broom crowberry – Save Owls Head

March 4, 2021March 6, 2021

Species of Interest: Broom Crowberry

Broom Crowberry (Corema conradii)

Coastal Barrens in Nova Scotia in general cannot be considered low-diversity ecosystems (Oberndorfer and Lundhom 2009; Cameron and Bondrup – Neilsen 2013, Porter 2013). This site specifically cannot reasonably be considered to be low in biodiversity.
Report on the Ecological Value of Owls Head Crown Land (Porter and Lundholm)

“Vegetation on the bedrock ridges of Owls Head [Provincial Park] is dominated by a shrub called Broom Crowberry (Corema Conradii),” explain biologists Caitlin Porter and Dr. Jeremey Lundholm. Broom Crowberry (Corema conradii) is a flowering heathland plant that is “endemic to eastern North America, meaning it can be found nowhere else in the world.” (Porter and Lundholm).

June 28, 2020September 20, 2020

Report on the Ecological Importance of Owls Head Crown land: More Findings

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.

June 26, 2020August 24, 2020

Report on the Ecological Importance of Owls Head Crown land: Conclusions

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.

June 20, 2020March 7, 2021

Gallery: Field Work at Owls Head Provincial Park

Thank you to biologists Caitlin Porter and Dr. Jeremy Lundholm for sharing photos and videos from their fieldwork at Owls Head Provincial Park.

February 5, 2020February 26, 2021

Letter from N.S. Wild Flora Society

January 30, 2020

We of the Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society are writing to express our concern with the delisting of Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve and proposed golf course development on these public lands. The Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation and conservation of wild flora and habitat in Nova Scotia.

February 4, 2020December 27, 2020

Letter to MLA from Concerned Scientists

Caitlin Porter, MSc, Research Associate
Jeremy Lundholm, PhD, Professor & Department Chair
Ecology of Plants in Communities Lab
Biology Department
Saint Mary’s University

To the Honourable Labi Kousoulis,

We are biologists and environmental scientists writing to express our concern with the potential development of the proposed Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve.

Over the past 15 years, the Ecology of Plants in Communities lab at Saint Mary’s University has worked with collaborating NGO and NS provincial government partners to describe and classify heathland ecosystems across Nova Scotia. We have included the proposed Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve in our field surveys. Our years of data reveal that Owls Head is ecologically unique and of importance to biodiversity conservation.