NOVA SCOTIA: Blue Mountain - Birch Cove Lakes under threat

The Halifax Regional Municipality appears to be backing away from its promise to protect the Blue Mountain - Birch Cove Lakes wilderness, near Halifax, as a regional wilderness park. Your help is urgently needed.

The area is significant for its vast forests, interconnected lakes, and recreational opportunities only 10km from downtown Halifax. It also contains rare arctic-alpine plants and habitat for the endangered mainland moose.

In 2006, the Halifax Regional Municipality passed a 25-year regional plan to guide future development in the city and to identify green space for the citizens of Halifax. That plan identifies the Blue Mountain - Birch Cove Lakes wilderness as a prime site for a new regional park and states that the city will work over time to acquire those lands for conservation.

Now, a development proposal is making its way through City Hall proposing high- and medium-density residential and commercial development for these same lands.

Please take a moment to let Mayor Peter Kelly know how you feel.