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THE YEAR IN CONSERVATION IN NOVA SCOTIA
Published on Dec 18 2018
It was another busy year for conservation in Nova Scotia and important progress was made on several fronts. Here are a couple of the highlights.
First land purchase for Birch Cove Lakes
Hobsons Lake (Photo: Irwin Barrett)
In January, the very first land purchase for the Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes Regional Park occurred. This marked an important milestone, as the Halifax Regional Municipality works to establish a regional park adjacent to the existing Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness Area. The commitment to establish this regional park goes back decades.
The property that was acquired was a very good land purchase for conservation, containing the entire shoreline of Hobsons Lake and an important access point for public use. In total, about 80 hectares was acquired, which is about the same size as Point Pleasant Park.
Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes is an important near-urban wilderness for Halifax. Much work remains to do to complete the regional park, but getting this first land purchase done helps build momentum toward additional land purchases next year.
For more information, click here and here.
Two new marine protected areas proposed for Nova Scotia
Eastern Shore Islands (Photo: Peter Green)
In March, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced two new proposed marine protected areas (MPAs) for Nova Scotia, 1) Eastern Shore Islands, and 2) Fundian Channel – Browns Bank. The Federal government has made good progress in recent years creating new marine protected areas.
The proposed MPA for Eastern Shore Islands is 200,000 hectares in size and includes an extensive island archipelago and rich coastal ecosystems with tidal salt marshes, eel grass beds, beaches, and headlands. The proposed Fundian Channel – Browns Bank MPA is an offshore site, 720,000 hectares in size, and contains important cold-water coral assemblages and habitat important for fish diversity and abundance.
Both of these sites are currently undergoing public and stakeholder consultations. CPAWS-NS is pushing for heavy industrial activities, such as oil and gas exploration, bottom-trawling, and open-pen fish farms to be prohibited, while still allowing lower impact fisheries.
To learn more about the announcement of these proposed new MPAs in Nova Scotia, click here and here.
Wentworth Valley finally receives official protection
Wentworth Valley Wilderness Area (Photo: Irwin Barrett)
In November, the Nova Scotia government announced that it had completed the designation process for Wentworth Valley Wilderness Area, meaning that this site is now officially a protected area. The final, final, final step has now been completed. This has been a long wait for the local community, who have been advocating for the protection of these important lands for many years.
The new protected area is approximately 2,000 hectares in size and includes large intact forests in the Cobequid Hills, as well as steep slopes, ravines, waterfalls, and old growth hardwood forests. A substantial portion of this protected area was previously owned by a forest company, but was acquired for conservation by the Nova Scotia government way back in 2010.
Also announced at the same time as Wentworth Valley, are two new protected areas near the community of Oxford, including Chase Lake Wilderness Area and Steepbank Brook Nature Reserve.
To learn more about these new protected areas, click here and here
Nature Fund offers big opportunities for conservation
Earlier this year, the Federal government made an historic investment in nature conservation, allocating $1.3 Billion for the creation of new protected areas across Canada. This will help Canada achieve its international commitment to protect at least 17% of Canada by the year 2020. CPAWS has been advocating for an investment in nature conservation at this scale for many years.
A lot of work is happening across the country to put these funds to good use. Here in Nova Scotia, a lot of effort is focused on private land conservation, since many of our most endangered ecosystems and species are found on private lands. CPAWS-NS has been advocating for federal investment in support of land purchases for Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes.
In the coming year, expect big announcements across Canada as the Nature Fund begins to help generate conservation outcomes and new protected areas. I’m most excited about the Indigenous-led conservation that’s happening from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic. It’s a very exciting time for conservation.
Looking ahead
Map: Existing (green) and pending (yellow) protected areas in Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotia government needs to make better progress implementing the Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan. At the moment, there are still nearly 100 pending protected areas awaiting legal protection by the Nova Scotia government. All that’s needed is an Order-in-Council by cabinet to make everything official. The Nova Scotia government has indicated that more protected area announcements will be made soon. We will be following this closely until ALL of the pending protected areas are finalized, including sites such as St. Mary’s River, Mabou Highlands, Sackville River, Giants Lake, Pleasant River, McGowan Lake, and Cherry Hill Beach, to name a few.
