Public Consultation Opens on New Protected Areas including Herring Cove Backlands Wilderness Area 23Aug2026

Extracts from NS Gov News Release Aug 21, 2026 (bolding inserted):

Part of the Margaree River watershed and old growth forest in Cape Breton, a coastal area along the Eastern Shore, and a mix of forest, coastline and lake shoreline in Halifax are set to become Nova Scotia’s newest wilderness areas.

Public consultation opens today, August 21, on protecting 5,100 more hectares of Nova Scotia’s land and water, including:

– three new wilderness areas
– additions to seven existing wilderness areas
– an addition to one existing nature reserve.

“Nova Scotia is home to an incredible abundance of protected natural areas with an area about one and a half times the size of Prince Edward Island now protected, and we continue to protect more of our land and water,” said Nolan Young, acting Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “With our small land mass, Nova Scotia is punching well above our weight in land protection and setting the pace for how provinces can both safeguard nature and responsibly develop land for housing, jobs and economic opportunities. These new proposed sites build on that momentum and reflect our commitment to protecting the landscapes that make Nova Scotia so special.”

Nova Scotians can provide input until October 20 at: https://www.novascotia.ca/nse/protectedareas/ *

*From that link: “Learn more about the areas proposed for protection by viewing this map and site descriptions. Feedback can be submitted by completing the online form included with site descriptions.”

…New wilderness areas:

Herring Cove Backlands Wilderness Area, Halifax Regional Municipality, 2,910 hectares
– Musquodoboit Harbour Wilderness Area, Halifax Regional Municipality, 308 hectares
– Masons Mountain Wilderness Area, Inverness County, 154 hectares

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