Public Lands

Endangered Spaces

Blue Mountain - Birch Cove Lakes

Cumberland

East Hants

Eigg Mountain - James River

Five Bridge Lakes

Fogarty's Cove

Gully Lake

Herring Cove Backlands

Humes River

Kluscap Mountain

Lake Major - Musquodoboit

Liscomb

Nictaux River

Prospect

Sackville - Beaverbank

Shelburne Barrens

Ship Harbour Long Lake

Tobeatic (additions)

Tusket River

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Proposed Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area

Size & Location

The proposed Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area includes all unprotected Crown lands (excluding lands with permanent built structures) between Highway 3 and Route 333, and lands owned by the Halifax Municipality at Big Five Bridge Lake and Moores Lake. The proposed Wilderness Area is approximately 9,800 hectares.

Five Bridge Lakes

Outstanding Natural Features

Five Bridge Lakes chain and 30 other undeveloped lakes
Over 8 km of frontage on the Nine Mile River, plus frontage on Woodens and Prospect Rivers
Oak and jack pine woods, numerous wetlands
Remnant population of native Nova Scotia moose
Added protection for Western Common municipal wilderness

Outstanding Recreational Features

Many old fishing holes and campsites
Traditional backcountry trails network, including Jimmy's Roundtop, Old St. Margaret's Bay Road, Old French Village Road, and the new Bluff Trail
A large wilderness at the doorstep of a growing urban centre

Threats

Logging, golf courses, new subdivisions and other developments are gobbling up large tracts of wilderness within the Chebucto Peninsula, just west of Halifax. Crown lands have remained largely undeveloped, but could be put at risk from resource extraction, road construction, or disposal to private developers.

In August 2000, the Halifax Regional Development Agency and the Chebucto Peninsula Trail Committee initiated a regional trails study for the Chebucto Peninsula. The protection of this large block of wilderness is critical to the long-term viability of a high-quality backcountry trails network for the region.

Associated Member Groups

The Five Bridge Wilderness Heritage Trust is a local group working to protect this area. For more on their efforts, plus maps of the area, please visit their website at www.fivebridgetrust.ca/.

The Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization is also involved in the effort and maintains a website about land use issues in the region.

Take action to help save this important wilderness area!