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Update on Tobeatic Wilderness Area Planning Exercise

November 25, 2002

Management Planning for the Tobeatic Wilderness Area will commence again after Christmas, following the close of the first public comment period on November 25.

Management Planning begin last Spring with the formation of the Tobeatic Advisory Group, made up of local stakeholders including large adjacent landowners (e.g., NS Power, Bowater), municipalities, and conservation and recreation groups. The advisory group has been meeting on a monthly basis. Discussions have focused on identifying broad management issues which will be explored in further detail this spring. Perhaps the hottest issue on the table is the extent to which ATV use should be permitted within the area (if at all).

Another hot topic is the status of adjacent Crown lands, many of which the Coalition has formally proposed for protection. In 1995 the Province committed to finalizing the boundaries of the Tobeatic during Management Planning, but it is unclear whether this will still happen (Click here for map of proposed additions to the Tobeatic Wilderness Area.).

It should be noted that many stakeholders have some reservations about the Environment Minister's dedication to the planning process and to a wild Tobeatic in light of the Department's Environmental Assessment approval for Blackbull Resource's proposed quartz mine. The mine site lies just 30m from the Wilderness Area border.

The Environment Department plans to hold public workshops on the draft management plan in 2003.

At 104,000 hectares the Tobeatic Wilderness Area is the largest protected area in the Maritimes, encompassing the headwaters of nine major river systems, dozens of lakes, and extensive tracts of barrens and forest.

For further information on the process or for a copy of the newsletter providing background information on the planning exercise, contact:

Leif Helmer
Regional Protected Areas Coordinator
Nova Scotia Department of Environment & Labour
60 Logan Road
Bridgewater, NS B4V 3J8

902.543.4685
E-mail: helmerpl@gov.ns.ca

NS Public Lands Coalition groups represented on the Tobeatic Advisory Group are the Tobeatic Wilderness Committee (Jim Todd, 902.532.5009), Southwest Paddlers (Andy Smith, 902.643.2247) and Tusket River Environmental Protection Association.

More on the Tobeatic at the Tobeatic Wilderness Committee website.