Similarly, the federal government has promised to establish a network of marine protected areas in the waters off Nova Scotia, for Maritimes Region and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. MPAs in Canada take many years to establish, so going site-by-site will simply take too long to put a proper network of MPAs in place to properly conserve ocean ecosystems. Earlier this year, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said that they are “on the verge” of releasing the MPA network plan for Maritimes Region, but that was seven months ago and we are still waiting. Places like the Bay of Fundy, which are incredibly important for conservation, have almost no protection in place whatsoever.
For 2019, both of these systems of protected areas (on land and in the sea) require faster progress toward completion, if we are to better protect the natural biodiversity that occurs in our little corner of the planet.
Yours in conservation
Chris Miller
Executive Director
OIL & GAS AND SUPERPOWERS
Published on Dec 04 2018
“The most important thing that we extract from the ocean is not oil and gas or fish, it’s us.“ In light of current news, I think we could all use a reminder of this. These wise words are from world-renowned oceanographer and explorer, Dr. Sylvia Earle, who I had the opportunity to both hear speak and meet (dream come true!) during her recent visit to Halifax for the G7 events.
Oil and gas leases overlap with conservation area
If you have been reading the news lately, you will have noticed quite a few articles about oil and gas on the Atlantic coast, particularly off Newfoundland and Labrador. On November 7th, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) announced lease areas for oil and gas exploration that overlap with the Northeast Channel conservation area. This an ecologically important area, especially for cold-water corals, which many species depend on for habitat. If oil and gas activity occurs in this area, meaningful protection can no longer be achieved and it sets an awful precedent for future protected areas. It also undermines important relationships, such as those with the fishing industry. Several environmental groups, including CPAWS, have publicly stated our concern. Not surprisingly, there has also been pushback from fish harvesters too.
During Dr. Sylvia Earle’s talk she reminded the audience that it is does matter to give nature a break wherever we can. Right now, Canada and countries around the globe have committed to protecting 10% of their ocean area by 2020. That leaves 90% of the ocean open to heavy industrial activity. Surely we can give nature a break in that 10% that we are setting aside for conservation.
Oil and gas activity and conservation are not compatible
There are many reasons why oil and gas activity is not compatible with marine protection. There have also been countless oil spills both within Canada and across the globe, that have demonstrated just how damaging spills are to ecosystems and coastal communities. Given such extensive knowledge and evidence, you would think that we would have legislation and polices in place to match it. Unfortunately, we do not. The current arrangement allows for oil and gas to undermine conservation posing a huge problem for effective marine conservation on Canada’s Atlantic coast. This mismatch between our current knowledge and policies is something else that Dr. Earle highlighted as problematic across the globe.
The Northeast Channel is not the first conservation area to be threatened by oil and gas activity. To understand just how complicated oil and gas activity off of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador is, I recommend reading this article which provides a good overview.
The largest oil spill in Newfoundland history
About a week after C-NLOPB’s announcement, an oil spill of the coast of Newfoundland caused an estimated 250,000 litres (that’s equivalent to more than 704,225 cans of Coke) of crude oil to leak into the ocean. This marks the largest oil spill in Newfoundland and Labrador history and it has now been deemed impossible to clean up by the regulatory board that overseas the provinces offshore activities. This is devastating. Crude oil is a poisonous substance that does not just disappear. An oil spill of any size, and most definitely one of this magnitude, has huge impacts on marine life, such as seabirds. As of November 22nd, at least 15 oiled birds have been spotted, but there are likely many more. Some scientists expect that that number is likely in the 1000s.
What is your ocean super power?
All of these headlines and news, can really bring you down and leave you wondering what you can do for the ocean. At the end of Dr. Earle’s talk, someone asked, “What advice would you give someone who wants to make a difference for the ocean?” Her response was to look in the mirror because everyone has a superpower.
With that, I challenge you to look in the mirror and remind yourself of your superpower. Maybe it is teaching, art or swimming, whatever it is, you can use it to make a difference for the ocean. Perhaps your superpower today is simply sharing just how magnificent and important the oceans are for all life on Earth with someone you know today. After all as Dr. Earle says,“ if you don’t know, you can’t care.”
