3 parks, 5 wilderness areas up for protection now open for public consultation

Public consultations have openedon eightwilderness areasand parks across Nova Scotiatheprovincialis seeking to officially designate as protected.

The locationsare among more than 60 areas and parks the province announced threemonths agoit wanted to legally protect.

Chris Miller, executive director of the Nova Scotiachapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, saidthere's typically been good public turnout during previous consultations for new protected areas, and he expects the same this time.

"It's an issue that the public cares about," he said.

The public is now invited to submit feedback on the eight sites through an online form.The consultation period is open until Sept. 27.

Miller saidthe eight areas all have important conservation values and are great recreational locations.

One of the places is Carters Beach, a proposed provincial park near Port Mouton on the South Shore thathas the highest dunes in the provinceand over 20 different ecosystems.

Another location that's receiving attention is an addition to the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness Area, a 1,767-hectare expanse of woodlands, wetlands and lakes on the outskirts of Halifax.

The new landwill allow a trailhead to be addedfor better access to future hiking trails.

Originally, only seven sites were going to be open for consultation, but the Ingram River conservation lands, a 5000-hectare area near St. Margarets Bay, was added in early June.

Although itis an important addition, Miller said it isn't enough.The total protected area should be 15,000 hectares, he said, and his group wantsthe current proposed conservation area expanded to include old-growth forests.

The current proposal does not include most of this watershed, Miller said, but with enough public input that could change.

"There's strong support from the local community for additional conservation measures."

The idea around the conservation and preservation of the lands is to make them more accessible to the public and ensure the protection of the area.

Approximately one-third of the province is publicly owned land.

Miller said CPAWS tries to ensuresignificant areas are protected because they contain "important ecosystems and habitats for different species."

"We work with governments and local community groups to ensure that significant places are protected," he said.