N.S. designates 15 new provincial parks, expands 2 others

Nova Scotia is designating 15 new provincial parks and expanding two others as a part of the provincial parks and protected areas plan.

In a statement released Wednesday, officials said the new and expanded parks include "natural landscapes and cultural heritage," and are home to a variety of plants and animals.

The newly designated areas cover about 1,150 hectares of land, furthering the province's goal of protecting 20 per cent of Nova Scotia's land and water mass by 2030. According to officials, the province now has 128 provincial parks, putting it more than halfway toward its commitment of having 205 parks.

"They're protected for their natural and cultural heritage value for generations to come," said Sandra Fraser, parks promotion officer with the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, in an interview.

The provincial parks and protected areas plan was released back in 2013 with an aim to "update Nova Scotia's park system to secure and strengthen its long term success," among other goals and actions, including addressing protection gaps and collaborating with Mi'kmaw communities.

The plan also recommended updating the Provincial Parks Act and associated regulations "to ensure protection of heritage values."

Raymond Plourde, wilderness co-ordinator of the Ecology Action Centre, said in an interview the organization was glad to hear about the new parks.

"They were put forward in the 2013 parks and protected areas plan, so it's taken quite a while —11 years — but we're very happy to see them finally cross the finish line," he said.

He said he has lingering concerns, however, about the level of protection given to all parks under the Provincial Parks Act.

"Unfortunately, they can't count toward our provincial 20 per cent targets when reporting to the national and international bodies that measure these things because the provincial parks legislation is still too weak," Plourde added.

Plourde said changing the status of a provincial park would be as simple as the minister going to cabinet and making an order to council, which could happen without any public input.

Nadine Hunt, the West Mabou Beach Committee chair, echoed the sentiment. She said in an interview that the designations don't do enough to truly protect land, using a Cape Breton park as an example.

"When you first hear that, you say, 'Well, that's good' … The only problem is that West Mabou Beach Provincial Park is a natural environment park and has been since the year 2001. And yet on two separate occasions in 2017 and again in 2023, we were subjected to a private corporation trying to get their hands [on it] either by buying or leasing part of our park."

There have been two proposals to build an 18-hole golf course in the Mabou area. The first attempt was rejected in 2018 after a review of the park called it a key area for conservation.