Action Alert: Greenwich-PEI N'tl Park

Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2000 01:48:31 -0400
To: slabchuk@isn.net
From: Sharon Labchuk <slabchuk@isn.net>
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <sust-mar-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

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SUST-MAR SPECIAL BULLETIN: Big sust-mar WELCOME to Yuill Herbert
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Earth Action
81 Prince Street, Charlottetown, PEI  C1A 4R3
902-621-0719    slabchuk@isn.net

ACTION ALERT:  GREENWICH - PEI NATIONAL PARK

February 2, 2000

Thanks to everyone across Canada who responded to our last action alert re
Greenwich.  While we were not successful in obtaining a moratorium on
development in this new addition to the PEI National Park, we were
successful in bringing national attention to the issue.  Parks Canada has
reduced the annual visitor limit to 75,000 people (still outrageously high
but down from the expected 100,00 to 250,000 people) and authorities now
realize that people all over Canada are monitoring development.     Sharon
Labchuk

ACTION REQUIRED

Send letters to PEI Premier Pat Binns and federal Minister of Canadian
Heritage Sheila Copps.  Addresses below.

BACKGROUND

We now know that protected areas cannot survive as islands in a sea of
development.  The province of PEI is drafting regulations concerning land
use in the 7,000 acre "special planning area" surrounding the new national
park addition at Greenwich.  Input into this management plan has been
solicited largely from local residents who have an obvious self-interest in
promoting development.  (See the Winter 1999/2000 issue of Wild Earth for
an excellent article by George Wuerthner "Selfish Genes, Local Control, and
Conservation" about local opposition to conservation proposals).  Options
contained in the just-released draft management plan spell doom for the park.

The option favoured by local residents is for "Eco-Tourism Development" -
but the concept of eco-tourism they put forward is hardly recognizable as
such.  This 7,000 acres is already highly disturbed.  There are 500 rural
residents, and 283 people live in St. Peters.  The area is primarily in
agricultural production which means intense pesticide spraying on potato
fields.  Residential/resort type development would be permitted.  Other
permitted developments would include B&B's, country inns, arts and crafts
shops, tearooms, rental cottages, RV parks, food service, campgrounds, etc.  

Permitted industrial uses are for agriculture, forestry and fishing.  St.
Peters Bay, which extends along the length of the special planning area and
the park, is filled with commercial mussel aquaculture leases.

There is almost no consideration for protecting or expanding habitat for
other species.

Most of this anticipated development would not be happening were it not for
the recreational beach (with new paved road access, showers, fast food
stands, parking lot to accommodate tour buses) that Parks Canada has
allowed within the park - on one of PEI's last wild shores.  It's still not
too late to stop the beach development if enough people protest before the
park officially opens this July.

LIMITED USE BUFFER ZONE NEEDED

To maintain ecological integrity, protected areas need to be surrounded by
limited use buffer zones.  For a tiny park like Greenwich, a substantial
buffer zone is critical.  Instead of developing land adjacent to the park
every effort should be made to protect existing natural areas and to
restore other land, as it becomes available, to its natural state. 

The ecologically unique and mystical sand dunes of Greenwich were added to
the national parks system primarily for the purpose of creating local
economic development opportunities.  PEI politicians at all levels are
encouraging and participating in this.  The protection of increasingly
disappearing wildlands is a concern of many Canadians, and we all have the
legal and moral right to object to inappropriate development on land
surrounding national parks.

You can help defend Greenwich by registering your objections to development
in the special planning area with the Premier of PEI.  Tourism is PEI's
number one industry and politicians are sensitive to any publicity
impacting on the carefully constructed image of the Island.  

Send letters to Sheila Copps to stop the recreational beach development.

ADDRESSES

Hon. Sheila Copps
Minister of Canadian Heritage
House of Commons, Ottawa, ON  
Fax: 819-994-5987
Email:  coppss@parl.gc.ca

Premier Pat Binns
PO Box 2000
Charlottetown, PEI  C1A 7N8
Fax: 902-368-4416
Email: pgbinns@gov.pe.ca

***Cc your letters to Premier Binns to:

Dr. Herb Dickieson, NDP Leader
PO Box 2000
Charlottetown, PEI  C1A 7N8
Fax: 902-368-5985
Email: thirdparty@gov.pe.ca

Wayne Carew, Liberal Party Leader
PO Box 2890
Charlottetown, PEI  C1A 8C5
Fax: 902-368-4348
Email: hggallant@gov.pe.ca

Earth Action
81 Prince Street
Charlottetown, PEI  C1A 4R3
Email:  slabchuk@isn.net






*****************
Sharon Labchuk
Earth Action
81 Prince Street
Charlottetown, PEI  C1A 4R3
phone/fax  902-621-0719
slabchuk@isn.net



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