The Latest Word

Hugh Chisholm - Eutrophication Leads to Suspected Algal Bloom on the Nine Mile River (adjacent to Links at Brunello Golf Course in Timberlea)

Golf Courses & Fertilizer Effects

Eutrophication: the process by which a body of water becomes enriched in dissolved nutrients (such as phosphates) that stimulate the growth of aquatic plant life usually resulting in the depletion of dissolved oxygen

– Merriam Webster

When fertilizers get washed into lakes or rivers, it can lead to eutrophication. In these photos, we see that eutrophication has led to a suspected algal bloom on the Nine Mile River (adjacent to Links at Brunello Golf Course in Timberlea).

(more…)
By Lindsay Lee, ago

RICHARD BELL: Groups Unite to Oppose Owls Head Park Sale

Eastern Shore Cooperator
Posted on March 12, 2020
By Richard Bell

Read Full Article>

In a show of province-wide opposition to the government’s controversial decision to sell Owls Head Provincial Park, 23 groups submitted a joint letter to Premier McNeil on Tuesday, March 10 calling on the government to do three things:

  1. “Stop the sale of publicly-owned lands at Owls Head
  2. Protect Owls Head as a legally-designated protected area
  3. Fully implement the Nova Scotia Parks and Protected Areas Plan”
(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago

Letter: Nova Scotians Gradually Losing Access to Shores and Beaches

Picture this.

The ocean breeze is blowing through your hair. Imagine the feel of sand underneath your feet as you listen to the waves lapping against the beach. Think back to days spent sailing in the bay or walking along a rocky shore. You are building sandcastles, watching the fishing boats, looking for sea glass, or collecting shells.

Can you imagine life in Nova Scotia without these things?

No, neither can I.

When we open our eyes, we see that more and more of us are losing access to our shores, as land that the public has enjoyed for generations is being sold to the highest bidder.

(more…)
By Lindsay Lee, ago

Save Owls Head Provincial Park: Joint Letter

Office of the Premier
7th Floor, One Government Place
1700 Granville Street
Halifax, NS
B3J 1X5

March 10, 2020

Dear Premier Stephen McNeil:

Owls Head is an ecologically significant area along the Eastern Shore that is deserving of legal protection. It contains a number of rare ecosystem types, as well as important habitat for migratory birds and species-at-risk. It is a key headland within the “100 wild islands” ecosystem.

(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago

How Golf Courses Would Jeopardize Important Marine Ecosystems

Development on this particular site would cause irreparable harm to the unique geology, flora, and fauna that have developed over the past 10,000 years. It will also have adverse impacts on the offshore marine environment.

In Short:

  1. The proposed development would require large amounts of fill. Therefore, sediments would run into the marine areas, negatively affecting sensitive eelgrass beds and salt marsh habitats.
  2. Once established as golf courses, the use of pesticides and the threat of runoff of toxic chemicals (during rainfall events or through the site’s interconnected hydrology) would threaten these same marine areas.

“For a large development such as golf courses, the construction and subsequent run-off from the land as well as increased nutrient loads all have the potential to negatively impact these ecosystems.”

– Marine Biologist Dr. Kristina Boerder

(more…)
By Lindsay Lee, ago

Wetlands: Why We Need Them

“Owls Head is characterized by repeating bedrock ridges that support a coastal barrens ecosystem. A globally rare heathland plant community occurs on the crests of the ridges and biodiverse bog wetlands predominate in the depressions between the ridges. This landscape pattern on the coast is only otherwise known from Blue Rocks, Lunenburg County, amidst residential developments with no conservation protection.”

– Biologists Caitlin Porter & Dr. Jeremy Lundholm
(more…)
By Save Owls Head, ago