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Public Consultation Dates Set for Ship Harbour Long Lake

April 17, 2008

It is time to make your voice heard. The long awaited public consultation on Ship Harbour Long Lake is finally set to begin.

The first public session will be held Saturday, May 3, 10:00 am to 12:00 noon in the Eastern Shore Recreation Centre arena, 67 Park Road, Musquodoboit Harbour.

A second public session will be held Wednesday, May 7, 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Fairbanks Centre, 54 Locks Road, Dartmouth, inside Shubie Park.

This public consultation provides an opportunity for Nova Scotians to help establish a beautiful and ecologically significant new protected wilderness area. This 14,000 hectares of wilderness on the Eastern Shore runs east to Scraggy Lake and west to Admiral Lake.

These early consultations will be the first step toward determining the final boundaries of the new wilderness area. The area will be designated under the Wilderness Areas Protection Act by November, 2008. This Act has been law since 1998.

Since 1999 Public Lands Coalition members have focused an intense grassroots campaign on saving Ship Harbour Long Lake from being harvested. In December 2007 an agreement was signed by major conservation groups, Neenah Paper (formerly Kimberly Clark), and the Government of Nova Scotia, to save this special place and move it forward for legal protection.

The consultation process will take place in the following four steps:

1. Information Sharing and Issue Identification, which involves collecting information, finalizing the consultation process, and identifying outstanding issues. This phase includes the stakeholder meetings, and public information forums.
2. Issue Resolution, which will attempt to settle outstanding issues with affected individuals and stakeholders.
3. Designation Proposal, which will allow for further public input into the final proposed wildnerness area boundary, including a 60 day consultation with regional displays, opportunities to provide written comments, and public open houses.
4. Final Government Decision, which will involve the public announcement and completion of legal documentation.

Nova Scotians can provide comment on the Ship Harbour Long Lake candidate wilderness area in writing or by attending the two public information forums in May. Written comment will be accepted until May 31 by mail at: Department of Environment, Protected Areas, P.O. Box 442, Halifax, N.S., B3J 2P8, and by e-mail at: protectedareas@gov.ns.ca.

Wilderness areas are significant natural areas designated under Nova Scotia's Wilderness Areas Protection Act. These areas protect the natural environment while providing opportunities for education, research, wilderness recreation, camping, sportfishing, hunting and community stewardship.

Most wilderness areas are remote with limited access. They allow us to conserve biological diversity, protect important habitat, improving air quality, create and protect soils and provide clean water. Wilderness areas also act as natural laboratories in which to monitor the natural world and learn how ecosystems function and respond to stresses. Nova Scotia's wilderness areas provide high quality wilderness recreation opportunities, foster healthy lifestyles, and offer places for spiritual renewal and inspiration in an increasingly busy and crowded world.

Nova Scotia currently has 33 designated wilderness areas, protecting over 294,000 hectares. This area is about 19% of provincial Crown land, or just over 5% of the province. The total area legally protected in all land categories (provincial, federal and private) is more than 8% of Nova Scotia. The Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act commits the province to legally protect 12% of its total land mass by the year 2015.