to turn into golf courses,” said Little Harbour-born Sydnee McKay, the founder of the Facebook group, which has grown to more than 3,000 members since she started it on December 19, 2019. “Nova Scotia governments have been telling us for the last 45 years that Owls Head Provincial Park was slated for permanent protection. All we want is for the present government to honour this commitment.”

Chris Trider, a 21-year veteran of the Department of Natural Resources, says that Minister Rankin was wrong in dismissing the ecological value of the park. “We’re marching today because scientists have told us that Owls Head has a globally rare ecosystem with endangered species that a golf course will utterly destroy,” Trider said. “Instead of devastating the area for private profit, we support the development and implementation of a comprehensive economic development model for the Eastern Shore that includes ecotourism, provides year round sustainable employment and protects the world class natural resources and beauty of the area.”

Many other organizations, including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), the Ecology Action Centre (EAC), and the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association (ESFWA), have expressed concern over the delisting and potential development of Owls Head Provincial Park. ESFWA and wildlife biologist Bob Bancroft have filed a lawsuit to prevent the province from selling the park.

[Note: Minister Rankin claims that the area in question was never protected. The organizers of this rally, based on 45 years of government and NGO documents describing the area as Owls Head Provincial Park, reject the Minister’s claim as an insult to the intelligence of the people of Nova Scotia.]

# # #

Background material on the group’s mission and goals was also included, here.

Share this page