Buy Back Nova Scotia
WHAT IS BUY BACK NOVA SCOTIA?
-
Buy Back Nova Scotia is a coalition of diverse individuals and groups that have come together to save 170,000 acres of Irving lands that are up for sale. We are foresters, fishermen, hunters and hikers, conservationists and ATVers, bicyclists and birders, canoeists, campers, cross country skiers, photographers and writers. We’re putting aside our sometime different interests to work together to urge our municipal and provincial politicians to purchase the JD Irving lands before more of the province disappears behind “No Trespassing” signs and locked gates.
UPDATE
February 3, 2010
Good news! The provincial government has finalized the purchase of 65,000 acres of land from JD Irving Ltd. The purchase was announced in a government press release on February 3rd, 2010:
http://www.gov.ns.ca/news/details.asp?id=20100203003
Over three-quarters of the newly purchased land occurs in two large blocks in southwestern Nova Scotia – one behind Bear River and the other centered around the Barrios and the lower Silver River. Smaller parcels acquired in southwestern Nova Scotia occur at New France, Sissaboo River, and New Tusket. The purchase also includes over 8,500 acres in Cumberland County, including about 10km of undeveloped coastline on Chignecto Bay.
Buy Back Nova Scotia has written Premier Darrell Dexter to commend the government for responding to the public outcry over the Irving land sale. We will continue to press all levels of government to keep working to secure the remainder of the Irving lands for the public good.
According the Province, the newly acquired lands will be used for a mix of forestry, protected areas, tourism, economic development, recreation, hunting/fishing, and potential Mi’kmaq uses.
Further details, including links to maps, are available at:
http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/land/irving-2010/irving2010.asp
January 13, 2010
The Nature Conservancy of Canada announced today that it has purchased 3,670 acres of ecologically significant land from JD Irving in southwestern Nova Scotia. The purchase includes four sites on the Tusket River that harbour nationally endangered coastal plain flora, and one property on the Clyde River in Shelburne County.
More details are available on the Conservancy’s website:
October 7, 2009
Irving has sold some prime pieces of land (for land sold map click here). They include:
Cedarwood Lake Forestry Investments Ltd. - 10,859 acres
Green Bear Woodland Development - 10,917 acres
Brazil Lake Enterprises - 394 acres
Pure Nature Developments Ltd. - 236 acres
Vladi Private Islands - 172 acres
R & N Farms - 258 acres
The "Pure Nature Developments" property is on Kings Lake, near Gavelton. It has already been subdivided into 40 lots along the lake. Vladi Private Islands pieces are at the north end of Wentworth Lake.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INTEREST
BBNS representatives met with MP Greg Kerr to follow up on a statement reportedly made by Jim Prentice (Federal Minister of the Environment) expressing a keen interest in federal involvement in a land purchase of Irving land near Kejimkujik National Park. It was a good meeting and we hope to have more to report in the near future.
MEETING WITH PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
Although our request to meet with Premier Dexter and some of his cabinet ministers went astray the request is back on track and that meeting should materialize early this fall. We understand that the bid the previous government put in on the Irving lands around New France was turned down but we understand that negotiations have resumed.
BBNS APPLYING FOR NON-PROFIT SOCIETY STATUS
Application has been sent in.
BBNS BUMPER STICKERS
Bumper stickers are available at The Women's Centre, 238 Main Street, Yarmouth. (902) 742-0085