save Gully Lake and Eigg Mountain, NS

From: "Kermit deGooyer" <kdegooyer@hotmail.com>
To: ip-fsc@chebucto.ns.ca
Cc: sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca
Date: Wed, 06 Oct 1999 08:08:07 PDT
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <sust-mar-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects


Hi all,

Well, we "went public".  The campaign to save Gully Lake and Eigg 
Mountain-james river is on!

Letters would be appreciated.  If you can't write, please consider at least 
cutting and pasting the sample letter and e-mailing to the Hamm man 
(premier@gov.ns.ca).  Thanks to Mark Brennan and Ken McKenna for their work 
on this.  For additional info check out http://www.auracom.com/~mbrennan

thanks,

Kermit.

PS.  There was a good article in the Herald on Tuesday re: NS Power dams at 
East River Sheet Harbour.

-------------------------------------------------------

Ecology Action Centre, 31-1568 Argyle St., Halifax, NS, B3J 2B3

for immediate release:  October 5, 1999


NORTHERN MAINLAND WILDERNESS CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED

Imagine not being able to find a large area of wild forest along Nova 
Scotia’s northern mainland.  That could happen unless the Province steps up 
its efforts to finish Nova Scotia’s protected areas network, according to 
two conservation groups meeting today in New Glasgow.  The Pictou County 
Naturalists and the Ecology Action Centre are calling on the Province to 
protect two blocks of Crown land in the region from industrial resource 
development.

The groups are asking the public to write Premier John Hamm to request that 
Crown lands at Gully Lake, northeast of Truro, and near Eigg Mountain in 
Antigonish County, be designated under the province’s Wilderness Act.  The 
Gully Lake site, which straddles the watershed divide between River John and 
the Salmon River, boasts about 4,600 hectares of primarily 
hardwood-dominated forest, and is a popular backcountry recreation 
destination.  The proposed Eigg Mountain – James River Wilderness Area would 
protect up to 6,000 hectares, including hardwoods on the Antigonish 
Highlands, deep ravines, waterfalls, and the headwaters for the Town of 
Antigonish water supply.

“Both sites are extremely beautiful, and are teeming with wildlife.  
Protecting these forests is a great way for people along the northern 
mainland to hang onto a remnant of our natural heritage”, says Mark Brennan 
of the Pictou County Naturalists.

The sites likely represent the last opportunities for large protected 
wilderness areas in a region where forests have been badly scarred by 
logging roads and clearcutting.  “There isn’t a single acre of designated 
wilderness in Antigonish or Pictou County, and nothing north of the Trans 
Canada Highway between New Brunswick and Cape Breton.  The Province has 
promised wilderness areas for this region, and we’re reminding them 
tonight”, says Kermit deGooyer of the Ecology Action Centre, making 
reference to the Province’s 1992 commitment to establish protected sites in 
each of Nova Scotia’s 80 natural regions.

The Department of Natural Resources will announce in December whether the 
sites will be protected or made available to industry, as part of a 
long-term regional land use plan for Crown lands in eastern Nova Scotia.  If 
protected, both sites would be off limits to industrial uses like forestry 
and mining, but would remain accessible for outdoor recreation, including 
hunting and fishing.

Contacts:

Mark Brennan, Pictou County Naturalists, (902) 396-4397 / (902) 752-7600 
ext. 3470
Kermit deGooyer, Ecology Action Centre, (902) 429-2202 / (902) 492-4340

- 30 -

------------------------------------------

RESCUE WILDERNESS IN NORTHERN NOVA SCOTIA - WRITE A LETTER!!


Letters work.  The Province will protect the Crown lands at Gully Lake and 
Eigg Mountain – James River only if they receive LOTS of supportive letters. 
  Every letter makes a difference.  Write straight to Premier John Hamm, it 
will only take a minute.  His office will also send copies to the Ministers 
of Natural Resources and/or Environment.

