BWLetter 4Nov2020

Letter posted on Annapolis Royal & Area – Environment & Ecology (Public Facebook Group)

MOOSE BLOCKADE – 2 WEEKS AND STILL WAITING FOR A RESPECTFUL RESPONSE

November 4, 2020
Dear Premier, Ministers Mombourquette and Wilson, and other interested parties,
It has now been 2 weeks since the Forest Protectors set up their encampment in the Fourth Lake region of Digby County, situated between the Tobeatic and Silver River. They continue to protect the area which is historically and recently known to be inhabited by endangered Mainland Moose. The number of volunteer protectors continues to grow and they are often joined by local residents who wish to demonstrate support for their efforts to protect the Moose population. Spirits continue to be high in spite of the inclement weather. There is no intention to abandon the encampment.

Meanwhile, there has been little communication or respectful response from the province. The only correspondence that I and others have received on this topic was from conservative MLA, Tim Houston, and NDP MLA, Lisa Roberts. I and others received an acknowledgement of the receipt of our emails from the Premier’s MLA office, and an auto-response from the Minister of Environment office. I have received nothing at all from the Minister of the Department of Lands and Forestry. A number of others have informed me that they also did not receive any acknowledgement or reply from that office.

It is difficult to understand why the Minister of the Department of Lands and Forestry has nothing much to say to the citizens who have been writing to him. One would suppose that the Minister tasked with the protection of Species at Risk here in Nova Scotia, would show greater interest and respect for the citizens of this province who are willing to forego the comforts of home and activities of daily life, in order to camp out in the snow to protect a population of Moose that are in danger of being displaced, stressed, and exposed to poachers due to the encroachment of new logging roads and impending forest harvests. One would suppose that the Minister tasked with the duty of protecting Species at Risk would exhibit a similar commitment.

Please understand that the citizens who have taken up this cause are being very well supported by the greater community of those who care about nature and the ecology of our forests. Many individuals and organizations have generously contributed supplies and equipment to the Forest Protectors encampment to allow for a protracted stay. Volunteers are increasingly stepping forward to take their turn serving at the encampment.

Ignoring the Forest Protectors and hoping they will just “go away” is unlikely to happen. The longer that a meaningful response is delayed, the worse this appears to all who care about protection of the Mainland Moose population. In fact, the longer the delay, the greater the resolve to stay the course until such time as we see a satisfactory response from the province. Please consider a proper, respectful response to these citizens whose sole reason for camping out on a snowy logging road in November is to protect the sadly dwindling population of Mainland Moose which have suffered greatly due to negligence and inadequate habitat protection.

Bev Wigney
Administrator: Annapolis Royal & Area Environment & Ecology Group (741 members)

Sent to::
Derek Mombourquette <mindnr@novascotia.ca>
Stephen McNeil <stephenmcneil@ns.aliantzinc.ca>
Premier Stephen McNeil <premier@gov.ns.ca> Gordon Wilson <Minister.Environment@novascotia.ca>
:Auditor General <Terry.Spicer@novascotia.ca>
Thomas Trappenberg <leader@greenpartyns.ca>
Tim Houston <pictoueastamanda@gmail.com> Iain Rankin <info@iainrankin.ca>
Gary Burrill <garyburrillmla@gmail.com>
Lisa Roberts <lisarobertsmla@gmail.com> Raymond Plourde <Wilderness@ecologyaction.ca>
Healthy Forests Coalition Nova Scotia <healthy-forests-coalition-nova-scotia@googlegroups.com>