In the campaign to save Owls Head Provincial Park, there have been numerous contributions from scientists and citizens alike. You will see that various government materials have identified the property as “Owls Head Provincial Park” or “Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve.” Much of this information was redacted and/or not available to citizens until applicants Bob Bancroft & Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association launched legal proceedings.
Judicial Review
Applicants Bob Bancroft and the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association are involved in a legal case in two parts: (A) a time extension to submit a judicial review and (B) The Judicial review itself
- Justice Coady’s Decision on the request for a time extension (Granted! August 5, 2020)
- Justice Chipman’s Decision on the Applicants’ Motion (Dismissed: December 16, 2020)
- Record on Judicial Review
- Applicants’ Brief (March 1, 2021)
The judicial review took place on April 1, 2021. As expected, Justice Christa Brothers has reserved her decision. The Chronicle Herald reported that a decision in the court case “is probably months down the road.”
History of Owls Head Provincial Park
Timeline of Promised Protections
Documents
Select Statements from Scientists and Organizations on the Ecological Value of Owls Head Provincial Park
- Report on the Ecological Importance of Owls Head Crown land by Dr. Jeremy Lundholm and Caitlin Porter.
- Letter from Scientists at St. Mary’s University (Caitlin Porter & Dr. Jeremy Lundholm)
- World Wildlife Fund Canada – Statement on Owls Head
- Letter from Dr. Martin Willison to MP Sean Fraser
- Letter from Dr. Martin Willison to Minister Rankin
- Letter from Dr. Karen Beazley Dalhousie Institute for Resource and Environmental Studies
- Letter from the Cole Harbour Rural Heritage Society
- Letter from the NS Wild Flora Society
- Ecology Action Center Owls Head Statement (January 2020)
- The Marine Side Marine Biologist Dr. Kristina Boerder discusses the Eastern Shore’s marine ecosystems
- Marine Q&A with Marine Biologist Dr. Kristina Boerder
Scientific articles & Reports on the value of ecosystems like these
- Barrens Ecosystems in Nova Scotia: Classification of Heathlands and Related Plant Communities by Porter, Basquill, and Lundholm
- Plant Communities within Atlantic Coastal Heathlands in Nova Scotia by Cameron and Bondrup-Nielsen
- Canadian Geographic – Protecting Canada’s hidden “meadows of the sea” by Sarah Joy Bittick
- Biophysical and Ecological Overview of the Eastern Shore Islands Area of Interest (AOI) Department of Fisheries and Oceans
- Ecosystem structure and services in eelgrass and rockweed habitats by Schmidt, Coll, Romanuk, Lotze
- Piping Plovers & Beach Habitat in Nova Scotia by Bird Studies Canada
Policy Documents and publications Regarding the Status or Value of Owls Head Provincial Park
- Nova Scotia: Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan
- Owls Head Park Reserve Field Visit (October 24, 2017) from FOIPOP 2019-00942-ENV
- Eastern Shore Seaside Park System – CoNServation via Ecology Action Center
- Nova Scotia Wetland Conservation Policy
- Halifax Green Network Plan Owls Head appears on pages 35 and 55, indicated as a provincial park with an essential (wildlife) corridor
- Owls Head Provincial Park Protection Values Sheet
- Nova Scotia Protected Areas Commercial Benefits Final Report
- Coastal Access in Nova Scotia by Peter Green, Dalhousie University 2004 An interesting document to access if you want to see the history of concerns about public access to Nova Scotia’s coastline
- Species At Risk Act (Federal)
- Endangered Species Act (Provincial)
- Proposed Owls Head Act (Bill 65) introduced by Gary Burrill on March 25, 2021
Documents Relating to the Proposed Sale
- Application for the Use of Crown Land and Application for Sale or Donation of Land to the Province: September 23, 2016
- Department of Natural Resources Branch Notice: Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve: May 2, 2017
- Lighthouse Links Proposal: July 22, 2018 (redacted)
- Lighthouse Links Proposal: July 22, 2018 (Unredacted)
- Valuation Report: August 21, 2018
- “Schedule B” – Updated Lighthouse Links Proposal: October 29, 2019 (Unredacted)