Please “cc” a copy of your letter to other MLAs in the region (addresses 
below), and, if you wish, to the Ecology Action Centre, 31-1568 Argyle St., 
Halifax, NS, B3J 2B3.

A sample letter is provided on the reverse, but explaining in your own words 
why you’d like to see these lands protected would be more effective.  
Remember to ask for three things:

(1)  legal protection:  anything less is open to abuse.  Designation under 
the Wilderness Areas Protection Act is the most realistic option, because it 
leaves the sites available for traditional recreational activities like 
hunting and fishing, but keeps industrial resource development out.

(2)  a development moratorium until the lands are legally protected

(3)  a response to your concerns:  for your own records and to keep the 
issue active.

Supportive letters to the editor will also go a long way to protect these 
areas.

Important addresses:


Government:

Dr. John Hamm
Premier of Nova Scotia
PO Box 726
Halifax, NS  B3J 2T3
e-mail: premier@gov.ns.ca

The following MLAs for the northern mainland can all be reached via the PC 
Caucus Office, Suite 805 – Centennial Building, 1645 Granville St., Halifax, 
NS   B3J 1X3 (fax: 424-7484):

Muriel Baillee
MLA for Pictou West

Jim DeWolfe
MLA for Pictou East

Bill Langille
MLA for Colchester North

Angus MacIsaac
MLA for Antigonish

Newspapers:

Chronicle-Herald
Voice of the People
PO Box 610
Halifax, NS  B3J 2T2
fax:  426-2810
e-mail:  newsroom@herald.ns.ca

Antigonish Casket
PO Box 1300
Antigonish, NS, B2G 2L7
fax:  863-1943
e-mail: thecasket@auracom.com

New Glasgow Evening News
PO Box 159
New Glasgow, NS
B2H 5E2
fax:  752-1945
e-mail: evening.news@
north.nsis.com

SAMPLE LETTER TO SAVE PUBLIC LANDS IN NORTHERN NOVA SCOTIA


Premier John Hamm
PO Box 726
Halifax, NS	B3J 2T3

fax:		(902) 424-7648
e-mail:	premier@gov.ns.ca


Dear Dr. Hamm:

I am writing to ask you to protect Crown lands at Gully Lake, near Truro, 
and at Eigg Mountain in Antigonish County.  These two areas are spectacular 
wildernesses – they contain hardwood forests, waterfalls, and the headwater 
streams of important rivers, including the Salmon River and River John at 
Gully Lake, and the James River in the Eigg Mountain block.  Both sites have 
been outdoor recreation destinations for generations.  I do not want to see 
them lost to forestry or other industrial land uses.

These lands may represent the last chance to hang onto some wilderness in 
the northern mainland region of Nova Scotia.  As you know, there are no 
protected Wilderness Areas in Antigonish or Pictou Counties, nor are there 
any north of the Trans Canada Highway between Cape Breton and New Brunswick. 
  I understand the Province has committed to establishing protected areas in 
every natural region of Nova Scotia, and that the commitment has not yet 
been satisfied for most of the North Shore.  It would be unfortunate if 
people from this area were forever unable to access or enjoy true Nova 
Scotia wilderness.

Please give these two wild forests lasting formal protection by designating 
them under the Wilderness Act.  As an interim measure, I ask that the 
Department of Natural Resources place both sites under a development 
moratorium immediately.

I look forward to receiving a written response regarding the future status 
of these lands.

Sincerely,



-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
You received this because you are subscribed to "sust-mar", the
Sustainable Maritimes mailing list. To unsubscribe, send email to
<majordomo@chebucto.ns.ca> with "unsubscribe sust-mar" (without quotes) as
the body of your message. To post a message to sust-mar subscribers, send it to
<sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca> Posts that are off-topic or excessive length
(10K) will be rejected. For help contact <sust-mar-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>
Archives: http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/lists/sust-mar

next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects