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Paul, Lyse ran into some computer troubles, so I am sending you this urgent message. It would be great if as many people as possible could get out to this.... Larry You are invited to a gathering of people concerned about pesticides used in forests. Tuesday 11 September 11 am Halifax, outside of province house Members of CAPE (Citizen Action to Protect the Environment), a group of concerned residents of Hants County, have recently been working hard to halt the spraying of Vision on recovering clear cuts. Vision is a pesticide that the Department of Natural Resources sprays in late summer to kill herbaceous plants and hardwood trees so that softwoods can predominate. CAPE supports sustainable forestry practices, these do not include pesticides or clear cutting. The energies of CAPE have been directed towards holding public meetings, writing letters to our elected representatives and employees of DNR and the Ministry of the Environment, (also calling these people), putting up big signs in the community to notify other residents of the dangers of Vision, connecting with the media, and being present on land scheduled for spraying in order to halt it. The areas we focused on were crown lands on both sides of Walton Woods Road and another large tract of land in the Stanley area which happens to be the watershed that is the source of water for many members of CAPE. The crown land in the Stanley area has been a long time showcase for the forestry industry in Nova Scotia. On September 6, the Department of Natural Resources issued a press release announcing they were postponing a portion of their annual aerial herbicide program. They stated in part that: "The postponement is due to the extended period of dry weather this summer and the inability of forest vegetation in some areas to absorb moisture as well as usual. As result, the program will not take place this year in Digby and Kings counties and the municipality of West Hants." The Stanley woods is in East Hants and is therefore still scheduled to be sprayed. Like all of Nova Scotia, this area has experienced a very dry summer. Throughout the past week or so, several people from CAPE stayed in the woods overnight to keep watch and be ready to go into action should spraying begin at dawn. We went camping there again on the night of September 6 and reinforcements showed up very early on the morning of the 7th to block the roads and provide support. Early in the morning the aerial spraying crew showed up along with Carl Weatherhead, Regional Coordination for DNR. The truck carrying Vision and helicopter fuel was then trapped between two groups of people and their vehicles on the road. The clear cut campers, wearing bright orange gear, waved brightly coloured materials at the helicopter that flew overhead. (Spraying is prohibited if people are on the ground.) A couple of conservation officers and an RCMP constable arrived and witnessed the dialogue between CAPE and Carl Weatherhead. Several of us had amiable conversations with the cooperative guys who were on the pesticide spraying crew. Some media folks eventually found their way there. After much discussion, and Weatherhead's phonecalls to his superiors, it was agreed that a meeting would be scheduled with the people who have the power to make decisions about pesticide spraying on crown lands and representatives of concerned citizens in Hants County. Weatherhead promised that no spraying would take place until the day after the meeting. At the meeting CAPE plans to demand a moratorium on spraying for 2001 and direct community involvement in future planning for the management of crown lands in Hants county. This meeting is tentatively scheduled for 11am on Tuesday 11 September. At the same time a gathering of supporters of CAPE will meet outside of Province House. Everyone is invited to join in and support CAPE in their fight to stop the use of pesticides in forests. Carl Weatherhead of the DNR won't know the exact time of the meeting he's scheduling for us in Halifax until sometime on Monday. An e-mail will be sent out late Monday afternoon to confirm the time of the gathering. For more information call one of the following CAPE people: -Ruth Lapp 757-0326 -Deryk Eagles 757-0339 Crown land is our land! -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- The preceding message was posted on Sustainable Maritimes (sust-mar) -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- TELL A FRIEND! The more people who join sust-mar, the more interesting and diverse views we'll see ... and more people to read *your* messages. So ... pssssst! Pass it on ... To join sust-mar just send email to <majordomo@chebucto.ns.ca> As the text of your message type "subscribe sust-mar" (without the quotes)
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