- Memorandum to Executive Council “Decision on whether to withdraw Crown lands at Owls Head identified for protection in the Parks and Protected Areas Plan.” Submitted by the Honourable lain Rankin (Minister of Lands and Forestry) & the Honourable Margaret Miller (Minister of Environment) on February 26, 2019
- Letter of Offer (un-redacted version): December 16, 2019
Freedom of Information Requests:
- FOIPOP 2019-00946-EXE (hosted on this website)
Date Closed: December 9, 2019
Submitted by: Media (CBC journalist Michael Gorman)
Summary: All records since Jan 1/18, including minute letters, presentations, notes and emails regarding Owls Head and PID 00489591, 40751273, 40747586, 41308008, 41308016, 40747578 and 41307992
This FOIPOP focuses largely on the negotiations to buy the parcel owned by the federal government. (The Federal Government has declined to participate and is instead protecting its parcel of land adjacent to Owls Head Provincial Park). - FOIPOP 2019-00947-DLF (hosted on the government website)
Date Closed: December 9, 2019
Submitted by: Media (CBC journalist Michael Gorman)
Summary: All records, including emails, briefing notes and presentations since Jan 1/18 related to Owls Head, Lighthouse Links, and PID 00555284 - FOIPOP 2020-00068 PRE (hosted on this website)
Date Closed: February 19, 2020
Submitted by: A political party
Summary: “Correspondence between the Premier’s Office and Michel Samson between January 2017 and January 2020 on the subject of Owls Head land.”
* This FOIPOP produced no results - FOIPOP 2020-00081-DLF ( reduced copy hosted on this website)
Date Closed: February 20, 2020
Submitted by: Media
Summary: A copy of the 2017 report by protected areas planners on Owls Head provincial park and any corresponding emails/records.
* This PDF has been reduced in size, as the full-resolution copy is too large for our server. All of the pages are here, but the images may look a little fuzzier. If you would like a full-resolution copy, please email IAP Services at IAPServices@novascotia.ca. - FOIPOP 2020-00016-DLF (reduced copy hosted on this website)
Date Closed: March 5, 2020
Submitted by: Political Party
Summary: Request for records of a lobbyist on behalf of Owls Head and Lighthouse Links and the DLF
* If you would like a full-resolution copy, please email IAP Services at IAPServices@novascotia.ca. - FOIPOP 2019-00942-ENV (reduced copy hosted on this website)
Date Closed: March 18, 2020
Submitted by: Media
Summary: Request for environmental records on PID 00555284 – Owls Head, Lighthouse Links.
* If you would like a full-resolution copy, please email IAP Services at IAPServices@novascotia.ca. - FOIPOP 2020-00090-ENV (reduced copy hosted on this website)
Date Closed: March 18, 2020
Submitted by: Media
Summary: Requesting records of the 2017 report by protected areas planners on Owls Head provincial park
* If you would like a full-resolution copy, please email IAP Services at IAPServices@novascotia.ca. - FOIPOP 2020-00445-DLF (hosted on the government website)
Date Closed: March 25, 2020
Submitted by: Business
Summary: Request for all documents regarding Owls Head Provincial Park from 2009 to 2013. - FOIPOP 2020 00417.pdf (hosted on this website)
Date Closed: April 17, 2020
Submitted by: Public (Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association)
Summary: Request for documentation RE offer mentioning Owl’s Head/Little Harbour/Eastern Shore from January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2020.
*From the Letter of Offer to the Valuation of Owls Head, read our summary here.
Thanks to the court case, the public now has access to information that had previously been redacted (even through Freedom of Information requests).
Maps
- Provincial Park Maps List click on Owls Head in the list to see the map as it used to appear
- Eastern Shore Islands Wilderness Area Map
- Nova Scotia Parks and Protected Areas Interactive Online Map (Owls Head Provincial Park has been scrubbed from the online version)
- Eastern Shore West Generalized Future Land Use Map HRM
- Eastern Shore West Zoning Map
- Owls Head Provincial Park on Google Maps
Maps Hosted on this Site
Please click to enlarge. If desired, you can save a copy of a map by right-clicking and selecting “Save Image As.”
Partner Resources
- Please visit our “Partnerships” page for more content.