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Government announces protection of Gully Lake and Eigg Mountain-James River - Two Green Plan commitments honoured

March 05, 2005

Premier John Hamm and Environment Minister Kerry Morash today announced the designation of two new Protected Wilderness Areas - Eigg Mountain-James River near Antigonish and Gully Lake near Truro. "We are going to keep these areas wild so natural habitats and ecosystems are allowed to flourish," said the Premier. "We are protecting these beautiful examples of Nova Scotia's natural landscape for our children and grandchildren, as promised in our green plan." The two parcels of publicly-owned Crown land in northern mainland Nova Scotia total nearly 8,000 hectares and are the first new Protected Wilderness Areas established by the Province in over seven years. They are now declared off-limits to industrial development but remain open for low-impact wilderness recreation including hiking, camping, fishing and hunting.

Members of the Nova Scotia Public Lands Coalition were on hand at the legislature today to hear the announcement and to offer congratulations to Premier Hamm and Minister Morash on a job well done. "This is the most significant development in nature protection in the province in many years," said Raymond Plourde of the Ecology Action Centre "Premier Hamm deserves a lot of credit. If it hadn't been for his personal interest in this, it wouldn't have happened. Minister Morash has also been very engaged and supportive."

"From a tourism perspective we're very happy with today's announcement," said Jennifer McKeane of TIANS. Jamie Steeves of Trout Nova Scotia added "We've lost so much good habitat in Nova Scotia. It is encouraging to see this Government making a positive contribution towards conserving some of what we have left."

The announcement of legal protection for these two areas fulfils the second of three important promise made by the government in its recently released Green Plan - Towards a Sustainable Environment. Along with the new designations Minister Morash laid the groundwork for fulfillment of the third major commitment by announcing that the government would develop in short order a process for selecting and designating new protected areas on Crown land. It is now hoped that Nova Scotia's other endangered hotspots can be properly studied and evaluated for inclusion in the province's overdue Protected Areas system. The member groups of the Nova Scotia Public Lands Coalition applaud the move to a formal process and look forward to working with government towards this worthy purpose. "It's certainly good news to know we are moving forward with the important business of completing Nova Scotia's Protected Areas Network," concluded CPAWS NS president Holly Palen. "We look forward to the road ahead."