Purpose
This Point Paper is written due to four major
concerns about the White Cove Quarry:
First: Because of the travesty being pushed by a few individuals and companies that has become a Municipal and a Provincial nightmare for the citizens of Digby Neck and the islands of Long and Brier Islands (hereafter referred to as Digby Neck and Islands).
Second: Because I am a homeowner of a lovely, old home at Sandy Cove, known as ëRoundaboutí. [This home, which I purchased in 1996, is a wonderful summer home for my wife, my six children, and seven grandchildren. We have all enjoyed the happiness of a very close and peaceful community; and its serenity cannot be surpassed. I have labored to put this home back to its original state. This home was built in 1841 and later lived in by his son ëWentí Dakin, a Master Mariner from Sandy Cove. After Captain Dakinís death, Alice Dalgliesh purchased the home in 1934 and authored the Newbury Award winning book ìRoundaboutî, a childrenís book about the home and the lives of Sandy Covers. Because of the love that I and my family have for this place, the people on Digby Neck and Islands, the serenity of it, and its total beauty, I have written this point paper, since I do not want even the least bit of the Neck and Islands, of which, jeopardized.]
Third: The owner of the land that leased it for the use of a BASALT QUARRY in not only unjust, but a major embarrassment to me and to all my American friends who are landowners or visitors in Nova Scotia. I have not heard one word from any of them that would condone the ownerís lease. In fact, everything that has been mentioned by the Americanís state: ìHow could he do such a thing.î, or, ìWhere is he coming from; heís an idiot!
Fourth - (And not least of my concerns): I am a retired Commander of the U.S. Navy, but quite different from the retired U.S. Air Force officer who is leasing his land for the QUARRY. I am ashamed to say the least. I have been to many countries throughout the world, during peacetime and war, and the one thing that the U.S. military service insists upon is to not degrade that country of its beauty, environment, economy, religion, heritage, or anything else that is held near and dear to that country. I think that this individual has forgotten his Air Force training. This is also a major dishonor for any military person of Canada or the U.S. __ it casts shame on our status, as well meaning and caring people, who regard all people and their land with affection and honor.
Point Paper on
Basalt Quarry at White Cove
on Digby Neck, Nova Scotia
This paper is submitted in seven sections, which include:
1) General Environmental Impact;
2) Marine Life;
3) Eco Tourism;
4) Air Pollution and Dust;
5) Sound and Noise;
6) Water Pollution; and,
7) The Economy.
Not all sections are incorporated in this edition, since data collection on dust, noise, water pollution, and the economy is still being undertaken. The remaining sections will be promulgated as facts are obtained. This current edition contains sections 1), 2), and 3)
SECTION ONE
General Environmental Impact
1.1 Digby Neck and Islands Description: Digby Neck is a narrow peninsula, abutted on one side by the Bay of Fundy and on the other by St. Maryís Bay, all of which ultimately connects with the Gulf of Maine. It is the place where ëHeritage Homesí abound; within five Kilometers there are 21 ëHeritage Homesí, six registered homes in Little River, one in Mink Cove, 14 in Sandy Cove. It is a beautiful, pristine area, almost like a ìland that time forgotî; about 50 kilometers (Km.) in total length, with Long Island and Briar Island connected by short ferry rides. There is a peace and tranquility there, an oasis in the desert of concrete and commercial striving found elsewhere. Digby Neck is surrounded by coastlines with the ridge of the North Mountain serving as its backbone. The peninsula is slightly more than a kilometer wide at Sandy Cove and 4 kilometers at the ëhead of the bayí of St. Maryís. At Little River is the average width of the neck, which is only 2 1/2 kilometers wide. The natural and physical make-up of the peninsula and islands is predominately Basalt, which extends from Labrador through the Bay of Fundy to Brier Island. Basalt is a highly desirable commodity that has caused to become a target of Corporate America. Two of the largest communities on the Neck are Sandy Cove and Little River, about 6 Km. apart. Little River is a thriving fishing village and Sandy Cove tends more towards a retirement and summer-home area, giving it a different personality than its busy neighbour of Little River. It is reported that the highest absentee landownership is all of Nova Scotia is on the Neck. Fishing communities are often considered to be lacking in education by their urban neighbors, and even by politicians, who feel these communities should be grateful for any crumbs of employment, even those destructive to their area.
1.2 White Cove ñ Site of the Basalt Quarry Description: A generation of families lived here years ago. There are remnants of old cellars and possible graves of past ancestors to Little River residents. Some 60-80 children have has been recorded in history to have lived here with their family. Folks made a living by fishing and farming in White Cove. Many of the children died in a diphtheria epidemic in the 1870's.
In the 19th century farm life at White Cove was a livelihood with oxen, sheep, cows, and horses. Hay and grain were grown, and roots and vegetables were also available. A sea captain, whose name is inscribed in the memorial cairn across from the Digby post office, was born in the Cove and raised a family there. Up to this time White Cove has been a place for many happy memories to the generations of this area. There have been gatherings of families who have roots of past generations who return often to commemorate the memory of their past heritage here. Many, yet, take trips to White Cove for recreation and fun activities. Children love to experience the places of adventure, much treasure hunting along the shoreline. The spectacular sunsets are breath-taking sights to behold for those who have sat in the quiet solitude of a nightís venture there. Artists have spent a day here now and again leaving with visions of beauty still etched in their minds, which have no doubt inspired many sea and landscape pictures.
Nature at its fullest can be seen as the many deer and other wildlife roam the forest and shoreline. They move about and make their trails through White Cove. It is a habitat familiar to them all. Being a part of our past, present and we thought our future; it leaves us with an ache and sadness in our hearts as we grieve over the possibility of having it destroyed. Our land is very important to us who have had a part of it for so many years.
White Cove lies more than a mile [less than two Kilometers] away from the village (Little River) [and five Kilometers from Sandy Cove] on the opposite side of the North Range Mountains, which are about 300 to 350 feet above sea level. The property that has been leased extends approximately one mile each way from White Cove, providing a more than adequate buffer along Fundy shoreline. White Cove is in such an isolated spot that not one of the "tens of thousands of tourists" traveling down Highway 217 or even hiking the shoreline could possibly see it from any point on land unless they were trespassing!
1.3 Tides from the Bay of Fundy: The tides on the Bay of Fundy fluctuate from very high to very low tides. Channels cut deeply into the continental shelves and into the continent itself; the funneling waters of deep oceanic origin are very close into the coast. The Bay of Fundy is less a bay but rather a huge, flooded valley of sand and Basalt 325 kilometers (200 miles) long, covering 9700 square kilometers (6000 square miles) of very shallow sea, around 85 meters (275 feet) deep. The bay is a funnel into which compressed water is thrust forward swiftly by tidal action. This produces tides, which rise as much as 9 meters (28 feet). The daily influx and outflow of these tides create unique and interesting environments throughout much of the Digby Neck and Islands area. The bay is constantly subjected to the twisting effect, the ëCoriolis Forceí (A force, resulting from the rotation of the earth, that deflects other bodies or forces in motion, especially those above the earth, by causing them to veer to the right in the Northern Hemisphere.). It pushes water steadily along the Nova Scotian coast. Yet another force, the wind, exerts its added influence. It blows persistently from the southwest in seasons when the rivers are low in drought; it can seal off the mouth of the bay and the water rotates endlessly without renewal from the Gulf of Maine. All of this makes the neck and islands a very special, but attentive place for all, the people and its natural habitat.
1.4 Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour: The purpose of the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour works to protect and promote: a) the safety of people and property; b) a healthy environment; and, c) employment rights;
1.5 The Province of Nova Scotia Environmental Act: The purpose of the Province of Nova Scotia Act is to support and promote the protection, enhancement and prudent use of the environment while recognizing the following goals:
(a) Maintaining environmental protection as essential to the integrity of ecosystems, human health, and the socio-economic well-being of society; including:
(i) The principle of ecological value, ensuring the maintenance and restoration of essential ecological processes and the preservation and prevention of loss of biological diversity,
(ii) The precautionary principle will be used in decision-making so that where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, the lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation, the foundation for long-term environmental protection, including:
(A) The conservation and efficient use of resources,
(B) The promotion of the development and use of sustainable, scientific and technological innovations and management systems, and,
(C) The importance of reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering the products of our society,
(iii) The principle of shared responsibility of all Nova Scotians to sustain the environment and the economy, both locally and globally, through individual and government actions, remedial action and pay for the costs of that action;
Ö
(h) Providing access to information and facilitating effective public participation in the formulation of decisions affecting the environment, including opportunities to participate in the review of legislation, regulations and policies and the provision of access to information affecting the environment;
(i) Providing a responsive, effective, fair, timely and efficient administrative and regulatory system, recognizing that wherever practical, it is essential to promote the purpose of this Act primarily through non-regulatory means such as co-operation, communication, education, incentives and partnerships, instead of punitive measures.
SECTION TWO
Marine Life and Coastal Habitation
2.1 Definition and Description: Environmentalists claim to have evidence that whales and other marine life are under serious threat from human-created noise. At issue is noise created by near-shore equipment Ö . The environmentalists say it interferes with the way marine animals communicate. There are claims man-made noise, created by large ships and large equipment [i.e. Rock Crushers] are interfering with the way marine animals live. Interruption is thought to be so significant; it's throwing out their migration and breeding patterns. Significant changes in the sediment characteristics of inter-tidal zones are being reflected in changing behavour or success of migratory birds. Changes in sea-bottom composition may be impacting organisms [lobsters, urchins, bi-valves, etc.] that live in sea-bottom, which in turn may be impacting their main predators, the shore birds. This transformation of sea-bottom composition is partly related to changes in water flow due to the construction or interruption of tidal barriers.
2.1.1 Marine Mammals: The Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) was declared was declared endangered in 1990 as a result of critically low population numbers. Historically, Right Whales were almost hunted to extinction through commercial whaling, and ever since they have had a hard time recovering. Ongoing threats for Right Whales include the noise and disturbance caused by human activities, pollution from oil and other toxic substances, and degradation of inshore habitat. Since Right Whales are surface feeders, they are also particularly threatened by collisions with ships. Over half of the remaining 300 Right Whales inhabit the Bay of Fundy in the summer months. With such a limited number left, the survival of each Right Whale is extremely important, and each birth is also quite significant.
The Western North Atlantic Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) was designated a species of special concern in 1985. Overexploitation of Humpback Whales greatly reduced their numbers prior to 1960. Depletion of capelin [a small fish of the smelt family] is of particular concern. The International Whaling Commission has protected the Humpback Whale populations in the North Atlantic since 1955.
2.1.2 Fish, Lobsters, and Urchins: Atlantic Salmon populations in most of the rivers draining into the Bay of Fundy are in extremely fragile states and, as a result, the Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon has recently been added to the was declared endangered species list. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans can find salmon in only 19 of 33 rivers of the inner Bay of Fundy. Returning adults are providing a small fraction of the required egg depositions and wild juvenile numbers are low. The cause of their decline is not certain, although there is evidence that they are 'disappearing' while at sea. The Atlantic Salmon Federation is currently conducting studies to determine why the species is not recovering as initially hoped.
Lobsters live along the east cost of North America from North Carolina to Labrador. They are abundant off southwest Nova Scotia coastline. Lobsters prefer a habitat where they can find shelter. In deep water canyons off the coast, lobsters have been observed lodged individually in small burrows dug into the face of clay cliffs. Inshore lobster populations are found on rocky bottoms, where a large number of individuals can obtain appropriate shelter. On sand or mud, lobsters may be found hiding under rocks of about their own size. In a number of areas lobsters tend to be larger in deeper water. There are exceptions; for example, large egg-bearing females are found in shallow waters in the Bay of Fundy where they reproduce and moult during the summer months.
Sea Urchins are sometimes called the porcupines of the sea. Sea urchins belong to the (Phylum echinodermata) the same group as sea stars, sand dollars, sea lilies and sea cucumbers. Sea urchins mainly congregate in colder, offshore waters, but sometimes travel into shallower waters looking for food. The green sea urchin of the Bay of Fundy is often found in tide pools and below the low-tide line. They also tend to shy away from light. Sea urchins will eat just about anything that floats by. Its sharp teeth can scrape algae off rocks, and grind up plankton, kelp, periwinkles, and sometimes even barnacles and mussels. Sea urchins are sought out and harvested by urchin-divers on Digby Neck for commercial purposes for its eggs, or roe, for food. The eggs are considered a delicacy in Asia.
2.1.3 Coastline Birds and Flora:
The Piping Plover was declared was declared endangered in 1985. The 1996 International Piping Plover Census counted 5,913 adult Piping Plovers in the world. From this total, 422 adults (7 % of the world's population) used the beaches of Atlantic Canada in the summer to raise their young. Human disturbance of nesting Piping Plover is one of the main causes for their decline.
