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Proposed Sackville - Beaverbank Wilderness AreaSize & Location
Natural Description
The Lewis Lake block is critical to the health of the Sackville River, as it the only tract of Crown land within the watershed's headwaters. It is also the largest Crown block in the Sackville Drumlins natural region, which is currently underrepresented. The Beaverbank River Block is the only Public land on the Beaverbank River, and is important for this reason. The South Block of Shubenacadie Grand Lake contains old forest stands and shoreline along Beaverbank Lake and the Kinsac River. The North Block of Shubenacadie Grand Lake is the only Public land on the west side of Shubenacadie Grand Lake. It boasts stands of red and white pine and hardwoods, as well as brooks lined with old hemlocks. ThreatsThe Sackville area contains among the most productive land on the fringes of urban Halifax. Forests here are declining due to urban sprawl and logging. Most of the land in the region is privately owned and open for development, making it important to preserve open space by protecting public lands. 
There has been some progress. Through the late 1980s and the 1990s, the Sackville Rivers Association (SRA) led a successful fight to keep a four lane highway and housing development from being built through a beautiful tract of public forest at Second Lake in Sackville. The Province recently decided to transfer the 269 hectare parcel to the Department of Natural Resources - Parks Division. The Second Lake Regional Park Association is attempting to reach an agreement with the Parks Division to manage this area as an official Provincial Park. See secondlakepark.ca for more details. But the future is uncertain for the lion's share of public lands in the region. In a March 2000 letter to Premier John Hamm, the SRA requested that the Province also protect the four tracts of Crown land in the Sackville area that make up the Proposed Sackville - Beaverbank Wilderness Area. 
In the letter to Premier Hamm, SRA President Ian McKay states, "We hope you can appreciate that the majority of lands around Sackville and Beaverbank are privately-owned. There is not much hope in saving them, when you consider that HRM's population is growing quickly. The four areas we listed consisting of over 2,875 hectares should be protected to leave natural areas and healthy rivers for future generation, especially near to large urban populations." Associated Member GroupsThe Sackville Rivers Association has lead the way towards protection. This initiative is also supported by the Shubenacadie Watershed Environmental Protection Association. This association and the SRA have both asked the Province to place a development moratorium on the proposed Wilderness Area until it is legally protected.
Take action to help save this important wilderness area!
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© Nova Scotia Public Lands Coalition, Ecology Action Centre, 2006 |
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