Thanks for reading
Best fishes,
Meghan
CANADA IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO HAVING BETTER MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
Published on Oct 26 2018
The final report of the National Advisory Panel on Marine Protected Area Standards was recently released. This is good news! From March to September 2018, the National Advisory Panel travelled across Canada to gather perspectives on MPAs from Canadians on all three coasts. The final report includes a series of recommendations on how to better protect the ocean surrounding Canada. Among these recommendations is a call for industrial activities to be banned from MPAs. CPAWS-Nova Scotia is encouraged by the findings of the National Advisory Panel report and we look to the Federal government to implement these recommendations quickly.
In Canada, we are currently lacking minimum protection standards for MPAs. What does that mean? Well, it means that the protection levels put in place for our MPAs can vary widely across the country, from one site to the next. Some of our MPAs are fully-protected, others are partially-protected, and some are just “paper parks” with very little or no regulations. Amazingly, there are some MPAs where even oil and gas activity is allowed. Fishers have rightly noted that banning fishing, while allowing oil and gas exploration, is a double standard. Not surprisingly, a lack of minimum standards has compromised the long-term health of ocean ecosystems, caused confusion and distrust among stakeholders and created a long designation process.
Prohibit heavy industrial activities from MPAs
For many years, environmental organizations including CPAWS, have advocated for heavy industrial activities to be prohibited from marine protected areas. This includes activities such as oil and gas exploration, bottom trawling, and seabed mining and dumping. The panel has reached a similar conclusion, recommending that industrial activities should be prohibited in MPAs. Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union of Newfoundland and Labrador have welcomed these findings too. If we want to create meaningful protected areas, heavy industry must not be allowed to undermine conservation efforts.
Support Indigenous Protected Areas
Another highlight of the report is the importance of Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) and the call for better legislative tools. Many Indigenous communities are leading the way on conservation, including for marine conservation, so better collaboration and engagement is absolutely required. CPAWS-Nova Scotia is pleased that the panel recognizes this and has recommended increasing opportunities for Indigenous co-governance and the designation of IPAs.
Transparent and accessible process and reporting
I’m also pleased to see that the panel’s report emphasizes the importance of clarity and transparency for stakeholders throughout all phases of the MPA planning process, including reporting on its effectiveness after designation. Transparency and clarity are imperative for maximizing engagement and gaining trust among stakeholders. In my work, effective and clear communication is something that communities have highlighted as critical to having any chance at creating a successful protected area that is supported by the local community.
Federal government must act on the recommendations
This report is a crucial point in what has been a long process of establishing much-needed minimum standards for MPAs in Canada. Now that the panel has released the final report, the federal government must act to make the recommendations official. In order for these recommendations to be effective, the government must adopt and implement them for both existing and future MPAs. This is critical to ensuring the health of the ocean and coastal communities for generations to come. Stay tuned!!
Check out the full National Advisory Panel report here.
THE TALE OF ONE BLUE WHALE
Published on Sep 14 2018
In this blog I will be sharing the tale of a whale, a blue whale to be exact. It’s a sad tale but one that has created a unique opportunity to showcase and preserve our natural history.
Before we dive in, let’s take a moment to appreciate just how incredible blue whales are. The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth. And not just on Earth today, but ever known to humankind! These creatures can weigh up to 200 tons. In fact, their tongue alone can weigh more than an elephant! I don’t know about you, but I feel pretty lucky to live alongside these magnificent animals. Unfortunately, most of the time, humans are not good at coexisting with the natural world around us. This has resulted in many species both on land and in the water, becoming endangered, including the blue whale. The population size of the Northwest Atlantic blue whale is not known, however, it is estimated to be no more than 250 individuals.
A washed up blue whale
On May 2nd, 2017 the Liverpool Department of Fisheries and Oceans found a dead 60-foot juvenile blue whale on East Berlin Beach in Queens County, Nova Scotia. The dead whale had been spotted in the ocean several times before, but this time it had washed up. The death of any whale makes for a sad event, especially when than there are less than 250 remaining in a population. What made this case even worse is that this individual was a female, meaning that had she not died, she likely could have had calves, helping this deteriorating population.
In order to determine the cause of a death of an animal, a necropsy is performed. Necropsies allow scientists to understand if the death was a result of natural or human cause such as shipping, fishing or pollutants. Without necropsies it would be impossible to tell or quantify just how much of an impact human activity has on animals. I had the amazing opportunity of participating in the necropsy of this blue whale.
A different kind of close encounter
Following the discovery of the blue whale, veterinarians, scientists, volunteers and experts from the Marine Animal Response Society gathered on East Berlin Beach to conduct the necropsy. It is very rare that whales of this size wash up on the shore of Nova Scotia, so to have a blue whale as my first necropsy experience was very exciting and unique.
As I made my way to the site with a few other marine enthusiasts, I had no idea what to expect or how I would feel when I arrived at the beach. I had seen whales in the wild before (and it is absolutely magical) but never a blue whale and never a whale in its entirety. When whale watching, you’re lucky to see just a fluke! Washed up on a beach is not the way I ever want to see a whale but I made the most of this experience and it was incredible.
When I arrived at the beach I was blown away by the size of this animal. Its organs were massive and so were its bones. The baleen, the filter feeding system used by blue whales and other baleen whales, was very interesting to see up-close and touch. Because of its weight, we cut the baleen into several smaller pieces but even then more than one person was needed to carry a piece. This was the same for the skeletal components like the ribs and vertebrae. Now I wouldn’t be accurately describing my experience if I didn’t warn you of the smell….Oh the smell… like the whale, it is something that I will never, ever forget. I don’t think I could explain it even if I tried.
Everyone involved in the necropsy worked extremely hard and I felt lucky to be surrounded by interesting and intelligent people. Unfortunately, I have not yet officially heard what the results of the necropsy were.
A unique opportunity for Nova Scotia
By the end of the necropsy the whale had been removed from the beach, the skeleton defleshed, each bone labelled and loaded into a truck to be taken to Dalhousie. The univeristy kept the skeleton, with the final goal being to have the huge blue whale skeleton on public display serving as both an educational opportunity and an attraction. Gordon Price, a professor at Dalhousie University involved in this project was quoted in a recent article saying, “There aren’t too many blue whale specimens, skeletal specimens in the world that are on display, and it’s certainly a very unique opportunity for the province.”
I am glad there are people working hard to make the most out of an otherwise sad situation. Before the skeleton can be mounted and displayed, it has to be properly preserved. This is a rather long process that staff and students at Dalhousie at the Truro campus are working hard on right now. It’s definitely worth taking the time to read this article to learn more.
Thank you for reading. Here’s to more whales in the ocean and less on the beach.
Best fishes,
Meghan
MINIMUM PROTECTION STANDARDS FOR MARINE PROTECTED AREAS ARE BADLY NEEDED
Published on Aug 30 2018
Photo credit: DFO
The National Advisory Panel on Marine Protected Area Standards publicly released its interim report. This is an important milestone, as the panel is making recommendations on how to better protect our ocean. It can be pretty dry stuff though, so let me take a minute to walk you through some of the key points.
In Canada, we are lacking minimum protection standards for marine protected areas (MPAs). What that means is that protection levels for our marine protected areas can vary widely from one site to the next. Some MPAs actually allow for ecologically harmful activities, such as oil and gas exploration and bottom-trawling. The current framework is inconsistent and does not match the public’s desire to ensure that Canada’s oceans are properly protected.
Some of our MPAs are fully-protected, others are partially-protected with multiple-use areas, and some are just “paper parks” with very little or no regulations. Not surprisingly, these inconstancies compromise the quality of protected areas, create confusion and distrust among stakeholders, and can badly draw out the designation process. In order to protect biodiversity and ensure that people can benefit from the goods and services that the ocean has to offer for years to come, strong standards are needed.
In March 2018, Fisheries and Oceans Canada commissioned the National Advisory Panel on Marine Protected Area Standards to develop recommendations for the creation of protection standards. The Panel has travelled across Canada to gain perspectives and knowledge from a variety of stakeholders and ocean users. CPAWS prioritizes the creation of strong protected areas and as a result, we have been actively engaged in this process. Several CPAWS chapters presented to the panel and we also made an official written submission. The Panel’s interim report to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard is now publically available. You can read it here. In this document, there are no specific recommendations. Those will be included in the final report.
