Lead: Dr. Kristina Boerder, Dalhousie University I’d like to share the Science Overview Report for the 2021 field season. The document also includes the budget from the GoFundMe campaign including our expenses – shout out to more than 30 very generous people supporting our scientific work and a big THANK […]
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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On December 1, 2021, a group of concerned citizens met with Eastern Shore MLA Kent Smith to advocate for legally protecting Owls Head Provincial Park. Christopher Trider, Dr. Kristina Boerder, and Celes Davar spoke about the park network, the science, and new opportunities for the province.
This presentation proposed ways to ensure legal protection of the site’s significant conservation values, the wider park network, and important cultural landscapes (while still working towards a thriving Eastern Shore).
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Both Nova Scotia parks have been awaiting official designation for decades Victoria WellandThe SignalDecember 2, 2021 Read here For over 40 years, the forest south of Paces Lake has been awaiting designation as a provincial park. The nearly 400 hectares of wetland and forest near Musquodoboit Harbour was expropriated by […]
Lighthouse Links blames lack of Nova Scotia government support CBC NewsNovember 23, 2021 Full article here Jamie Simpson, the lawyer who took the case to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on behalf of environmentalist Bob Bancroft and the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, said he was unaware of the company’s decision when […]
On November 3, Bill 19 (The Owls Head Act) was defeated with a vote of 28 against and 22 in favour. But what does that mean, how did each MLA vote, and where do we go from here?
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I am going to be honest with all of you. Despite the importance of this bill, part of me would rather not be here today. Part of me would rather be spending time with my family—something that many environmental advocates like me sacrifice on a daily basis, in order to fight for climate justice and biodiversity. No one wants to spend all of their free time fighting for the environment. No one wants to camp out in the forest to protect mainland moose habitat or spend their weekends sending emails that are routinely ignored.
I am compelled to be here, because the state of our province and our planet demands real change, right now.
(more…)Respected wildlife biologist Bob Bancroft and local environmental group Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association are heading back to court. In July, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Christa Brothers ruled that there is “no recognized common law duty of procedural fairness owed by the Crown to the public at large.” But the applicants believe it’s time for that to change.
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