Letter: Dividing Community by Karen Schlick

I read with interest the recent article on an update on the court case for Owls Head (“Owls Head court case stalling golf courses, much-needed jobs, Lighthouse Links argues,” Dec. 10).

The primary concern of this court case is the lack of transparency and consultation in delisting an ecologically sensitive area that was being considered for provincial protection. If it hadn’t been for a freedom of information request, the public would never have known about this; thus, the court case. If everything had been above board in the first place, there wouldn’t have been any need to go to court.

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“Back at Owls Head”

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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A Paddling Adventure around Owls Head Provincial Park

Professional sea kayak instructors Eleanor & Jenn are doing a summer series of destination paddles throughout the beautiful 100 Wild Islands on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. This area has incredible potential for recreational tourism in conjunction with environmental protection. Thank you, Eleanor and Jenn, for organizing not one but two paddles around Owls Head Provincial Park.

We’d also like to thank kayaker Peter Copus for sharing these lovely photos with us. Please click to enlarge.

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Halifax Green Network Plan Map Showing Essential Corridors

Timeline of Promised Protections

Owls Head Provincial Park: A Recognized Candidate for Protection for Nearly 50 Years

“While Owls Head is making headlines as Nova Scotia’s ‘newest’ provincial park, it’s actually a park 47 years in the making,” said Lindsay Lee, Secretary of Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association. “After nearly five decades of public consultations, government plans and scientific studies, Owls Head Provincial Park is finally getting the legal protection it needs and deserves.”

To understand just how significant that is, it’s important to understand where we started.

“The evidence on this Motion clearly establishes that Owl’s Head was portrayed to the public as a Provincial Park. Government documentation and maps, going back as far as 1978, refer to the area as “Owl’s Head Provincial Park”. Further, it was managed by Lands and Forestry to maintain its reserve status. The public had every reason to assume Owl’s Head was a Provincial Park and, therefore, attracted protections not available on Crown lands.”

NS Supreme Court Justice Kevin Coady, Interlocutory Decision, Page 3 (Emphasis is Ours)
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Letter: Watershed Moment

February 5, 2020

Dear Mr. MacKay,

I am writing to you as my elected representative to express my concern about the proposed sale of Owls Head.

Although this is not in your riding, this is a watershed moment for Nova Scotia and citizens in all Nova Scotia ridings. Sale of this land would set a terrible precedent. Destruction of this land would be irreparable.

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