Public Lands

Public Land is also referred to as Crown Land, and as the name 'Public' suggests, it is land owned by the citizens of Nova Scotia and held in trust by the government. It belongs to all of us equally. It belongs to every man, woman and child in the province. Together we own almost 15,000 square kilometres of land in Nova Scotia, which translates into a little more than three and a half acres of land per person.

Some patches of Public Land like Cape Breton Highlands National Park and Blomidon Provincial Park are familiar to many Nova Scotians. Other patches like the hotspots which the Nova Scotia Public Lands Coalition would like to see protected, may not be so familiar. A very general description of our Public Land is that it possesses great ecological diversity, and wonderful recreational opportunities. Its future, however, is threatened by exploitive activities like industrial forestry, mining and other forms of land development.

The NSPLC believes that more of our publicly owned Crown land should be protected - set aside for nature and people who love the great outdoors. So do a majority of Nova Scotians according to a recent survey.

Public Land accounts for approximately 30.4% of Nova Scotia's total area (the smallest amount of Public Land in any Province with the exception of P.E.I.). Although Nova Scotian citizens are the owners of this land, it is held in trust by the Provincial and Federal governments, who act as the managers for it. The Provincial and Federal Governments have legally protected approximately 8.2% of Nova Scotia, through the establishment of National and Provincial Parks, Wilderness Areas and Special Places (nature reserves) on Public Land. This leaves about 3/4 of our publicly owned land available for mining, forestry and development. The following table is a snapshot of how your Public Land is managed:

National Parks

132,155 ^a

8.2%

2.5%

Parks Canada (Federal Agency)

Resource extraction.

Most development.

Hunting and trapping

Non-motorized wilderness recreation.

Fishing.

Provincial Parks

14,900^b

0.93%

0.28%

Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources

Resource extraction.

Most development.

Hunting and trapping.

Non-motorized wilderness recreation.

Fishing.

Wilderness Areas

285,718^c

17.8%

5.4%

Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour

Resource extraction,

development, road building, powerlines, pipelines, etc.

Non-motorized wilderness recreation.*

Fishing, traditional hunting and trapping.

Special Places
(Nature Reserves)

1,400^d

0.09%

0.027%

Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour

All development and resource extraction.

Most recreation.

Public education.

Scientific research.

Unprotected Public Land

423,274^e

26.4%

8.0%

Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources

Resource extraction (including mining, forestry etc.).

Development of roads, housing, powerlines, etc.

All forms of wilderness recreation.

Hunting, trapping and fishing

Unprotected Public Land leased to Industry and individuals

748,390^f

46.6%

14.2%

Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources

Total

1,605,837

100%

30.4%