From CPAWS NS:
(more…)CPAWS Nova Scotia is excited to share this information. On our kayak expedition to Owls Head last week, we observed an endangered leatherback sea turtle. It was feeding on jellyfish very close to shore, about 20-30 feet out from the shoreline, in the deeper waters near the headland.
Watch the Video “Join us to learn all about this diverse and controversial landscape that’s been front and centre in the news lately: Owls Head [Provincial Park] on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore. We’ll be joined by Caitlin Grady of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Nova Scotia Chapter. CPAWS-NS works to protect Read more…
As a 268-hectare coastal landscape on the Atlantic Flyway, Owls Head Provincial Park is an important habitat for native bird species and a refuge for migratory birds.
The coastal headland supports a variety of habitats, including a beach, estuaries, bogs, and salt marshes. Last summer, CPAWS NS and a team of biodiversity experts set out “to identify bird species across these habitats and document the ecological significance of this unique region.”
(more…)Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve in Nova Scotia has long been recognized for its conservation significance, as a stunning coastal headland that supports important ecosystems and a globally-rare plant community, but it is currently under threat.
In March 2019, the Nova Scotia government secretly delisted this site in order to sell the public land to a golf course developer. The government made this move without consulting or notifying the public. News of the delisting was discovered following investigative journalism by the CBC.
Katie Hartai
Halifax Today
October 20, 2020
Full article here>
“In the beginning the 13 per cent was a great goal, but the more I learn and share, the more I realize that’s not where we should stop,” she says. “We definitely need to increase that number to allow for more Indigenous-led conservation but also to create more protected spaces for all of Nova Scotia and the people here.”
Melissa Labrador, Mi’kmaw Activist
Chris Miller [executive director of CPAWS NS] says the province needs to make more space for Indigenous-led conservation in the spirit of reconciliation, but also to sustain the health of the planet for everyone.
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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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Located in the Mi’kmaw traditional territory of Eskikewa’kik, the Eastern Shore Islands include hundreds of islands stretching along the coast from Clam Harbour to Liscomb Point. This is the largest archipelago in eastern North America, and it’s only a short drive from Halifax.
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