The Chronicle Herald

Letter: Could Owls Head follow Trump’s Scottish template?

This American promised 6,000 jobs, a five-star hotel with 450 rooms, shops, a sports complex, time-share flats and two golf courses.

The reality? There is currently one golf course, open about 6-7 months, a practice range, a small clubhouse and renovated house with 16 rooms. Locals insist that they were deceived, their nearby sand dunes and plant life endangered and their peaceful existence irrevocably ruined.

Although this is the story of Donald Trump’s foray into Scotland, it could easily be the fate of Owls Head on the Eastern Shore.

(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago

Group urges Rankin to revisit Owls Head property sale decision

“We are hoping that once Iain Rankin is sworn in as premier, he will reverse his decision on the sale of Owls Head Provincial Park,” said Sydnee McKay, who now lives in Gaetz Brook, 40 kilometres west of Little Harbour, where she grew up next to Owls Head on the Eastern Shore.

“His (Rankin’s) motto is listen, learn and lead so we are hoping he will listen to the thousands of Nova Scotians and the scientific data about the ecological values of the park and put it back on the Parks and Protected Areas Plan with a full designation as a provincial park,” said McKay, whose 89-year-old mother still lives near Owls Head, along with her brothers, aunts and uncles.

(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago

Jim Vibert: Rankin brings ambitious plan to build back better

Protecting parks

Rankin has early opportunities, particularly on environmental files, to burnish his bona fides.

He’s committed to protecting the 100-plus places in the Parks and Protected Areas plan that have yet to be designated for protection. Early action to move those sites along in the process would help cement his environmental credentials.

And, if he includes the controversial Owl’s Head land, which the McNeil government surreptitiously removed from the list to make way for a proposed golf resort, among the areas for protection, he’ll send a loud message that when he balances potential economic activity and the environment, the environment stands a fighting chance. That hasn’t been common in these parts.

(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago

JIM VIBERT: Finally, Nova Scotia hits land protection landmark, barely

All the sites in the Parks and Protected Areas plan – including the 20 announced this week – got there after extensive consultation, so the places in question have already cleared that hurdle once.

Plus, most folks living near those sites will likely be surprised to learn that they aren’t already protected, just as folks on the Eastern Shore were shocked to learn that Owl’s Head provincial park wasn’t a park at all, but prime real estate for a golf resort.

The Liberal government surreptitiously removed Owl’s Head from the Parks and Protected Areas list a couple of years back to clear the way for a golf development, unleashing a firestorm of protest that still rages on.

(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago

LTE: Rankin Off Course by Karen Schlick

It’s mind-boggling trying to think of where to begin in response to Bill Black’s Jan. 2 column on Iain Rankin and his bid for the provincial Liberal leadership.

Therefore, I will limit myself to the quoted statement that Mr. Rankin doesn’t see any reason why an environmentally sensitive golf course couldn’t be built at Owls Head. He refers to the “local support” for said golf course.

(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago

Letter: Alarming Pattern by Edward L. Pencer

I read with interest and, I must admit, alarm your article regarding the Owls Head proposal. Juxtaposing this development with the major concerns around the Town Point Consulting (TPC) project in Antigonish Harbour, it appears clear that a pattern is emerging.

In both instances, developers proceeded with projects harmful to the environment, without adequate prior public notification or consultation, but with the full knowledge of the Department of Lands and Forestry. In the case of (TPC), the company laid pipes in the harbour without required permits. In the case of Owls Head, Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin delisted 285 hectares of protected Crown property and then entered into very private negotiations with the Gilbert family to purchase this land with a view to building two or three 18-hole golf courses.

(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago

Letter: Dangerous Precedent by Ian Guppy

The year 2020 has been a tough one for Nova Scotia, and natural places have been where many of us have sought solace, especially those close to the ocean. Turning our precious coastal areas into golf courses — enclaves of privilege for wealthy Americans such as the one now exiting the White House — does not serve the interests of average Nova Scotians, the environment or the endangered species trying to live here.

Mr. Gilbert is intent on building his golf course, with its attendant heavy pesticide use, and razing the natural topography of this unique coastal landscape, let him do it on his privately-owned 138 hectares next to the intended Owls Head Provincial Park. That the Nova Scotia government secretly entered into a private sale agreement of public park land is an example of their cowardice and lack of accountability to the public who elected them, a public that needs green spaces like Owls Head now more than ever.

(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago

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.

(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago