As it continues to study the merits of designating a portion of Cumberland County as a wilderness area, the provincial Environment Department knows it's going to face a huge challenge in coming up with a plan that satisfies those who want added protection and those who want the status quo.
Cumberland municipal council hosted a forum on the potential wilderness designation during its December committee-of-the-whole meeting Wednesday that allowed officials from Environment and Natural Resources to tell others what their study is all about while giving them the opportunity to hear from those who their work might impact the most.
The province is studying about 35,000 hectares of Crown land in and around the Chignecto Game Sanctuary. Once it completes the initial consultations, it will then set proposed boundaries and gather additional input.
The Crown lands in the area include many natural features and ecosystems not represented elsewhere within Nova Scotia's parks and protected areas system. By creating a wilderness area in the county, it would help the province move close to the goal of protecting 12 per cent of its land mass by 2015, while at the same time helping preserve that ecosystem and the at-risk species that call the area their habitat.
However, as much as it wants to give added protection to the area, the province and those groups wanting added protection have to realize that science is not always the answer when it comes to impacting lifestyle and traditional recreational activities.
Telling people their access is going to be restricted is not going to go over well and we shouldn't be surprised if people are upset.
That being said, there is room for compromise and there was every indication that a middle ground can be achieved as long as all involved are willing to make it work. It seems as though everyone realizes the area is a special one and does need to be protected. The difference is balancing protection versus access and that's where it gets tricky.