Here are some of the highlights:
• The panel has heard agreement on the use of International Guidance for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a baseline for minimum protection standards in Canada. This guidance serves as a strong foundation and CPAWS supports it application in Canada. Notably, the IUCN guidance clearly articulates that any industrial activity or infrastructural development is not compatible with MPAs.
• The panel recognizes Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) as an effective tool for conservation. IPAs are important for ensuring protection of cultural and ecological values, and for establishing indigenous authority over these critically important areas. The importance of Indigenous peoples being meaningfully involved throughout the entirety of the MPA process was also highlighted.
• The report recognizes that while the primary goal of MPAs is to protect biodiversity, protected areas can also deliver social and economic benefits. The report states: “The Panel’s recommendations will recognize that MPAs and economic and social interests are not necessarily in opposition.” There is increasing evidence that ecological and socioeconomic benefits are not mutually exclusive.
• The importance of clarity and transparency for all stakeholders throughout the MPA planning and management is recognized in this report. This is imperative for maximizing engagement and gaining trust among stakeholders.
• The report states that meaningful protection of biodiversity is more important than hitting a certain percent target, meaning that quantity should not compromise quality.
We are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis and the ocean is in need of meaningful protection now more than ever. With the largest coastline in the world, it is imperative that Canada acts as a leader in ocean conservation and that must include having strong protection standards. We look forward to reading the final recommendations from the Panel.
Best fishes,
Meghan
BILL LAHEY IDENTIFIES PATH FORWARD FOR FORESTRY IN NOVA SCOTIA. WILL PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT ACT?
Published on Aug 23 2018
On Tuesday, an important independent assessment of Nova Scotia’s forest industry was publicly released. The full report is written by Bill Lahey and can be viewed here.
This is a key moment for forest policy in Nova Scotia, since we are clearly at a decision point. Will Nova Scotia stick with the status quo of clearcut after clearcut, or will we switch to a better type of forestry; one that places more emphasis on quality over quantity?
I must admit, at first I was a bit skeptical of this independent review, since it is only the latest in a long line of independent reports that have recommended important changes to Nova Scotia’s forest industry, but those reports, for the most part, have gathered dust. So, I was skeptical, but then Bill Lahey was announced as the individual who would be carrying out this latest independent assessment and that changed things for me.
I’ve worked with Bill in his former capacity as Deputy Minister of Nova Scotia Environment, before being appointed President of University of King’s College in Halifax. We interacted on the protection of Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes and the implementation of the Colin Stewart Forest Forum recommendations for creating new protected areas in Nova Scotia.
Bill was one of the driving forces behind the cutting edge piece of Nova Scotia legislation known as the “Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act” (EGSPA), which has helped the province achieve important progress on a range of environmental issues, even through various election cycles.
Bill has also undertaken other independent reviews for the provincial government, most notably the aquaculture regulatory assessment released in 2015. He’s a straight shooter. He’s smart. And he doesn’t shy away from tough or complex issues. I’ve also found him to be very considerate and genuinely interested in people, their concerns, and how that relates to good government.
So, when the Lahey Report was released yesterday, I was very eager to read through it and to see how Bill tackled this important, yet tricky file.
CPAWS Nova Scotia provided input into the review process. We specifically made recommendations for the province to work within the ecological limits of the forest; to finish the protected areas system (which should be the benchmark of any well designed forest management strategy); to focus on spatial planning as a means for reducing clearcutting and improving forestry practices; to commit to undertaking a high conservation value forest assessment for all public lands in Nova Scotia; to establish long-term deferrals; and to move oversight for approving forest management plans from the Department of Natural Resources to Nova Scotia Environment through the Environmental Assessment process.
People who participated in the review process were given the opportunity to have a briefing on the report at 9am on Tuesday, two hours before it was to be publicly released at 11am.
So, what does the report say?
First of all, if you are a policy wonk, this report does not disappoint. It is jammed packed with all sorts of information, and analyses, and critical thinking. There are several technical bulletins that accompany the main report.
The main thrust of the document is that Lahey wants the province to move away from the current model of industrial-scale forestry toward something that is more “ecological forestry”. That means the priority MUST be placed on healthy forests and biodiversity, not maximizing wood fibre for pulp mills and biomass burners.
To get there, Lahey lays out a path that has quite a bit of tough love, for everyone.
He recommends using a triad approach, which means dividing up the landscape into three general zones: 1) Protection, 2) Forest matrix, and 3) Intensive forestry. It’s like a 3-legged stool, which in theory, should lead to increased protection and force an increasing amount of harvests into the existing human footprint, rather than the rough scattershot of clearcuts that so dominate the landscape today.
This is NOT a new approach. It’s something that has been promoted for a long time. But, on-the-ground in Nova Scotia, it’s pretty hard to conclude that intense forestry is not the predominant leg in that stool, with so many roads and clearcuts and short harvesting rotations. Lahey essentially lays out a roadmap that makes it harder for the government to avoid doing the triad approach properly.
According to Lahey, if the recommendations in the report are followed, it will result in a reduction in the amount of clearcutting from current levels or ~65% on Crown lands to approximately 20-25% of all harvests. That would be a substantial reduction from the status quo and would correspond with an estimated 10-20% drop in the amount of wood supply being harvested from public lands. Lahey essentially concludes that public forests cannot support the current levels of harvesting, particularly clearcutting, and that this must be reduced to make the transition to ecological forestry on public lands.
The report notes that this may push more of the harvesting footprint onto private lands, since so much of Nova Scotia is privately owned. It could also result in a contraction in the forest industry. Either way, we simply cannot push the forests beyond their ecological limits, especially with the uncertainty of impacts from climate change and invasive species. Healthy forests create more options for the future, while industrial scale forestry does not.
There are some very specific recommendations in the Lahey report as well. It rightly identifies that the work to establish protected areas in Nova Scotia is “unfinished” and that the province is falling behind the national protected areas target of protecting at least 17% of the landmass. Additionally, the report says that clearcutting should NOT occur adjacent to protected areas. This is something that CPAWS Nova Scotia has been pushing for for quite some time. The report also identifies inadequacies in protecting old forest in Nova Scotia and calls for a land use planning process for public lands in western Nova Scotia, including the former Bowater lands, as well as an expansion to the Medway Community Forest.
The report also recommends moving approvals for forestry plans to the environmental assessment process (or equivalent), meaning this would require oversight from other provincial departments, not just the Department of Natural Resources. That would be a huge improvement. It will make the process more transparent and will give the public better access to information sooner in the review process.
I mentioned that there was tough love for everyone, and there is. Industry will have to try to figure out how they can improve their forestry practices, to move away from over-reliance on clearcutting. Acadian forests are very different from Canada’s boreal forests. Natural disturbances are generally smaller, and for many stand types, it’s dominated by gap-fill dynamics. This means that clearcuts often don’t mimic those natural disturbance regimes, and lighter touch forestry is required instead.
For environmentalists, the triad approach means that in exchange for increased protection measures there are places on the landscape where forestry becomes MORE intensive. That’s a tough pill to swallow, since the status quo is already very intense.
I think the Lahey report goes too far in saying herbicide spraying should be allowed in these areas of intensified forestry. Stora-Enso (now Port Hawkesbury Paper Ltd.) has already demonstrated that it’s possible to avoid using herbicide applications in the Acadian forest through using modified harvest techniques and better use of shade to control regrowth. It’s possible to implement the triad approach without relying on herbicides.
What’s next?
All eyes need to be on the provincial government. It received the report at the same time that it was released publicly, so I’m sure it will take a little bit of time for them to review and digest the recommendations. However, surely the recommendations in this report can’t come as a big surprise. It’s obvious that Nova Scotia has gone too far down the road of industrial scale forestry and we need to pull back from that.
In a year-end interview last December, the Premier was asked about the pending Lahey report and, at that time, he indicated that he would implement its recommendations.
This is what the Premier said:
“I asked him [Lahey] to do this work because I need a path forward so his report will be accepted. Without seeing it, it’s hard to (say for certain) but my intention is to implement the recommendations he puts forward.”
