next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects
EARTH ACTION
81 Prince Street Charlottetown PEI C1A 4R3 Tel: 902-621-0719 Email:
slabchuk@isn.net
NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 18, 1999
Cavendish II on the Greenwich Dunes?
Charlottetown - When Parks Canada took over responsibility for the
Greenwich Dunes, concerned Islanders breathed a sigh of relief, believing
that, as a national park, the dunes area would be protected from further
damage. Greenwich is a small (900 acres) but valuable island treasure
internationally recognized for its unique dune system, home of endangered
piping plovers and rare plants and containing nationally important
Aboriginal and Acadian archeological sites. " It is now clear that our
sense of security and hope has been ill-advised," says Dr. Irene Novaczek,
biologist with Earth Action. "Islanders who care about Greenwich and who
believe that this province should have at least this one small area
protected from mass tourism and commercialization need to wake up and take
note of what has been going on."
A recent walk through Greenwich Peninsula was an eye-opening experience
for Island environmentalists, Sharon Labchuk and Irene Novaczek. "We were
horrified to see a ten-foot clear-cut swath had been cut around the
perimeter of the park, damaging and fragmenting wildlife habitat," says
Earth Action spokesperson Labchuk. "A pathway, excavated to a depth of
about 8 inches and filled in with gravel, now goes over the top of four out
of the six identified archeological sites, in contravention of the
Archeological Sites Protection Act, which prohibits any excavation or
alteration."
Plans for future development are also cause for concern, they say. On the
tiny central park property, survey markers delimit a parking area which
Parks Canada says will accommodate 90 cars plus 10 buses "with room for
expansion". Local residents who have turned to Earth Action for help were
recently dismayed to hear of plans for food concessions and other
commercial enterprises around this parking lot, which is starting to sound
a lot like Cavendish II. So far there has been no word on how Parks Canada
proposes to limit access to the fragile dunes, or prevent people from
loving them to death. "By providing such extensive parking for cars and
buses so close to the main dune system, complete with toilets, showers and
food, Parks Canada will create an ungovernable situation," points out Dr.
Novaczek. "Past experience shows that signs do not stop people from
trampling sensitive dunes, and by allowing hundreds of thousands of
visitors easy access they are clearly inviting disaster."
"It's not that we believe Greenwich should be completely off-limits to
local and visiting nature lovers. However, this is a very special place,
easily ruined and simply not appropriate as a major tourist destination.
Access should be strictly controlled and for purposes of nature
observation, exploration and study. People who simply want to play on the
beach have hundreds of kilometres of shore elsewhere along PEI's beautiful
coastline," says Labchuk. " First and foremost, areas designated as
national parks are meant to preserve the ecological integrity of the land
for all time. It's everyone's responsibility to make sure Greenwich doesn't
end up like so many of Canada's national parks - degraded in the name of
short-term economic gain," says Labchuk.
- 30 -
Contact: Sharon Labchuk 621-0719 or Irene Novaczek 964-2781
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
You received this because you are subscribed to "sust-mar", the
Sustainable Maritimes mailing list. To unsubscribe, send email to
<majordomo@chebucto.ns.ca> with "unsubscribe sust-mar" (without quotes) as
the body of your message. To post a message to sust-mar subscribers, send it to
<sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca> Posts that are off-topic or excessive length
(10K) will be rejected. For help contact <sust-mar-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>
next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects