Tomorrow, Halifax Regional Council will decide if they will help @NSNatureTrust acquire a key property for conservation within the Blue Mountain - Birch Cove Lakes wilderness. I hope they will. ( @irwinbarrett)

The property in question is the "Blue Mountain Wilderness Connector" (shown in yellow). It connects the 2 pieces of the publicly-owned provincial protected wilderness area (shown in green).

The property in question is 232 hectares in size (which is about 10% of the entire BMBCL wilderness). It is ecologically significant and has lots of potential for outdoor recreation. You can learn more about it here. https://nsnt.ca/our-work/campaigns-and-projects/project/blue-mountain-wilderness-connector/

The Nova Scotian Nature Trust has done all the heavy-lifting on this one. They have negotiated the land purchase. They have launched a public funding campaign. They have secured investments from both the Federal AND provincial governments to help with the land purchase.

Now, Halifax Regional Municipality is being asked to do their part, but unfortunately the city staff report recommends AGAINST funding the land purchase. The stated reason is because of COVID.

We need our parks and protected areas now more than ever!! The first thing to start opening up in Nova Scotia after the lockdown were our parks. That's because we need these places for our health. They are crucial for our well-being.

So, for city staff to recommend against chipping in for this land purchase seems off-putting, especially since Halifax Regional Council unanimously endorsed protecting Birch Cove Lakes only ONE MONTH AGO!! They talked about 'nailing jello to the wall'. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/blue-mountain-birch-coves-lakes-halifax-council-plan-1.5609693

This land purchase is the perfect way for the City to stop nailing jello to the wall. They can actually fund a direct land purchase. It benefits the community as a whole, but they only have to provide a portion of the funding. Other levels of government are already onside.

Also, the City has already identified this area as a crucial wilderness connectivity zone. It's included in the Halifax Regional Plan. It's been in that plan since it was first approved in 2006. Here it is (Map 11)

Supporting this land purchase is the absolute EASIEST way for the City to fulfill its requirement to maintain nature connectivity through this corridor, as required by the regional plan. @NSNatureTrust has done all the hard stuff. Opportunities like this don't come along often.

I know that the City Councillors are supportive of protecting Birch Cove Lakes. I've spoken with many of them. And, in the past, when push-came-to-shove to protect the park, they were there. Often voting unanimously to purchase lands or to stop a threat.

Reading through the staff report, there's clearly a path for the Councillors to support Birch Cove Lakes, if they choose. The report identifies $6million in funding in the parkland reserve budget that can only be used for parkland acquisition. Wink, wink.

The proposal from @NSNatureTrust is for $750,000. That's only about $12.5% of the parkland reserve fund, and results in a huge piece of protection for Birch Cove Lakes, which is the standout conservation area for the city.