Bill Lahey has now delivered the report and has successfully identified a potential path forward that is reasonable and moves us in the right direction. No more stalling. Now is the time to act!! Over to you Nova Scotia government.
By: ~Chris Miller, Executive Director, CPAWS Nova Scotia
(I just want to conclude by saying thank you to Bill Lahey for tackling this important issue head-on and with the required rigour that allows workable solutions to be identified. I also thank him for listening to the input from CPAWS-NS and for incorporating some of our suggestions into his report.)
Wentworth Valley receives protected area designation from Nova Scotia government
Published on Nov 26 2018
Photo: Irwin Barrett
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-NS) welcomes today’s announcement by the Nova Scotia government that it has established a legally-designated protected wilderness area in the Wentworth Valley.
“This wilderness area contains all sorts of old forest and important ecosystems,” says Chris Miller, Executive Director of CPAWS-NS. “We are glad to see that this very significant site in the Wentworth Valley has now received legal protection.”
The area was first identified as a candidate protected area by the Nova Scotia government way back in 2011. After two years of public and stakeholder consultations, the Wentworth Valley was declared a ‘pending protected area’ by the Nova Scotia government in 2013, when the Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan was publicly released. Today’s announcement means that the designation process is now complete.
“It’s been a long road to get to this point,” says Miller. “Many thanks to the Minister of Environment for completing the designation process for Wentworth Valley and for ensuring that the species and ecosystems that call this place home will be properly protected.”
Wentworth Valley Wilderness Area is approximately 2,000 hectares in size. It contains large intact forests, habitat for the endangered mainland moose, several significant stands of old hardwood forest, and is a site important for landscape connectivity in the Cobequid Hills. There is strong local support for its protection and there are opportunities for low impact wilderness recreation in this protected area, in a valley known for year-round outdoor activities.
A large portion of the new protected wilderness area was previously owned by Neenah Paper Ltd. and was acquired by the Nova Scotia government for conservation way back in 2010.
“If those lands were not purchased at that time, it’s likely that the forest would have been clearcut by now,” says Miller. “Acquiring those lands created the opportunity to protect them, and the Nova Scotia government is to be commended for being proactive with their large land purchase program back then.”
Also included in today’s announcement are two other protected areas in Northern Nova Scotia, including “Chase Lake Wilderness Area” and “Steepbank Brook Nature Reserve”. In total, about 3,000 hectares of land were announced as protected by the Nova Scotia government today.
These are the first new protected areas created by the Nova Scotia government since March 2017. At the moment, about half of the sites from the Nova Scotia Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan have been officially established, covering about two thirds of the total area. That still leaves about 100 pending protected areas still awaiting legal protection.
“It’s been five years since the protected areas plan was finalized,” says Miller. “That’s more than enough time to have completed the designation process for all of the pending protected areas in the plan. We hope that the protection of the Wentworth Valley is a signal of things to come, but with a renewed sense of urgency”.
We look forward to additional protected area announcements before the end of the year.
Contact:
Chris Miller, PhD.
Executive Director
CPAWS Nova Scotia
cmiller@cpaws.org
High-resolution photos of Wentworth Valley Wilderness Area available upon request
Nova Scotia needs to pick up the pace on protected areas
Published on Jul 17 2018
HALIFAX – Today, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) released its annual “Parks Report” examining progress creating protected areas in Canada. The report examines opportunities for Canada to achieve its international commitment of protecting at least 17% of its landmass by the year 2020.
Although Nova Scotia has made good progress in recent years creating new protected areas, that progress has now stalled. There are still approximately 100 pending sites from the “Nova Scotia Parks and Protected Areas Plan” still awaiting official designation by the Nova Scotia government and it’s been more than a year since the last batch of new protected areas was announced.
At the moment, only about half of the sites from the Nova Scotia Parks and Protected Areas Plan have been officially designated. Sites still awaiting legal protection include: Wentworth Valley Wilderness Area, St. Mary’s River Conservation Lands, Cape Mabou Wilderness Area, Sackville River Nature Reserve, and sites in southwestern Nova Scotia containing some of the rarest species in Canada.
Recommendations:
The specific Nova Scotia recommendations from the CPAWS report include:
1) Complete the full implementation of the Nova Scotia Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan.
2) Undertake a province-wide gap analysis to identify priority conservation sites and opportunities for improving connectivity between protected areas.
3) Initiate a wilderness area assessment for the Ingram River watershed on the former Bowater lands.
4) Seek matching funding from the new federal “Nature Fund” for protected area establishment and conservation planning.
5) Re-establish a land acquisition budget for the Nova Scotia Department of Environment so that key private lands can be purchased for conservation.
Quotes:
“The Nova Scotia government must pick up the pace,” says Chris Miller, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. “Five years have now passed since the protected areas plan was finalized, yet we are still awaiting nearly one hundred sites from this plan to receive official designation by the Nova Scotia government.”
“Our report identifies that the full implementation of the Nova Scotia Parks and Protected Areas Plan is the best way for the Nova Scotia government to make progress toward the national protected areas target,” says Miller. “That plan includes some of the best remaining natural areas in the province, including places such as Wentworth Valley, St. Mary’s River, Mabou Highlands, Sackville River, and ecological hotspots in southwestern Nova Scotia.”
Background documents:
Nova Scotia Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan
Interactive map of existing and pending protected areas
Contact:
Chris Miller, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Nova Scotia Chapter
cmiller@cpaws.org
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OCEANS OF OPTIMISM: HAPPY WORLD OCEANS DAY!
Published on Jun 07 2018
Photo by: Alisha Posta (divebuddiesforlife.com)
Happy World Oceans Day! Today is a great day to celebrate the big blue and reflect on its importance.
The ocean is important to all life on Earth. For example, it provides oxygen that we need to breathe. Every other breath that we take comes from the ocean, thanks to tiny plant-like organisms called phytoplankton that produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis. Seafood is an important source of protein for people across the globe and fisheries are fundamental to the livelihood of millions, particularly those living in coastal communities. In Nova Scotia, the ocean is important to the livelihood of many people. In fact, 1 in 5 jobs are connected to the ocean. On top of all of this, the ocean is an important component of many cultures and a source of both relaxation and recreation, something we are very familiar with here in Canada’s Ocean Playground. World-renowned marine biologist, Sylvia Earle summed this up nicely, “No water, no life. No blue, no green.”
Much of the news is populated by the doom and gloom of the planet. However, scattered among this news are stories of hope and ocean optimism. It’s these stories and the creatures, people, communities and organizations behind them, that can help to keep our heads up when the state of the world’s oceans may seem overwhelming. In recognition of World Oceans Day, let’s take a look at some examples of why we should be optimistic about the future of the ocean.
A turtlely awesome tale
I’ll start off by sharing one of my favourite (relatively) recent stories of ocean optimism. Versova Beach in Mumbai, India was once a dump-yard, polluted with plastic and trash. For years, a group of dedicated volunteers cleaned this beach. Actually, the United Nations is calling it the “world’s largest beach cleanup project”. These efforts paid off this past March as hatchlings from a vulnerable sea turtle species were spotted on this beach for the first time in decades. This story showcases the power of collective action and our ability to create a better future for the ocean and the species that live there. (Photo from phys.org)
A marine protected area for Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore
Here in Nova Scotia, with the recent announcement of the Eastern Shore Islands as an area of interest for a future MPA, we have an opportunity to do coastal protection properly. In order for this proposed MPA to be successful, it must work for wildlife and for the people who live there. One example, one win-win scenario is if the MPA can stop open-pen finfish aquaculture farms from being established here, but still allow for the existing inshore lobster fishery. If done properly, it would set a powerful precedent for future coastal MPAs across Canada.
Kids often say it best
“We should help the oceans because I would like my nephews to enjoy the oceans like I do right now, so please protect the oceans for me and the next generation.”
Recently, CPAWS-NS worked with a fantastic group of students at a local school. We’ll be sharing some of their posts soon. When ocean issues can see complicated or overwhelming, it’s useful to pause and reflect on the wisdom of the younger generation.
CPAWS-NS is optimistic that we can turn the tide and create a brighter future for the ocean. I hope you are too.
Best fishes,
Meghan