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Jan 23, 1997; CHRONICLE: Tobeatic expansion Jan 29, 1997; ADVANCE: Council forced to... Feb 5, 1997; CBC Radio: Savage interview Feb 5, 1997; CBC Radio: Tobeatic interview Feb 12, 1996; DNR: Tobeatic addition... Feb 13, 1997; GLOBE & MAIL: Bog at centre... Feb 13, 1997; TOBEATIC: Press release Feb 17, 1997; DAILY NEWS: Battling to preserve Feb 18, 1997; CHRONICLE: Queens wants... Feb 18, 1997; CHRONICLE: Few jobs on... Feb 26, 1997; CHETICAMP et. als.: Press release Feb 28, 1997; DNR: Commitment to... Mar 1, 1997; HERALD: Whither the Wilderness Mar 1, 1997; DAILY NEWS: No promises... Mar 6, 1997; DAILY NEWS: Liberal official... Mar 6, 1997; HERALD: Officials fought plan... Mar 7, 1997; HERALD: Mining potential modest Mar 11, 1997; HERALD: Barrens scarred, but... Mar 12, 1997; HERALD: Ombudsman asked... Mar 12, 1997; HERALD: Endangered species... Mar 13, 1997; HERALD: One-page memo... Mar 18, 1997; HERALD: Bad news for Prince's visit Mar 18, 1997; HERALD: Salmon group starts petition Mar 21, 1997; TWC meets Prince Phillip, Norrie... Apr 16, 1997; HERALD: Rare tree on barren Apr 16, 1997; HERALD: Cabinet leak allegation Aug 19, 1997; HERALD: Rules wide open... Aug 30, 1997; HERALD: Barrengate? Sept 5, 1997; HERALD: Irving preying on quiet Sept 11, 1997; GLOBE: A vow of silence Oct 30, 1997; HERALD: About-face on Barrens January 8, 1997
Representatives of the Nova Scotia Forest Products Association want the Region of Queens to support their quest. The NSFPA opposes a proposed plan by the Department of Natural Resources to have portions of forestry designated as protected areas. The chairman of the association, Harry Freeman, says government's plan will leave large areas of forest unmanaged. "Although leaving large tracts of woodland to nature's will may seem romantic at first blush, further reflection raises concern." said Freeman. He said the thousands of Nova Scotians who use the forest as a source of income will lose their livelihood if government removes large sections of land from productive use. "No social or economic study has considered how the plan will affect the many Nova Scotian communities and individuals who obtain their livelihood and lifestyle from our forests. This is a flagrant oversight at best," said Freeman. "The welfare of ordinary Nova Scotians and sustainable development were apparently of little or no concern to those who developed the plan." The foresters are concerned 100,000 acres of forest is already protected at Kejimkujik National Park and the department's proposal will also protect land adjacent to the park. With the additional land being designed as untouchable in the Tobeatic area, the acreage of protected land will increase to 345,000 acres. Combining Kedge and areas surrounding the park that may also be part of the plan, Freeman said about 500,000 acres in western Nova Scotia will be protected from forestry, mining, hunting, fishing or trapping. "This represents 40 per cent of the sustainable annual cut on all remaining Crown lands in western Nova Scotia and 17 per cent of the annual sustainable cut on all land, within a 50-mile radius of the Bowater Mersey paper mill in Brooklyn." Freeman told council. Freeman said that no land should be protected without first investigating the social and economic impacts. "This will take some time but decisions should be made on facts rather than beliefs or ill-conceived romantic notions." said Freeman. NSFPA suggests that only small areas be considered protected and remaining lands be properly managed to sustain the forests and improve the wildlife. Some councillors wanted to back the foresters' request for their support in asking government not to proceed with the plan, but couldn't find the appropriate words for the motion. Therefore, the motion was tabled so that staff and the NSFPA could write the motion for council's consideration at a future meeting. January 29, 1997
The Region of Queens has decided to once again stall on a motion to support the Nova Scotia Forestry Products Association. When residents who agree with the forestry protection plan heard of council's intention to back the NSFPA, they wanted council to hear their side of the story. The forestry protection plan is proposed by the Department of Natural Resources to protect pockets of wilderness areas in Nova Scotia. Under the plan trapping, mining, road building, prospecting, commercial real estate development, hydro dam construction and logging would be prohibited on selected sites. The NSFPA wants the department to allow industry stakeholders to carry out management measures in the proposed protected areas by cutting down mature trees. There are 31 sites selected in the province to fall under the protection plan. Two areas in Queens County are Lake Rossignol and Tidney River. But of particular interest to the three groups who presented to council last week is the Tobeatic area near Kejimkujik National Park. The Tobeatic is the largest pocket wilderness area named in the plan and residents want to keep it that way. In fact, Ronald Williams said, the Tobeatic represents "Nova Scotia's last true wilderness and the single most natural wild area left in the Maritimes." Queens County Fish and Game Association representative David Dagley said the need to cut mature trees in the Tobeatic, which consists of lakes, rivers, swamps, barrens and mixed forest, is put forward by "self-serving interests." He supports government's plan, noting that even if the industry replanted once mature trees were harvested, it will decrease the wildlife population. Currently the Tobeatic houses one of the largest moose populations in Nova Scotia. "It has survived there because of large tracts of land which is prime moose habitat," noted Dagley. Having to cut down mature trees would lead to road construction through the area destroying their habitat. Tobeatic Wilderness Committee chair Don Rice echoed Dagley's concerns, adding the area contains several endangered or threatened species - the Blanding's turtle, southern flying squirrel, pine martin, members of the coastal plain flora vegitation "and others will be imperilled by development." Rice stressed the importance of preserving the Tobeatic saying that conservation biology calles the wilderness "the last, best hope" of preserving much of the original biological diversity of Nova Scotia. Currently 2.89 per cent of the province is protected park or reserve. The proposed 31 parcels of land would increase that number to eight per cent. Nova Scotia is bound to the United Nations biodiversity treaty which set the goal of preserving 12 per cent of the wid areas of each nation. Foresters say that the land will be left unmanaged but Williams disagreed. He noted that the protected areas "remain managed, productive land, managed and used for ecological, educational, recreational, scientific, social, cultural, spiritual and economic purposes." Last month the NSFPA told council that protecting the areas will have a negative economic impact on Nova Scotians. However, presenters in council last week said that leaving the Tobeatic as it is will increase economic opportunities more than forestry or mining. Rice said that the area has a bright future in the tourism sector as an eco-tourism attraction. "Nobody will come to Nova Scotia for a nature experience if they know they'll have to listen to chainsaws or logging trucks in the distance or see a patchwork of clearcuts over the land." Williams agreed, saying he disputes the foresters' "alarmist" concerns. "The sky will not fall, woods workers lose their livelihood, nor the saw grind to a halt if the proposed system plan for parks and protected area in Nova Scotia is implemented," said Williams. Council decided to discuss the matter at a committee of the whole meeting and return with a motion at its February meeting. January 23, 1997
The last piece of crown land in Annapolis County will be earmarked for preservation once the government expands what is potentially the province's largest protected area. An announcement is expected soon that would see a small but ecologically significant chunk of Annapolis County attached, by designation, to a huge expanse of forest and wetland that already straddles four counties and the Tobeatic wilderness. This ""candidate protected area'' which encloses the largest untouched piece of wilderness in the Maritimes, is one of 31 sites originally identified in the Department of Natural Resources' Parks and Protected Areas Plan. The Tobeatic lands make a 99,000-hectare fist in the middle of southwestern Nova Scotia. The 4,000-hectare Tobeatic finger points outward from that fist like a crooked index digit, bent around the northwest boundary of Kejimkujik National Park. In a letter to Annapolis County council this month, Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie hinted she would shortly announce ""the addition of the majority of the finger area to the adjacent candidate protected area.'' The Tobeatic Wilderness Committee is thrilled with the idea, as it would put a two-kilometre buffer zone between Keji and logging, said chairman Don Rice. As well, the finger contains some ancient hemlock stands and the West River watershed. Annapolis County's recreation coordinator, Debra Ryan, confirmed the move would bring all of the county's crown land under the parks system. Although the Annapolis County section of the finger would be protected entirely, its Digby County knuckle won't be, said Mr. Rice. About 340 hectares some 20 km south of Bear River - admittedly the least sensitive area, said Mr. Rice - is slated for Irving's logging division. As well, there will be some minor adjustments on the southwestern border of the existing candidate area, to meet an Irving commitment. "We would have liked to have had all of it,'' he told Annapolis County council this week: ""But we're looking more at what we gained. All of our requests have basically been met.'' Irving has operated on the fringes of the Tobeatic area for some time, hoping to source the remaining five per cent of a 1991 lumber commitment from the province, which promised 10 million board feet over 10 years, starting in 1995. In 1993, the Department of Natural Resources placed a moratorium on logging in the finger and other areas with potential, pending the finalization of its parks plan. Although the plan underwent public review, with a final report published in 1995, it has yet to be enacted. The department is only now initiating an ""implementation strategy,'' and concerns are being raised that candidate areas are in danger of being eroded or eliminated in the meantime. Last month, one of the original 31 sites was dropped in favour of development interests: the Jim Campbell Barrens in Cape Breton. Now foresters in Queens County are asking about re-evaluating the plan, said Mr. Rice. At his urging, Annapolis County councillors agreed to send a letter to Queens County underlining the efforts they've made to support the Tobeatic. County councillor Tom Vitiello said efforts to protect the province's wilderness areas have been ongoing for the last 12 to 15 years at least. He said it's disappointing the department won't defend its own plan. A department spokesman who returned calls to the minister and other staff would only say the Tobeatic announcement would be coming in a matter of weeks. February 5, 1997
Nova Scotians are confused and angry over new plans for a wilderness preserve in Cape Breton. The provincial government removed Jim Campbells Barren from the list of protected areas in Nova Scotia. The land is rich in rare lichen and plants. It also has high deposits of nickel and gold. Now a mining company is free to explore the once-protected area, after helping to pay for a study of the area. Kelly Ryan spoke with Premier John Savage about his government's decision to take the Barren off the protected list: RYAN:We've discovered that the mining company, Highland Range
Minerals, paid for half the study that the Cheticamp Development Commission
had done to prove that the Barren was not unique. What difference does
that make?
RYAN:Why not?
RYAN:But that's not new, I mean there's always been geological
interest there. If that was the case, why ever put the Barren on the list?
RYAN:But your government accepted that recommendation. Why accept
it if that was always something that was there?
RYAN:That was a study paid for by the mining company. I mean,
isn't that a biased study?
RYAN:But, I guess the point is, environmentalists say "This is
not new. We knew that there was something there." Ah...and Don Downe in
his remarks said "We know that this is going to take, ah...you know, these
31 zones are going to take out areas from forestry and mining, but we have
to make the committment." What's happened to that committment?
RYAN:Environmentalists say this sets a precedent, that as soon
as you take one off the list then it opens the door for other lobbies.
RYAN:Why not?
RYAN:Why not go up there and find out. I mean, it says in the...in
the news release about why it's coming off the list; because of public
support for the...the gold mine. I mean, I presume you got that from the
Cheticamp Development Commission. Why not have a public meeting, since
there were other public meetings in the first stage of this process?
RYAN:What did you base your decision on? What elements? What
evidence?
RYAN:Why? Gold mining is...is abusive.
RYAN:And who went with you to look at that area? I mean, did
you have anybody from Parks?
RYAN:Your Parks Division?
RYAN:Yeah, Natural Resources.
RYAN:No. So who...who went with you to sort of point out to you,
ah...I mean you're not...you're a doctor, not an environmentalist. Ah...
RYAN:How did you know by flying over it that this was damage
that affected it's...it's worthiness as a protected space?
RYAN:One last question. There aren't many pristine places in
Nova Scotia. It's a small place....
RYAN:Well, what...
RYAN:Was it a mistake? Was it a mistake to ever put this...the
Jim Campbell Barren on the list?
RYAN:So you can put something on a list and then take it back
off again?
RYAN:And to the people who say business wins over...I know, I said one question and I lied to you... business wins over wilderness...do they have a committment from you that the other protected spaces will stay protected? SAVAGE:What this province has is a committment that has shown
that this province has gone from a ah... a C-minus to a B-plus in terms
of it's determination to protect the endangered spaces. We have shown our
determination in many ways, and I think this ah...issue is not one that
should detract from our determination to protect for the future of our
children, many spaces in this province.
That was Premier John Savage speaking with Kelly Ryan of CBC Radio News. February 5, 1997
...environmentalists were very pleased. But one of those spaces, the Jim Campbells Barren in Cape Breton, has been dropped from the list, because it's now considered a good candidate for exploitation by a mining company. Environmentalists now wonder if this de-listing could be a precedent, that the Nova Scotia government will make more exceptions whenever economic opportunities arise in a potential protected space. But Premier Savage says people needn't worry about that: SAVAGE:"Life doesn't show that if you make one exception you... you continue to make more. In this case, we have an area of dramatic unemployment, where the people of the area asked me to look at the potential, and we made a measured decision in favor of the potential for employment of people, many of whom ah...haven't worked in many, many years." But those words don't reassure one Nova Scotia Conservation group. The Tobeatic Wilderness Committee feels the provincial cabinet acted in bad faith on the Barren. As Maritime Noon's Gerry Whalen discovered, it's decided to launch a campaign to make sure the government doesn't change its mind again. George Chisholm fires up his portable sawmill and begins cutting a big spruce log. Chisholm and his brother own and operate a 600 acre forest farm in Bear River, Digby County. He's also a silviculturalist who contracts his services to local woodlot owners. Chisholm grew up here and loves the surrounding area, especially the pristine beauty of the nearby Tobeatic Wilderness. He joined the Tobeatic Wilderness Committee because he's concerned pulp and paper companies want cutting rights on 1000 hectares of nearby Crown land. Chisholm believes that the area can't survive that type of harvesting: CHISHOLM:"There should be areas that ARE not intensively managed, and what we're going to end up with in this is putting a series of road systems into a land base that's fairly marginal right at the moment. There's very poor soil and so on, and...from a silviculture point of view, these areas are not suitable for intensive management. There's problems with the nutrient deficiencies and nutrient drain over a period of time. Because of the intensive fires that have gone through over the last number of years, it's very barren and sterile in general, and it takes a long time for the forest to come back." Even though timber stands are scattered throughout the Tobeatic, George Chisholm says that won't stop the pulp companies from trying to harvest the wood: CHISHOLM:"What we're seeing through North America and the world in general, there's more and more demand for fibre, and in a sense, this is one of the last frontiers, because Nova Scotia, because of its land ownership where most of the land is privately owned, it's very hard for companies to get a committment on the fibre on those private lots. So to get large tracts of Crown land that are available for the forest industry on a sustainable basis is difficult to find now in the country, and that's why there is so much interest right now from the forest industry, looking at these areas." Just over the road from George Chisholm's, the Tobeatic Wilderness Committe is holding another meeting. They've had plenty of these over the past five years. Committee members Jim Todd and Alice White are nervous. The provincial cabinet has changed the status of the Jim Campbell Barrens. They're suspicious cabinet could do the same to the Tobeatic. TODD:"We feel that by this cabinet decision taking away from the public process and taking Jim Campbell Barrens away from the Parks and Protected Areas Plan, is a dangerous precedent. We're afraid that the whole System plan/process, may come apart." WHITE:"That land belongs to Nova Scotians. That land in Cape Breton belongs to me, just as the Tobeatic belongs to Cape Bretoners, and so, this precedent is just dangerous for the whole program." TODD:"Our point is, if they can release the Jim Campbell Barrens to pressure from mining interests, they can do the same thing to the Tobeatic; they can do the same thing to any other of the 31 protected sites. That's why we feel that it was a WRONG decision to make, and it was a decision that was made by cabinet...that subverted the public process that we all went through for the last year and a half, in order to get the plan in place, in the first place." Chairman Don Rice says they have to take on the government over this issue. He says calls are coming in from groups across the province. They want to make sure that what happened in Cape Breton isn't repeated: RICE:"We do have to take on the government because its Crown land, and they're the ones that are going to sign on the dotted line and make it happen, and until strong legislation is put in place, none of these sites are really protected." By the end of this week, the Tobeatic Wilderness Committee will have published their latest newsletter. Part of it is a fax petition to Premier John Savage. It protests the Jim Campbell Barrens decision, and the lack of specific legislation to protect the original 31 sites within the Parks Plan. While the committee tries to put pressure on Premier Savage, another level of government is feeling the heat. Mayor Christopher Clarke is holding an early-morning meeting in his Liverpool office with the municipal director of finance. The budget is on his mind, but so is the provincial Parks and Protected Spaces Plan. Both industry and conservation groups have asked Queens council to support them in a tussle over the future use of the Tobeatic Wilderness region. Mayor Clarke says both sides are working hard to win council over: CLARKE:"...and from council's point of view, its an interesting situation because Queens economy receives a very, very large contribution from the forest industry. We've got Bowater that employs 750 people. We've got three active sawmills in the community, and obviously we're very dependent on a healthy and viable forest industry. Equally, on the other hand, we're an area that is becoming increasingly dependent on tourism and ecotourism. So its important to have areas set aside." Queens council will decide by the middle of this month, and Mayor Clarke says it will be on the merits of the case: not on the amount of pressure each side applies. In the meantime, Nova Scotia Natural Resources minister, Eleanor Norrie, says she's aware of the concerns from the Tobeatic Wilderness Committee. Norrie says government will make a decision on the 30 remaining protected spaces within a couple of weeks. She feels confident that the decision on the Tobeatic Wilderness Area will be positive. In Bear River, Nova Scotia, I'm Gerry Whelan. February 12, 1997
A large tract of timbered wilderness known as the "Tobeatic finger" is being added to the Tobeatic candidate protected area in western Nova Scotia. The 7,000 hectare "finger" is located on the northeastern border of the 99,000 hectare site, the largest wilderness area in the Maritime Provinces. Addition of the finger is part of a boundary revision that will result in a net increase of 5,500 hectares in the size of the Tobeatic candidate area. It will expand the candidate site to nearly 105,000 hectares. "Cabinet decided to revise the Tobeatic boundaries in response to public calls to add the finger to the candidate protected site and, at the same time, satisfy existing commitments to supply sawlogs to area sawmills," said Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie. "Some 1,400 hectares on the western margin of the Tobeatic will be excluded from protected status in order to satisfy outstanding timber commitments." The Department of Natural Resources has contractual obligations to make Crown land timber available to the Lewis Sawmill Limited in Weymouth and to the E.M. Comeau and Sons Ltd. sawmill in Meteghan. Under the revised boundaries, all but 350 hectares of the 7,300 hectare area known locally as "the finger" will gain protected status under the proposed Parks and Protected Areas Systems plan. Mrs. Norrie credited a local citizens group, the Tobeatic Wilderness Committee, with being instrumental and effective in having the finger added to the candidate protected site. "Two of the main reasons the committee lobbied so strongly for inclusion of the finger are because it includes the headwaters for the Kejimkujik National Park watershed and it also provides a two kilometre buffer adjacent to the park," said Mrs. Norrie. A public review panel recommended in its 1995 report that the Department of Natural Resources, "should consider including the area known as the finger in the Tobeatic Protected Area." "An implementation strategy for the Parks and Protected Areas Systems Plan will soon be introduced, so it is appropriate that any changes in the boundaries or status of candidate protected sites be made now, before the strategy is put into place." said Mrs. Norrie. "The implementation strategy reaffirms our government's commitment to both the concept and the reality of protected areas." The implementation strategy will be made public within the next few weeks. Contact: Blain Henshaw 902-424-5252 trp Feb. 12, 1997 - 4:58 p.m. February 13, 1997
A late autumn helicopter ride over a Cape Breton bog has landed Nova Scotia Premier John Savage in trouble. As a result of a decision he made on the trip last year, environmentalists are accusing him of breaking a promise to preserve the wilderness area and triggering a $1.5-million deal for two companies in which former provincial Tory cabinet minister and Ottawa lobbyist Gerald Doucet is involved. What the Liberal Premier saw from the Ministry of Natural Resources aircraft in early November was a snow-covered bog, rocky barrens and a few trails. The 1,700-hectare area, called Jim Campbell Barren, is a rare combination of lichen-covered rock, bog and boreal forest that his government had promised only a year earlier would be one of 31 nature preserves protected from development. After the trip, Dr. Savage supported lifting the protection to allow mining exploration. By cabinet decision on Dec. 3, 1996, the protected designation was lifted. Private prospectors and geologists with the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources have suggested for more than 40 years that the rocks in the rugged area contain concentrations of nickel, cobalt, copper and gold. In 1995 and 1996, two mining companies, North Cape Breton Resources and Highland Range Minerals, staked more than 100 claims in the barrens and surrounding area. Mr. Doucet is listed as a director and an executive of both companies, formed in 1955. Rumours were circulating that the area had the same mineral structure as the massive find in Voisey's Bay, Labrador. Three weeks after Dr. Savage's flight, a Toronto junior mining company, Regal Goldfields Ltd., of which Gerald Doucet's brother Fred is a director, announced that it intended to buy all the shares of North Cape Breton Resources and Highland Range Minerals for $1.5-million and start an ambitious $1-million exploration program in the area about nine kilometres east of Cheticamp. That was on Nov. 25, 1996. The offer came even though the area was still protected. At the same time, the Cheticamp Development Commission, a business group trying to attract industry, was waging a campaign to allow mining exploration in the barrens, lobbying both the Premier and Minister of Natural Resources Eleanor Norrie. Unemployment in the region stands at 26 per cent. When Mrs. Norrie brought the case to the provincial cabinet in early December, she said the government agreed with the local community that it should have the jobs and diversification that mining exploration could bring. She added that the department was legally bound to honour mining claims that had been staked in the area before the protected designation was imposed. Dr. Savage, whom groups such as the World Wildlife Fund Canada praised when his government set aside the nature preserves in December, 1995, decided that this time he was on the side of the would-be developers. "My impression was that even under the snow it was quite evident that lines had been cut through the area," he said, adding that he discussed the area with the Ministry of Natural Resources pilot who showed it to him when he was on the way to Cheticamp to announce plans for a health-care facility. Dr. Savage, who said neither Gerald or Fred Doucet ever approached him about the project, acknowledged that he supported mining exploration in the area. "Our conclusion was that in an area with high unemployment, the people of Inverness, who have been disappointed for many, many years, deserve an opportunity to see if there is sufficient mineral in the area to provide ongoing exploration. It's a hard choice. There will be people who support this and people who criticize," Dr. Savage said in an interview. Many Nova Scotia environmentalists say the decision, made without a public meeting to discuss it, will allow developers to demand that other nature preserves to be taken off the protected list for activities such as forestry or mining. The decision goes against the advice of more than 600 Nova Scotians who made submissions to a provincial government committee two years ago favouring protected status for the barrens and 30 other areas in the province, Colin Stewart, Nova Scotia director of the endangered spaces campaign of the World Wildlife Fund, said in an interview. He said Dr. Savage is not a biologist and was in no position to determine the ecological value of the barren. "We had 31 sites that were protected and one has been pulled," Mr. Stewart said, noting that the decision on the barren has led to pressure in southwestern Nova Scotia to allow logging in a forestry preserve. "What happens to the remaining 30? Can any of them be pulled as well because somebody thinks it might create jobs? The wedge has been driven." The environmentalists are angry that Gerald Doucet, who actively sought the support of both the Cheticamp Development Commission and local politicians for mining exploration in the area, may have no further involvement with the development because his companies are being sold for $1.5-million. On Jan. 7, less than a month after the protected status for the area was withdrawn, Regal Goldfields announced that it had a deal to buy 78 per cent of the shares of Highland Range Minerals and 75 per cent of North Cape Breton Resources for $1.2-million and was negotiating to buy the rest of the shares in the two companies for about $300,000. According to the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies, North Cape Breton Resources Ltd. was registered on Oct. 23, 1995, and its officers are Gerald Doucet and two Toronto business people, Fenton Scott and Lewis Mitz. An identical registration is given for Highland Range Minerals, which was formed in September, 1995. In its 1996 annual report, Regal Goldfields noted that Gerald Doucet, a Nova Scotia minister of education in the late 1960s and former head of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, had been been added to its management group to support the increased activity of the company. Mr. Doucet and his brother Fred, listed in the report as a director of Regal Goldfields, were prominent lobbyists in Ottawa with close ties to the government of Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney. Gerald Doucet was on vacation and not available for comment on the Cheticamp project this week. Neal Livingston, of the Margaree Environmental Association, said that Dr. Savage, whose party is struggling in public-opinion polls and heading for an election within the next year, gave in to pressure from the local politicians and the companies. "Why cancel protection for a wilderness area so you can make somebody $1.5-million?" Mr. Livingston asked in an interview. "This stinks backwards and forwards of politics. . . . I think the whole thing is a scandal that goes directly to the Premier." In late January both the Margaree Environmental Association and a group called the Concerned Citizens of Cheticamp demanded that the barren's protected status be returned, and accused the government of refusing to allow public discussion of the issue. "Our Premier, with the stroke of a pen and blatant disregard for the public consultation process, gave the claim holders a huge profit when he removed this unique ecosystem from protected status," a statement by the two groups said. No one is sure what the future holds for the site or whether a commercial mine will ever be established. Regal Goldfields said in its 1996 annual report that it intended to carry out magnetic and electromagnetic surveys in the area and examine geological data to assess mineral wealth. In the next phase of exploration, Regal said, it intended to take soil samples and do detailed mapping of the areas to determine the best areas for trenching and drilling. Richard Brissenden, president of Regal Goldfields, did not return telephone calls from The Globe and Mail. Marie Aucoin, a member of the Cheticamp group opposing development of the Jim Campbell Barren, fears that people in the area have been misled by the mining companies, who promised as many as 100 jobs if the project were allowed to proceed. "We have fishermen who are running out of TAGS [federal fishery assistance] at the end of this month and they are counting on these jobs, but where are the jobs?" Mrs. Aucoin said. "It tears me apart to see what people have to do to the people who don't have anything." February 13, 1997
TWC RESPONSE TO MINISTER'S ANNOUNCEMENT The Tobeatic Wilderness Committee is satisfied that the government of Nova Scotia has recently announced the inclusion of the "Finger" into the Tobeatic Wilderness proposed candidate area, as was recommended by the Public Review Committee for the Parks and Protected Areas Systems Plan. The Committee has pressed the government for the last five years to protect the Finger, protection which they feel is critical to the continued integrity of Kejimkujik National Park. The Finger lies adjacent to the northern boundary of the park, and is a watershed for Frozen Ocean and Kejimkujik Lakes. The Committee is grateful to the Minister of Natural Resources, Eleanor Norrie, for her efforts to see the Finger included. However, many questions remain in the wake of the announcement. The Committee is aware of Crown's wood fibre commitment to Lewis Sawmill Limited (Irving) and E.M.Comeau and Sons sawmill, to the amount of 10,000,000 board feet of wood fibre. The Committee feels that it is a gross over-compensation to these commitments that 1,400 hectares of the western Tobeatic, and an additional 350 hectares of the Finger, be removed from the Tobeatic for resource extraction. The 1,750 hectare area, by the most conservative estimates, contains many times the wood fibre volume required to meet government's obligation. The Committee questions the reasoning for the exclusion of so large an area to satisfy so small a commitment of wood fibre. The Committee further advised the Minister that the inclusion of the Finger in no way will detract from the Committee's demand that the Jim Campbells Barren be re-instated to the list of the original 31 candidate protected sites under the Systems Plan. The exclusion of the Jim Campbells Barren for mining exploration, and the exclusion of large sections of the Tobeatic for forestry, only serve to point to the inadequacy of the process, and the willingness of government to bow to industry in the name of short-term employment opportunities. This decision has fostered renewed pressure from the forestry and mining sectors for yet more exclusions from the Systems Plan, as is evidenced by the Nova Scotia Forest Products Association's recent request that the Municipality of Queens County support a resolution against the Plan. The public response to the Review Committee supporting the Systems Plan was overwhelming. The Committee joins other Nova Scotians who were involved in this public process, in condemning the type of non-public political decision-making that resulted in the exclusion of the Jim Campbells Barren. If this interpretation of the intent of the Systems Plan is pursued to its logical end, none of the 31 sites will ever be safe from commercial resource extraction. The Committee will continue to insist that meaningful legislation be enacted immediately to properly protect these sites from further political whimsey. The Minister's promise of an implementation strategy for the Parks and Protected Areas Systems Plan is hopeful. The Committee intends to encourage the Minister to continue the process and demonstrate, unequivocally, this government's commitment to the Parks and Protected Areas Systems Plan. Contact: Don Rice, Chair, Tobeatic Wilderness Committee
E-Mail: todd@clan.tartannet.ns.ca
February 17, 1997
The province dropped a Cape Breton wilderness fron protected places list, now activists fear a Queens County forest is next Prince Phillip is coming to Halifax next month to praise the provincial government for environmental achievements in protecting wilderness sites. "Have you ever heard something more hypocritical in all your life?" says John Hart. Hart is president of the Margaree Salmon Association, one of the several environmental groups battling the province to restore protected status to a site in Cheticamp, Inverness Co., known as Jim Campbells Barren. The prince will congratulate the province as a representative and past-president of World Wildlife Fund International. But many environmentalists sat recent events show the government has little to be proud of. WWF Nova Scotia spokesman Colin Stewart says a sad irony surrounding the royal visit is that his organization received confirmation of the prince's plans on Dec. 5 - just two days after Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie announced the removal of the Jim Campbells Barren from the list of 31 protected sites. "We weren't about to cancel his visit," Stewart says, noting government efforts and 30 remaining sites are still worth acknowledging. "But I would be extremely surprised if this doesn't mute (Prince Philip's) praise somewhat." In 1990, the province began a three-year inventory of Crown-owned land larger than 2,000 hectares. Its goal was to identify "representative examples of Nova Scotia's typical landscapes and ecosystems (and) to protect unique, rare or outstanding natural features or processes." Early last year, a five-member independent review committee held 26 public meetings attracting more than 2,000 people and more than 600 submissions. The committee recommended 31 sites - a total of 300,000 hectares - be protected, including Jim Campbells Barren, home to several rare Nova Scotia plant species. An internal review reduced this to 287,000 hectares and last December, Norrie took the number down another 17,000 by removing Jim Campbells Barren to make way for mining exploration. In a December news release, Norrie said if mineral findings in Jim Campbells Barren prove insufficient, the land will be protected again. But environmental groups and some area residents aren't waiting to find out, they're demanding the site be re-instated now. "This happened behind closed doors and really stinks of politics," says Marie Aucoin, spokeswoman for Concerned Citizens of Cheticamp. But Paul Desveaux says Norrie acted on the recommendation of the Cheticamp Development Commission, Liberal MLA Charlie MacArthur and Inverness County council. As spokesman for the commission, Desveaux says he supports exploration because a mine would bring needed jobs to the community. Last year, the development commission hired Antigonish geologist Bill Shaw to do a study of the area. It supported the commission's position. Desveaux acknowledges the study was mostly funded by a donation from one of the exploration companies. "It just shows that the mining company cares about the community," he says. Jim Campbells Barren is a mountain plateau. Unearthed minerals would naturally floe downstream, Hart says. Two of these minerals - zinc and copper - "have the potential to kill fish as quickly as a bullet," he says, noting sport fishing brings about $1 million a year to the Margaree area. Desveaux says he's also an avid salmon fisherman and is also concerned about the river. "If I had any doubt that it;s going to destroy the Margaree or Cheticamp rivers, I wouldn't support it." He says exploration in the area has been done intermittently for the past 100 years with no problems. If mineral findings are significant, the next step would be mining. "The decision wouldn't be made lightly," he says. "There's always the possibility of an accident, but I want to make sure all safeguards are taken." Desveaux says remaining protected sites cover more than 30 per cent of Cape Breton's land mass, and the development commission has the support of about 95 per cent of local businesses. Hart says neighbouring communities should have had some say in the decision. Earlier this month, he took his arguements to the Union of Nova Scotia Indians. If the UNSI decides to join the fight, it won't battle it alone. Along with Hart's and Aucoin's groups, the Margaree Environmental Association has been active, Nationally, the Sierra Club of Canada denounsed Norrie's decision in December, and the WWF has been involved since the beginning. Stewart says the removal of the Jim Campbells Barren has set a dangerous precedent. Proof of this can be found in Queens County, he says, where forestry interests have argued against protecting the Tobeatic. This 99,000 hectare site, near Kejimkujik National Park, is by far the largest protected wilderness site, hosts the only remaining old-growth hemlock forest, and is home to the last undisturbed moose population in mainland Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Forest Products Association claims the process responsible for choosing the site was flawed because it didn't consider the social and economic impact of preserving the land. NSFPA spokesman Harry Freeman says this forest has already been altered by man. Simply leaving it would make it vulnerable to insect infestation and forest fires and make it less appealing to tourists. "Have you ever seen a hundred-year-old forest? Well, it's a helluva mess," Freeman says, noting thinning old-growth would encourage new shoots to support the wildlife. "The animals we most value do best in healthy, young forests. What we want is management for multi-use - tourism, wildlife, recreation, mining - Yes, mining. If there was an opportunity for a mine, why shouldn't they put it in, if it would benefit the people," Freeman says. Groups like the Tobeatic Wilderness Committee sat they're protecting the biodiversity of the largest true wilderness area in the Maritimes. Committee chairman Don Rice says an undisturbed forest is a healthy forest and is better able to resist dangers. Methods to monitor the forest will come when the details of the protected wilderness sites plan are finalized, he says. As for Freeman's economic arguement, Rice says residents are best served by the long-term economic benefits os eco-tourism. But Freeman says eco-tourism tends to provide low-paying seasonal employment, and riral Nova Scotia is dependent on using natural resources. "I think you gain more by tourism if you can take bus tours in through," he says. Freeman says the NSFPA has the support of the Western Nova Scotia Industrial Commission. He has also taken steps to get the support of Queens County council, which will make its decision today. The Tobeatic is also shared with Annapolis, Digby, Shelburne and Yarmouth counties. The fight to protect the Tobeatic and Jim Campbell Barrens has attrated people who have never been involved in such battles before. "I've never been an activist in my life," says Aucoin, "but you get to the point where enough is enough. Government and industry just do what they jolly well please, without thought for the little guy. Well, the little guy is fed up." A Dartmouth resident, angered by the removal of the Jim Campbells Barren, says he wrote to Norrie and Premier John Savage. "I'm not a rabid environmentalist. I'm comfortable with my place on the food chain. I just care," Raymond Plourde says. "This site belongs to every Nova Scotian, not just the residents of Cheticamp. It belongs to me and it belongs to you. The government shouldn't get away wtih it just because they were able to sneak one under the noses of Nova Scotians. Is this plan only going to protect areas that nobody's interested in?" That's a question Queens County council will answer this evening. And perhaps it's one Prince Philip will address during his visit. Stewart says a closed-door discussion between the prince and federal and provincial ministers will likely generate a "frank exchange of views." February 18, 1997
The Region of Queens has taken a stand on preserving the Tobeatic wildlife management area that its councillors hope will please nature lovers and foresters alike. The Tobeatic, a 99,000 hectare parcel of land that straddles the counties of Digby, Yarmouth, Shelburne and Queens, is one of about 30 sites across the province the Natural Resources Department is considering for special protection under the Parks and Protected Areas Systems Plan. Queens Mayor Christopher Clarke and fellow councillors agreed it has been a while since community leaders have had to wrestle with such a controversial issue. Council has been lobbied aggressively by environmental groups and forest products interests for the past couple of months. At their regular session on Monday, council agreed to urge Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie to proclaim the Tobeatic a protected place, ensuring that its unique wilderness is preserved. Council also wants the minister to declare the forest/wildlife guidelines for the area enforceable even on private lands. That would ensure that harvesting practices on privately owned woodlands are compatible with those on Crown lands. They also asked that green belts be established along all important highways. In the past, tourists and locals alike have complained about eyesores caused by intensely harvested woodlots near roads. Jonathan Porter, woodlands manager for Bowater Mersey Paper, lauded council for seeking protection for the Tobeatic. However, he said in a letter that his company is disappointed in the minister's recent announcement that a 7,000 hectare tract of the Tobeatic known as "the finger" would be added to the list of sites proposed for protection. He said Bowater, which cuts trees in that area, has shown that forests can be managed in a way that preserves the environment while allowing harvesting. February 18, 1997
Here's hoping John Savage didn't open the Jim Campbells Barren to mining exploration for the sake of jobs, jobs, jobs. Fact is, you don't need all your fingers and toes to count the workers a drilling program would employ, according to Richard Brissenden. And he should know. Brissenden is the president of Regal Goldfields Ltd., which plans to conduct exploratory drilling in the pristine wilderness area near Cheticamp. In a telephone interview Monday from his Toronto office, Brissenden said Regal might hire 10 to 15 people. This would hardly put a dent in the unemployment rate of about 25 per cent in the Cheticamp area. Yet the premier said his government agreed to open the barren to stimulate economic activity. Brissenden said his company might employ five people per rig. That's three on the day shift, two on nights. At most, two rigs would (be) used to drill 40 to 60 wells. That's ten people, maximum, plus a geologist-"maybe two"-and an office manager. Brissenden was equally frank about the program, which he called "high-risk" and "grassroots." Regal identified nine "high quality targets" for drilling as a result of a geological review carried out last year by the consulting engineering company Watts, Griffis, McOuat. Then, on November 25, 1996, Regal put up $1.5 million to buy out the shareholders of two private companies (North Cape Breton Resources and Highland Range Minerals) which hold mineral rights near and on the barren. Eight days later, on Dec. 3, the Savage cabinet lifted the embargo on economic activity on the Campbells Barren. It had been protected, along with 30 other sites across the province, as a result of extensive consultations in the early 1990's. Brissenden said he wouldn't "fib" about the cabinet decision. He didn't know it was coming, but he knew the Cheticamp Development Commission was pushing for it. And the cabinet decision did double the number of promising targets Regal could drill in the area. (The prospective fields are located half inside the barren, and half outside, he said.) Brissenden said he was determined to push ahead even if the Jim Campbells Barren had remained closed to drilling. The November offer of $1.5 million for mining stakes was based on the consulting engineers' study, he said, not on an unforseeable cabinet decision. So what are the long-term prospects for Regal? The Cheticamp Development Commission has predicted 150-200 jobs if a mine is developed. But that's a big if. A study conducted a few years back by The Centre for Resource Studies at Queens University found the odds are one in 1,000 that a mining stake will result in commercial production. Gerald Doucett, the former Nova Scotia cabinet minister who holds the only minority share in this Cheticamp area play, figures the odds are better than that in this case. Unlike his brother Fred, a former top aide to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Gerry did not sell his shares to Regal. As a director of Regal, Fred felt obliged to sell his holdings in North Cape Breton and Highland. But he re-invested the $60,000 in shares of Regal itself, a publicly traded firm with holdings in Cape Breton and Timmins, Ont. Based on Regal's offer of $1.5 million for the two private companies, the minority interests Gerald Doucet still owns are worth about $250,000. (Regal offered $1 million for Highland Range; Doucet holds 15 per cent of North Cape Breton; the overall value of the shares is $500,000.) In an interview Monday, Gerald said he and his brother Fred are trying to foster economic development on their home and native shore. He said he resented press reports that suggested he was trying to "flip" the holdings he has maintained in the two Cape Breton companies. But that already feels like old news. The lingering question is this: Why did the Savage government open a protected area to a high-risk venture that will probably leave any gold in the ground? February 26, 1997
On December 3rd, 1996, the government of Nova Scotia reneged on (sic) Protected Areas in Nova Scotia, as accepted and presented to the public by the Honorable Don Downe on December 11, 1995. (Ref. - Nova Scotia Government's Response to the Report of the Public Review Committee for the Proposed Systems Plan for Parks and Protected Areas in Nova Scotia.) Due to the potential for environmental and ecological damage to the Margaree and Cheticamp watersheds, and due to the potential damage to the traditional hunting, fishing and harvesting areas if the Mi'kmaq people, we, the undersigned organizations, through our agents, make the following requests: We request that the foregoing be acted upon immediately. (Signed)
(Included in letters to:) February 28, 1997
"Protected Areas Strategy" that commits the government of Nova Scotia to protect 291,000 hectares of public land on 30 sites has been introduced by Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie. "The strategy takes the province from concept to commitment for a protected areas system," said Mrs. Norrie. "This will be done through new provincial legislation for protected areas, which will be introduced this year during the fall session of the House of Assembly." The strategy commits the government to the establishment of a comprehensive system of protected areas; enactment of protected areas legislation; formal designation under that legislation of 30 candidate sites; and public consultation and management planning for the individual sites. An action plan and interim management guidelines for protected areas were also introduced by Mrs. Norrie. "The action plan provides direction for implementation of the strategy over the next three years," said the minister. "The guidelines will ensure protection of all 30 sites until the legislation and individual management plans are in place." As more than 70 per cent of the land in Nova Scotia is privately owned, the strategy also emphasizes private land stewardship and encourages private landowners to protect significant natural features of their properties through existing provincial legislation. The 291,000 hectares (727,000 acres) identified for protection represents nearly 20 per cent of the provincial Crown land in Nova Scotia. Combined with all existing protected areas such as provincial and national parks, this means that 8.2 per cent of the whole province and nearly 28 per cent of all public land (provincial and federal Crown lands) will have protected status. "At 8.2 per cent, Nova Scotia ranks third in Canada for its percentage of land under protection," said Mrs. Norrie. "We are first in eastern Canada, well ahead of Ontario, Quebec and the other Atlantic provinces." The Protected Areas Strategy introduced today reaffirms the government's commitment to both the concept and the reality of protected spaces. Mrs. Norrie said protected areas will benefit Nova Scotia and its people for generations to come. "They will enhance our quality of life, provide outstanding opportunities for outdoor recreation, and make Nova Scotia more attractive as a tourism destination," she said. "I am proud of our government's commitment to parks, protected areas and special places and look forward to introducing the new protected areas legislation in the fall." -30- Contact: Blain Henshaw 902-424-5252
March 1, 1997
THE DEBATE OVER THE TOBEATIC FINGER AND CAPE BRETON'S BARRENS HEATS UP JUST AS THE PROVINCE RELEASES ITS NEW PARKS AND PROTECTED AREAS PLAN DON RICE was just a boy scout when he first got to know the Tobeatic. "I can remember the scout master saying, 'If we don't use it, we're going to lose it.' So we staked a claim," says Rice, his youthful vigor still intact 32 years later. "We established our camp, built a dam on one of the streams. Nothing happened. The logging didn't come in, and we grew up believing if we hadn't established our territory, we would have lost it."It was a valuable lesson. Today, Rice is chairman of the Tobeatic Wilderness Committee, a group of 10 people who have been fighting to save the Tobeatic from logging interests for the past five years. "It's the last of something," says the Bear River potter and woodlot owner. "This is it....There is no more like it. That alone should be good enough reason to protect it." The vast, interconnected system of bogs, barrens, woods and waterways skirts Kejimkujik National Park, and spills into five counties in southwestern Nova Scotia. Although it has been dammed, logged, and opened by roads since the first settlers arrived, the Tobeatic is the largest remaining wilderness area in the itimes - home to black bear, river otter, bobcat and the province's last population of native moose. At 99,000 hectares, it's also the biggest of 30 sites proposed for preservation under the province's Parks and Protected Areas Plan. Through persistent letter-writing, presentations and meetings with municipal and provincial government officials, Rice's committee has championed the Tobeatic's inclusion in that plan, and gained considerable ground against forestry interests. Last week, Queens County councillors defeated a forest industry motion that opposed immediate protection of the Tobeatic. Local sawmill operators and other industry representatives argue the Tobeatic is not a wilderness and jobs are at stake. The Queens County vote followed on the heels of the province's decision to expand the Tobeatic area under the parks plan to include a 7,000-hectare finger to the north. Jutting into Annapolis County, the finger contains a large stand of old-growth hemlock and the West River watershed. Rice says that development would have been cause for celebration, were it not for the trade-off: a J.D.Irving sawmill will be granted access to the least sensitive 350 hectares of the finger and another 1,400 hectares on the southwestern edge of the Tobeatic. Even before the government announced it would give Irving those pieces of the Tobeatic, it removed a Cape Breton site from the list of protected candidates altogether. Home to rare plant species, Jim Campbells Barren, near Cheticamp, may soon be the site of mining exploration. Rice and his committee want the barren reinstated and assurances that more of the Tobeatic and other protected spaces won't be handed over to industry. The province released an "implementation strategy" Friday, which focuses on community-based management plans for each candidate area. Rice says that's not enough: "What is required is real legislation to protect these sites, to put them above and beyond political whims." Marie Aucoin of the Concerned Citizens of Cheticamp,lobbying to save the barren, agrees. "If politicianscan turn around and change their minds so easily," she wonders, "can we have any faith in them at all anymore?" It was with a view to cataloguing remnants of the province's wilderness that the Department of Natural Resources embarked on its Parks and Protected Areas Plan in 1990.The department assessed 74 pieces of Crown land for features that made them ecologically representative and unique, and chose 31 sites, totalling 285,000 hectares, for protection. In 1993, the government placed a moratorium on industrial activity in those areas and, the following year, held public meetings in 13 centres across the province. Of 582 written submissions to a public review committee, only 11 opposed the parks plan. But in response to lobbying by the Cheticamp Development Commission and Inverness County council, cabinet struck the 1,709-hectare Jim Campbells Barren from the list in December. Premier John Savage recently claimed that the decision to surrender the barren to mining interests wasn't precedent-setting. The high rate of unemployment in Cape Breton justified it, he said. Natural Resources officials add that the moratorium on logging and mining in the 30 other sites will continue until individual management plans are developed. Details on implementation of the plans were unveiled yesterday, in time for a royal visit later this month. Hosted by the World Wildlife Fund, Prince Phillip is coming ch 20 to congratulate the province on its conservation efforts. Government officials say it's a given there will be no forestry or mining in candidate areas once they're protected. Management plans will determine to what extent other activities will be permitted: hunting, fishing, and other recreation, said John Smith, the department's executive director of natural resources. "There may be sensitive parts of these areas where no one would want to see people intruding ...." In its 1995 report, the department's public review committee was clear, he said. "Motorized vehicles shouldn't be permitted. The government accepted that recommendation. There might be exceptions where someone has an existing campsite license, and there is already an established pattern of use. That's the kind of thing you'd have to accommodate in the management plan." But however praiseworthy government efforts have been to date, Rice won't rest until solid legislation is passed. Management plans, he said, don't cut it: "We wanted to legislate the boundaries first, and do management later. "We've got centuries to figure out how to play in it, let's make sure we have it first," he said. Smith says the boundaries are set, and it's now up to local communities to decide what kinds of recreational activities to permit. Wilderness protection advocates need not fear. As far as he knows, there are no outstanding logging or mining claims on any of the 30 sites. "Everybody got paranoid when Jim Campbells Barren came down," he says. Smith says the adjustments to the Tobeatic boundary were anticipated well in advance and the only way to satisfy existing lumber agreements with the Irving-owned Lewis sawmill in Weymouth and a mill operated by E.M. Comeau and Sons in Meteghan. He says breaking the agreements would have cost the province money and credibility. "It was the only reasonable solution other than to negotiate out of contractual agreements," he says. In 1991, the province promised the Lewis sawmill 10 million board-feet of lumber over 10 years, which will be met by the 1,750 hectares of redesignated Tobeatic land. The section of the finger to be logged, at the headwaters of the Sissiboo, doesn't include any hemlock or the as-yet unpolluted West River watershed. Pat Phalen, head of Natural Resources' mines and energy division, says Jim Campbells Barren was removed for different reasons. Although received after the public review process, numerous presentations opposed inclusion of the barren in the plan. "These were regional development groups ...interested in the whole range of economic development, " he says. But Nova Scotians like Don Rice and Marie Aucoin are tired of the unemployment excuse. "It's all very well to look at the economic benefit of jobs, jobs, jobs, but at the same time, what are we willing to sacrifice?" Aucoin asks. She adds that the barren's potential for ecotourism has been entirely overlooked. "I'm not a biologist or a naturalist," she says. "I'm just an ordinary person. But there are unique plants up there." And, she believes, its removal from the parks plan has set a dangerous precedent. "Now all protected spaces are open to being under attack," she says. Don Rice agrees. When he was a boy, his parents worked at a logging camp near Bear River, and he ate breakfast with loggers from the French Shore. Back then, the woods were in his backyard. "To get the experience of wilderness now, ou have to keep going back further and further and further ...which means there's less and less of it," he says. "That's why we're reacting the way we are." The Tobeatic Wilderness Committee's work is far from done, adds Jim Todd, a graphic designer in Perotte, Annapolis County, and a committee member. "We're just further down the road. We have to push for real legislation to protect these areas, as Jim Campbells Barren proved." Department spokesman Blain Henshaw said the implementation strategy is the most important part of the plan: "There's a component in it that will make it law." And Dan Eidt, the department's director of forested Crown land, says forestry commitments on Crown land are at maximum sustainable levels now: "We're not approving any new applications at this time." Todd, however, is still worried about the future. "We don't expect the forest industry to go away," he says. Although Queens County council called for socioeconomic impact studies in 29 of the protected sites, Todd and Rice were buoyed by council's mid-February endorsement of the Tobeatic's boundaries as they now stand. The decision wasn't what Harry Freeman and other forestry interests had hoped for. "The irony of it is, the so-called protection of these lands is leaving them unprotected," says Freeman. Freeman, a former research scientist for Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, operates a family sawmill in Greenfield. With backing from the Nova Scotia Forest Products Association and the Western Counties Forestry Council, he was behind the original Queens County motion to study the socioeconomic impact of the entire parks plan. The forestry council was established last June by representatives from four regional development authorities, while the forest products association represents saw log, pulp and paper and Christmas tree producers.Along with the Queens County Fibre Producers and Woodlot Owners, Freeman says too much of the plan's protected area is concentrated in southwestern Nova Scotia. The Tobeatic, they argue, is too large and not pristine enough to be worthy of protection. "We want good management for sustainability and multi-use," the woodlot owners wrote in a recent letter to the premier. "Let's not forget the rural people who depend on these lands for their livelihood and their way of life." "Decisions should be made on good solid gound," Freeman says. "People get very romantic."They're sitting on a resource, and you have hungry people on welfare and unemployment insurance...when they can make a living locally and not affect things that much." Freeman says blanket protection of the Tobeatic leaves too much land "unmanaged and unprotected." He believes the Tobeatic has already been so affected by human activity that continued intervention is a must. It shouldn't be left alone "to decay and fall down." That view is shared by Lyndon Gray, of Liverpool,retired manager of forest resources for the formerDepartment of Lands and Forests. "I don't object to having wilderness areas," he says. "But there are other areas which should be made available for proper management." If resources are used wisely, he adds, "everybody's objectives will be achieved. It's more reasonable." Gray and local sawmill operators say proper forestry practices help control pests like gypsy moths, remove dead and decaying trees, and prevent fires. Rice and his committee don't believe in "managing to cut." They say there are plenty of other opportunities for forestry. The parks plan will protect only about five per cent of Nova Scotia, bringing the total amount of ecological reserves to about eight per cent of the province's land mass. Besides, adds Todd, more jobs have been lost to mechanical harvesting than to protected areas. Like Rice and five other members of the wilderness committee, Todd operates a wood lot. He says mills have traditionally opted for Crown land over purchasing wood from private lots. "It's preferable to deal with one owner and, for the most part, cheaper," he says, noting the stumpage rate is lower on Crown land. "They don't have to make commitments to a woodlot owners organization. They can deal with one bureaucrat in Halifax. Everything's neat and tidy." Todd believes the Tobeatic concessions are a prime example. According to Irving spokeswoman Mary Keith, however, the Lewis sawmill gets most of its wood from woodlot owners. Crown land, she says, doesn't even account for half of the company's wood sources. She adds the company is conscious of maintaining good management practices, "everything from protecting unique areas to harvesting." But the wilderness committee says forestry practices on Irving land are not the issue. "There have to be areas set aside and this is what we're asking," Rice says. "You can't travel that country and not be moved by it emotionally, spiritually, mentally," he says of the Tobeatic. "It seems to affect all your senses." He says the area "connects my time with the generation that came before me. Descriptions of places in their stories have been given to me. You can go to those spots and those stories are true." The intrinsic value of wilderness goes beyond merely being able to visit it, he adds. "Just knowing it exists brings back those memories, and links the generations." March 1, 1997
The Savage government will introduce legislation next fall to protect 30 natural sites around the province. Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie yesterday unveiled a protected-areas strategy, called Keeping the Wilderness Wild, that will take the province "from concept to commitment." Fourteen months ago, then natural resources minister Don Downe announced that 31 sites in Nova Scotia would enjoy special protection. Since then, the 1,700-hectare Jim Campbells Barren in the Cape Breton Highlands, near Margaree, has been dropped from the list to allow mineral exploration. Yesterday, Norrie would not guarantee that other sites won't be delisted before being enshrined in legislation. "We are committed to protecting these areas; we are taking our commitment to reality today," she said. After being pressed on the question, Norrie added: "If I'm minister in the fall, the legislation will be introduced in the fall with the 30 sites." Crown Lands Act She said the legislation won't be ready for the spring sitting of the legislature because that session will be "chiefly dedicated to the budget, and second to that, there's a step-by-step process that we have to go through." The process includes designating all 30 sites under the Crown Lands Act this year to allow for regulation on an interim basis, the formal designation of five properties under the Parks Act and five additional nature reserves under the Special Places Act. Because so much land in the province - more than 70 per cent - is owned privately, Norrie said the strategy also emphasizes private land stewardship. "Private landowners are actively encouraged to protect significant natural features of their properties and can do so under several pieces of provincial legislation." `Warm, fuzzy feeling' Under the legislation, 291,000 hectares of land , or 8.2 per cent of the province, will be protected. This ranks Nova Scotia third in Canada in percentage of land under protection - Alberta is first with 9.3 per cent, followed by British Columbia with 9.2 per cent. NDP critic John Holm said if the government is truly committed to protecting the 30 sites, it would introduce the legislation in April - not wait until after a probable provincial election. "This is telling me that their commitment is really rather weak. These were good-feeling words aimed at creating that warm, fuzzy feeling in Nova Scotians," he said. Holm said the time lag will give lobbyists time to try to get other protected sites dropped from the list, as was the Jim Campbells Barren. "(Norrie) was quite careful in the weasel words that she used .... She didn't say there wouldn't be any future changes made; she didn't say that there wouldn't be any other areas de-designated or removed. Her commitments were about as solid as a marshmallow," he said. March 6, 1997
One of the lawyers for mining interests that lobbied to get a piece of the Cape Breton Highlands removed from a list of environmentally protected areas is a former Liberal party president. A year before Jim Campbell's Barren was opened up to gold exploration, John Young attended a meeting with the mining company and a development officer from the town of Cheticamp in the region, CBC TV reported yesterday. He was listed as president of the Nova Scotia Liberals on a record of such meetings. "It would be because we represented the mining company at the time," Young said, adding he doesn't remember the specific meeting. "I don't know if we were discussing the Jim Campbell's Barren per se or not." The barren was off limits to exploration, but mining companies lobbied the government and Cheticamp businesses argued the exploration would bring badly needed jobs. In December, Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie removed it from a protected list and approved the area for mineral exploration by Regal Goldfields Ltd. The decision angered environmentalists. Premier John Savage said he had no idea why Young would be meeting groups with interests in mining the barren. "He certainly never discussed it with me," Savage said. March 6, 1997
OFFICIALS FOUGHT PLAN TO SEEK MINERALS Officials inside the Department of Natural Resources strongly opposed the provincial government's decision to open Cape Breton's Jim Campbells Barren to mineral exploration, newly released documents show. Director of Parks and Recreation Barry Diamond and his staff lobbied last fall to keep the 1,700-hectare barren on a list of 31 wilderness areas slated for protection. "Jim Campbells Barren is of provincial significance in terms of landscape representation and uniqueness and with its high concentration of rare and uncommon plant species," Mr. Diamond wrote in a Sept. 13, 1996 memo to his boss, John Smith, executive director of renewable resources. "Although the Parks Division is concerned about the present level of human disturbance within Jim Campbells Barren, its impact does not devalue the ecological integrity." The memo was part of a department file released to this newspaper in response to an application under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The barren, located near Cheticamp and just outside Cape Breton Highlands National Park, has been the focus of controversy since cabinet's Nov. 21 decision to remove it from the protected list and allow gold exploration to continue. A synopsis of the parks division's concerns were incorporated into a briefing memo prepared for Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie, but the department's final recommendation to cabinet is not known. The "recommended action" portion of the two-page memo is being withheld under a section of the Freedom of Information Act that exempts bureaucrats' advice to cabinet ministers. The decision on Jim Campbells Barren outraged environmentalists and raised questions about the government's commitment to protecting wilderness areas. But it was a victory for the local business community. Last summer the Cheticamp Development Commission asked that the barren remain open to development, stressing the jobs and economic spinoffs a mine would create. The commission based its pitch on a consultant's report that questioned the barren's ecological value and held out the possibility there's enough gold to support a $42-million mine worth $1 billion over 12 years. The report, prepared by geological consultant W.G. Shaw and Associates, did not impress Mr. Diamond and his staff. In his memo to Mr. Smith, he said the report "misunderstands and therefore devalues" the significance of the Jim Campbells Barren and "overestimates the impact of existing mining activities." Mr. Diamond also rejected Mr. Shaw's suggestion that the larger Everlasting Barren, located about 12 kilometres to the northeast, is a "suitable substitute." He supplied aerial photographs showing Everlasting Barren is heavily scarred by forestry roads. Jim Campbells, which has undergone 40 years of mineral exploration and is crossed by snowmobile trails, has suffered less damage. Other briefing notes say the blend of wetland, barren and spruce forest in Jim Campbells Barren is found nowhere else in Nova Scotia. The notes repeatedly use the words unique and unparalleled to describe its features. The area contains six rare plants, including a dwarf birch found only in a half-dozen northern Cape Breton bogs, a "once abundant' evergreen tree called the Canada yew, and scarce varieties of fern and clubmoss. The barren's role in protecting the watershed of the salmon-rich Margaree River and two other streams is also noted, echoing concerns raised in an environmental study submitted to Parks Canada in December, shortly after the barren was delisted. Despite the loss of Jim Campbells Barren, the amount of land being protected has increased from 287,000 to 291,000 hectares with the expansion of the Tobeatic reserve in southwestern Nova Scotia. March 7, 1997
Promoters of mineral exploration on Cape Breton's Jim Campbells Barren exaggerated the prospects for mining development at a key meeting with Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie, government records show. "The Cheticamp Highlands area, and in particular the Jim Campbells Barren, contains a very high potential for base and precious metals," a delegation from the Cheticamp Development Commission claimed during a Sept. 4, 1996, meeting at the department's Halifax offices. But that conclusion is not supported by the commission's own geological study, which offers a less-enthusiastic assessment of the potential of the 1,700-hectare area, located just outside Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Consultant Bill Shaw says decades of prospecting and exploration on the barren have produced seven documented occurrences of gold with associated base metals. His report, commissioned last summer, identifies a "modest" potential for finding base metals like nickel, copper and cobalt, but says the prospect of finding precious metals, particularly gold, "appears to hold more promise." The Shaw report and an outline of the commission's presentation are among documents released to this newspaper under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Less than three months after the meeting, cabinet agreed to remove Jim Campbells Barren from a list of 31 areas to be protected from development. Environmental groups have condemned the decision, which Cheticamp businessmen say offers hope to their economically hard-hit area. Commission spokesman Paul Deveaux, who was at the meeting, says the delegation accurately portrayed the barren's mineral potential. "I think ... Natural Resources (is) quite aware of the potential for minerals in the area," he said in a telephone interview from Cheticamp. Mr. Deveaux claims those within the department who advocated protection for the barren "shot themselves in the foot" by trying to portray it as pristine. "That's how we got it reversed, because the minister realized once she heard our presentation ... that she had only been given one side of the story, that they had left out all the reasons why it shouldn't be protected." Mrs. Norrie says the commission's "very detailed" presentation was only one factor in cabinet's decision to remove the barren from the protected list. She dismissed suggestions the decision was linked to former Liberal party president John Young's role as lawyer for Regal Goldfields Ltd., the firm now exploring the barren. "It was not a political decision; it was an economic decision for the people of the Cheticamp area, to give them some opportunities." Mr. Young was not part of the delegation that met with Mrs. Norrie last September, records show. The local Liberal MLA, Charles MacArthur, and Inverness County Warden Ed MacDonald were present. March 11, 1997
AREA NEVER CALLED PRISTINE, ENVIRONMENTALISTS SAY Environmentalists are accusing a Cape Breton business group of putting words in the mouths of those opposed to mineral exploration on Jim Campbells Barren. The Cheticamp Development Commission is misleading the public when it claims government officials promoted the 1,700-hectare area, adjacent to Cape Breton Highlands National Park, as pristine, says a spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund. "I can't find where anybody on the environmental side said it was pristine," said Colin Stewart, the fund's endangered spaces co-ordinator for Nova Scotia."The only use of that word or concept seems to be the Cheticamp Development Commission saying, 'They said it was pristine and it's not."' Last week, Paul Angus Desveaux, a commission spokesman, said parks officials with the Department of Natural Resources "shot themselves in the foot" by portraying the barren as untouched wilderness. The barren bears the marks of 40 years of exploration - scores of trenches and drill holes, plus survey lines, access roads and trails used by snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. Mr. Desveaux believes the fact the barren is not pristine was a major factor in the government's decision last fall to remove it from a list of 31 wilderness areas slated for protection. Neal Livingston, a director of the Margaree Environmental Association, echoes Mr. Stewart's criticism and says damage to the barren from human activity does not detract from its wilderness value. "You can see they've mucked around a little bit up there, but it's still an incredible area up there," he said Monday in an interview. "Just because something isn't pristine doesn't mean it doesn't have enormous ecological value." Documents this newspaper obtained using the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act show staff of the parks division of Natural Resources acknowledged the area has suffered damage. Barry Diamond, director of parks and recreation, described it as a unique combination of wetland, barren and spruce forest that's of "provincial significance." While the parks division "is concerned about the present level of human disturbance within Jim Campbells Barren," he wrote in an internal memo in September 1996, "its impact does not devalue the ecological integrity" of the area. The parks division pointed out that vegetation has started to reclaim some of the trenches created during mining exploration. The division took exception to a geologist's report prepared for the commission, which described Jim Campbells Barren as "one of the more disturbed and least-intact landscapes of this type" in northern Cape Breton. A Toronto company, Regal Goldfields Ltd., is exploring the barren for gold and base metals. March 12, 1997
An environmental group has asked Nova Scotia's ombudsman to investigate the way the Department of Natural Resources handled the removal of Jim Campbells Barren from a list of protected wilderness sites. The Margaree Environmental Association wants the bureaucratic watchdog to determine the role department officials - in particular, staff of the minerals division - played in last fall's decision to reopen the barren to mining exploration. "This area was adopted by government as one of Nova Scotia's new Crown-land protected areas," association director Neal Livingston said in a written complaint dated Feb. 27 and filed with the ombudsman's office. "Staff and officials at DNR do not and should not have the right to undermine government policy. In November, cabinet agreed to remove the 1,700-hectare barren in northern Cape Breton from a list of 31 blocks of Crown land to be protected from logging, mining and other development. The controversial decision, made after intense lobbying from businesses in nearby Cheticamp, reversed cabinet's December 1995 decision accepting the sites for protection after a two-year process of public consultation. In an interview, Mr. Livingston accused the minerals branch of promoting the mineral potential of the barren and surrounding areas after it had been designated for protection. "My contention is ... that's not something they're allowed to do under the terms of their employment." Ombudsman Douglas Ruck confirmed he has received the complaint but said Tuesday he is bound by law to keep its contents confidential. The next step will be to ensure the complaint falls within his jurisdiction, which is to investigate complaints against the actions and decisions of provincial and municipal agencies. He expects to decide within three weeks whether to dismiss the complaint or take the next step - assigning an investigator. "The old adage that there's two sides to every story applies very well in this office. Our primary function is to go out there and try to determine what is the position of each side." The ombudsman has wide powers to inspect files and interview witnesses. While he has no power to reverse a government decision, he can recommend that decisions and policies be changed or revoked. A Natural Resources spokeswoman contacted Tuesday was unable to comment on the complaint. In 1991, former ombudsman Guy MacLean investigated a complaint from the Margaree association about the clear-cutting of old-growth forests. He exonerated the Department of Lands and Forests - which has since amalgamated with the Mines and Energy Department to form Natural Resources - but said the province lacked sufficient staff to administer the Special Places Protection Act. March 12, 1997
ENVIRONMENTALISTS, RESOURCE SECTOR SQUARE OFF OVER BILL Where do you draw the line between human interests and those of animals and plants? What level of protection should be afforded endangered species? Those questions fuel an escalating debate over proposed amendments to Bill C-65, federal legislation designed to strengthen the Endangered Species Protection Act. One controversial amendment says recovery plans must be developed for species in danger of becoming extinct. Those plans could include identifying critical habitat for restrictions and other protective measures. Officials from various resource sectors warn the amendments could disrupt fishing, forestry, mining, agriculture, oil exploration and even whale-watching. "Are we getting into an act like the United States where it's, basically, protect all the animals at all costs?" Jean-Pierre Martel, director of forests for the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, said in an interview from Montreal. Mr. Martel, a member of the Coalition for Natural Resource Groups, says the private sector supports an enhanced act but wants it "more balanced ... taking into account all the social-economic aspects to the community, the landowner and the user as well." However, environmentalists insist the amendments don't go far enough to protect Canada's 276 endangered species. Elizabeth May, executive director of the Ottawa-based Sierra Club of Canada, says corporate interests are overreacting. "I think people who are worried this will have some adverse effect on economic interests are either pushing the panic button because they don't want a good bill ... or are just not educated as to how it works. "The pro-exploitation forces got the upper end on this bill and the species got the short end of the stick. The fact that (the species) got any end might make some people worried." The bill passed first reading in Parliament last year and was turned over to the standing committee on environment and sustainable development, which held public hearings and reported back to the House on March 3. Patrick McGuinness, vice-president of the Fisheries Council of Canada, says the proposed amendments got "out of control" at the committee level. "They're gone back to the old approach of bringing in draconian legislation." Mr. McGuinness said resource groups prefer a "partnership approach" to protect endangered species, not an act forcing disputes to be settled in court. "We don't want these armed-camp confrontations." At the same time, resource groups worry about access being cut off from fishing, logging or harvesting certain areas. Ms. May says the act still leaves plenty of room for such issues to be worked out as recovery plans are finalized. "Recovery plans are developed in a very open and participatory fashion, so it's not ... simply telling somebody that ... they can't log there any more." Catherine Austen, campaign co-ordinator for the seven-group Coalition for Endangered Species, says the act is an improvement but is limited in its scope. It applies only to endangered species on federal land, migratory birds, transboundary and aquatic species - fewer than 40 per cent of species listed as endangered. Ms. Austen says the act doesn't provide any incentive for the provinces to pass similar legislation, though Nova Scotia has already held meetings on its own proposed endangered species legislation. There are about 450 rare species in Nova Scotia, of which about three dozen are considered at risk. They include the peregrine falcon, roseate tern, ram's head lady slipper, lynx, Blanding's turtle and the piping plover. The plover is on the federal endangered list. Ms. Austen says enhancing the act is essential to saving several species from extinction. The Newfoundland pine marten, the Vancouver marmot and the North Atlantic right whale, which summers in the Bay of Fundy, all number less than 300. "About 99 per cent of the species go extinct from human intervention, either from conversion of their habitat or pollution," Ms. Austen said. Environmentalists also want the listing of endangered species taken out of the political realm and handed to scientists. As it now stands, the federal cabinet decides what goes on the endangered species list. Brian Giroux, representing Nova Scotia dragger fishermen, said he fears the wording of the new legislation will "tie the hands of the minister. It says he must do this, not may. It leaves him with very little flexibility." Harold Graham, a whale-watching operator on Digby Neck, says he doesn't know how the legislation might affect his business but he supports protecting whales. "The whales come first, even if it means my business goes. I hope it doesn't come to that. We'll have to sit down with DFO and see how this affects us." The bill is expected to come back before the Commons any day now. Ms. May said major lobbying is under way on both sides. "It's a tug-of-war," she said. March 13, 1997
CABINET RULED ON BARREN AFTER SEEING DOCUMENT The fate of Cape Breton's Jim Campbells Barren turned on a one-page memorandum that gave cabinet ministers little sense of its wilderness value or mineral potential, newly released records show. In the memo, presented to cabinet last Nov. 21, arguments for and against protecting the plateau near Cheticamp from mineral exploration were boiled down to three paragraphs. Cabinet decided that day to remove the barren, located adjacent to Cape Breton Highlands National Park, from a list of 31 parcels of Crown land slated for protection from development. The document was released to this newspaper in response to an application under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. A government spokeswoman says such bare-bones outlines are common once issues reach cabinet for a decision. "This was all that was physically taken to cabinet," said Ann Graham Walker, an official in Premier John Savage's office who handles freedom of information requests for cabinet documents. Natural Resources Minister Eleanor Norrie had additional information relating to the barren, she added, but did not put it before her cabinet colleagues. They were not even given a map showing the barren's location. Cabinet records open to the public under the act do not reveal if Mrs. Norrie provided additional information during the meeting. Environmentalists have condemned the decision, which was the culmination of months of lobbying by the Cheticamp Development Commission and Inverness County politicians. The memo, prepared by Department of Natural Resources staff, calls the barren "provincially significant" and reminds cabinet it was put on the list of protected areas as part of a public consultation process in 1995. In earlier meetings with Mrs. Norrie, the Cheticamp commission claimed the barren - which has been explored by mining companies since the 1950s - is the most disturbed area of its kind in northern Cape Breton. The memo, however, describes the barren as "relatively undisturbed." Cabinet was also told of "keen interest" in reopening the barren to mineral exploration. The commission, the Municipality of the County of Inverness and other community groups feel "an early decision is required." The memo does not discuss the likelihood of finding minerals or the number of potential jobs . Regal Goldfields Ltd. of Toronto has hired about a dozen people to carry out drilling and exploration in the area. The Cheticamp commission predicts up to 200 jobs could be created if enough gold is found to mine. Portions of the memo "were deleted before its release." The Freedom of Information Act allows the government to withhold information that discloses advice to cabinet or reveals what's said in cabinet. March 18, 1997
WWF TOUR STOP WAS TO CELEBRATE SITES - ORGANIZER Prince Philip's visit to Halifax later this week was supposed to celebrate a Nova Scotia achievement, but things have changed. The prince arrives in Halifax on Thursday night on the last leg of a 26-day World Wildlife Fund tour. The conservation group added Nova Scotia to the tour after the government decided in 1995 to designate 31 protected areas in the province, says Colin Stewart, president of the Nova Scotia chapter of the World Wildlife Fund. The Nova Scotia visit would "congratulate the government on doing a good job," Mr. Stewart said. But the recent decision to de-list Jim Campbells Barren threatens every area, he says. "If you can really get away with arguing that what's turning out to look like two jobs for one or two years is sufficient justification for removing Jim Campbells Barren, then how secure are the rest of the protected areas? We want to see it returned. We believe it was a mistake to withdraw it." Before heading home early Saturday morning, the prince will meet with Atlantic and federal environment ministers, environment groups and donors to his agency. Prince Philip will arrive from Alberta, having already visited Alaska, Russia and Thailand. After he meets nine Atlantic conservation groups, the prince will attend the environment ministers' address to the groups. A question period will follow. Mr. Stewart says the prince and the politicians will likely hear concerns about the formerly protected area but wouldn't speculate about the prince's reaction. "He's not going to criticize the local government but I would expect some sort of remark that shows his support of that sort of direction." The president of the Nova Scotia Salmon Federation hates the fact the prince was invited for an achievement that has been reversed. "It's an embarrassment for me as a Nova Scotian," Terry MacIntyre said. The salmon federation is one of five provincial groups that will address the prince during Friday's session. Four other Atlantic groups will also speak. Mr. MacIntyre wouldn't say what they'll tell the prince about the barren. "We want to respect the prince and what he brings with him. If he was a politician, God help him." It won't be the first time Prince Philip has heard about Jim Campbells Barren, says the man organizing the visit. "I put the information in front of him," says Monte Hummel, Canadian president of the World Wildlife Fund. He has faxed the prince briefs about the barrens. "Obviously, he's the boss and he responds how he sees fit." Mr. Hummel said he has seen Prince Philip criticize politicians and urge action on environmental issues before. "He's a very active international president." No meetings with the prince will be open to the public. March 18, 1997
ANGLERS SLAM GOVERNMENT FOR 'ILL-INFORMED' DECISION The Nova Scotia Salmon Association has launched a petition to pressure the government to reinstate Cape Breton's Jim Campbells Barren as a protected wilderness area. The association, which condemns the "ill-informed" decision, voted at its annual meeting in Truro on the weekend to circulate petitions so anglers, hikers, canoeists, hunters and tourist operators can voice their disapproval. "Government blatantly ignored the advice provided by its Natural Resources staff and the wishes of those individuals that were involved in the public consultation process," says association president Terry MacIntyre. "It only took a hundred (signatures) to take it off the designated list, so we're hoping we can pull in 10,000." Cabinet decided last November to strike the 1,700-hectare barren near Cheticamp from a list of 31 blocks of Crown land to be protected from logging, mining and other development. The sites were designated during a two-year process of public consultation. The government dropped Jim Campbells Barren after behind-the-scenes lobbying by the Cheticamp Development Commission, which collected letters of support from 73 businesses and 18 individuals. The parks division of Natural Resources fought the move, stressing the barren's unique landscape, rare plants and its importance as a watershed for the salmon-rich Margaree River. Mr. MacIntyre says the association feels government didn't consider the potential impact of mining activity on sport fishing in the Margaree Valley, an industry he estimates is worth $1 million annually. "We only have five healthy rivers (in Nova Scotia), one of which is the Margaree, so we just can't accept this." If enough gold is found to develop a mine, anglers fear pollution and erosion will foul the Margaree and nearby Cheticamp River. A Toronto company, Regal Goldfields Ltd., is exploring the barren and surrounding areas just outside Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Through its 27 affiliates around the province and the New Brunswick-based Atlantic Salmon Federation, the association can draw on a membership base of about 2,000 people. The Nova Scotia Wildlife Federation has joined the petition drive and Mr. MacIntyre expects other outdoor groups to come aboard. Signatures will be sought at tackle shops, sporting goods stores and shopping malls. The association is in a coalition of 11 environmental, angling and aboriginal groups that have joined forces to fight for the barren. March 21, 1997
The Tobeatic Wilderness Committee, along with eight other Atlantic groups, was invited by the World Wildlife Fund to make a presentation to His Royal Highness, Prince Phillip, during his visit to Halifax on March 21, 1997. HRH was well-informed on the issues, and offered insights founded on his experiences with similar situations worldwide. He discussed with the committee specific approaches to management issues within the Tobeatic, and encouraged the TWC in its continuing efforts. We only hope that, in his private discussions with the Minister and the Premier, he encouraged the government to reaffirm its commitment to the Systems Plan and to meaningful legislation for the Candidate Protected Areas. The following concerns were raised by the Tobeatic Wilderness Committee at a meeting on Friday, March 21, with Minister Eleanor Norrie and Department of Natural Resources staff:
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