Redroot (Lachnanthes caroliana) was declared threatened in 2002. An Atlantic Coastal Plain species, known in Canada only from a small number in Nova Scotia. The populations are small and very restricted in distribution. Threats to the species include; human alteration and loss of water habitats, water pollution, destruction of populations and habitat by bulldozers and excavators, and other noise [blasting] creating activities.
Golden Crest, (Lophiola aurea) was declared threatened in 2001. An Atlantic Coastal Plain species of plant that is found in southwestern Nova Scotia. These are the only locations for this plant in Canada.
Historically, two populations were lost and the extant populations are all under some threat. Threats include alteration of wetland and shoreline habitat through land use change, water level manipulation and eutrophication (nutrient enrichment [basalt dust]).
Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) was declared endangered in 2000. About one hundred pairs of Roseate Tern breed in Canada. All but a few pairs are in a small number of colonies in Nova Scotia. The size of the population and the number of breeding sites has declined markedly in the past fifty years. Coastal development all pose significant threats to this species.
Piping Plover, (Charadrius melodius) was declared endangered in 2000. In Nova Scotia only about forty breeding pairs of Piping Plovers remain. These birds are dispersed around the province on seventeen sand beaches. Despite concerted conservation efforts here and elsewhere in North America, the numbers of this species remain low. The main reasons for this include: deterioration of marginal nesting habitat due to natural events (storms, vegetation succession), human alteration of beach habitat, human disturbance during nesting and predation by birds and mammals on eggs and young.
Eastern Mountain Avens (Geum peckii) was declared endangered in 2000. This highly disjunctive plant species is found in Canada at only six sites in Digby Neck and Islands. At some sites the populations have declined substantially or have disappeared altogether. The draining of wetlands and the invasion of habitat due to habitat loss and degradation cause this. These invasions may be the result of nutrient enrichment by large populations of Herring and Greater black-backed Gulls.
2.2 Pros for the Quarry:
No published material could be found that would indicate that a large stone quarry would provide a suitable habitat for any marine life or coastal habitat.
2.3 Cons for the Quarry:
Due to the statements and notices made by Department of Natural Resources, Province of Nova Scotia, as reiterated in October 2002; concerning ëWildlife Species Protected Under the was declared endangered Species Act in Nova Scotiaí, a quarry at White Cove would be a severe disaster to the region. The quarry would ruin the lobster beds and urchin beds for those lobster- and urchin-men that use the White Cove coastline for gathering this important seafood commodity; it would also have a dramatic effect of the habitat of the whales that live offshore along the Neck and Islands.
SECTION THREE
HOME
Eco-Tourism
3.1 Definition and Description:
"Eco-Tourism has been defined as a form of nature-based tourism in the marketplace. The term Eco-Tourism, therefore, refers on one hand to a concept, under a set of principles, and on the other hand to a specific market segment. The International Eco-Tourism Society in 1991 produced one of the earliest definitions: Eco-tourism is responsible for travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well being of local people. The World Conservation Union in 1996 stated that Eco-Tourism: ìis environmentally responsible for travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features - both past and present) that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations.î Ö Eco-Tourism aspires in all cases to achieve sustainable development results. However, it is important to clarify, that all tourism activities, be they geared to holidays, business, conferences, congresses or fairs, health, adventure, or Eco-Tourism should aim to be sustainable. This means that the planning and development of tourism infrastructure, its subsequent operation and also its marketing should focus on environmental, social, cultural, and economic sustainability criteria. The strong orientation of the Eco-Tourism field toward the evolution of principles, guidelines, and certification based on sustainability standards gives it an unusual position in the tourism field. In the years since the concept was first defined, discussion in conferences has provided a general consensus on the following components of Eco-Tourism.
a) Contributes to conservation of biodiversity.
b) Sustains the well being of local people.
c) Includes an interpretation / learning experience.
d) Involves responsible action on the part of tourists and the tourism industry.
e) Is delivered primarily to small groups by small-scale businesses.
f) Requires lowest possible consumption of non-renewable resources. and,
3.3 Cons for the Quarry: The Quarry would violate the spirit of Eco-Tourism and detract from people traveling near the quarry and visiting Digby Neck and the Islands. Due to the noise [unwanted and disturbing sound] and dust created by Quarry operations, visitation by vacationers would decline dramatically. This would have a negative affect to operators of Inns, B & Bs, Cafes and Restaurants, Gift Shops, Whale Watching Enterprises, and other Eco-Tourism Establishments on Digby Neck and the Islands.
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