I hope you all had a great transition from 2019 to 2020. We are starting the year off with some fantastic news which will certainly be a blow to Atlantic Golds proposed gold mine for Cochrane Hill.
Today the Nova Scotia Provincial government has announced the addition of one very important piece of property to the protected lands along the St. Mary’s River Valley. This announcement virtually cuts the proposed water supply off from Atlantic Gold’s proposed gold mine! Archibald Lake will now become a Wilderness Area!
Crazy ehh. But we will need folks to write in and provide positive comments during the 60-day public comment period. You know that Atlantic Gold will be doing the same and for our David and Goliath moment to succeed we simply need more positive than negative. I’m reaching out today to ask for one simple letter in support of the protected land announcement made today regarding Archibald Lake. It doesn't matter if you have never been to Archibald lake, simply say protecting areas of ecological significance in the St Mary's River Valley is a great move and we commend the Province for doing so.
This doesn’t stop the mine from moving forward but it certainly is a big blow!
Here are the details posted from the Nova Scotia governments web-page:
Archibald Lake Wilderness Area (New)
Archibald Lake Wilderness Area will protect 684 hectares (ha) of woodlands, lakes and several small wetlands in the watershed of Archibald Brook, an important tributary of the St. Mary’s River.
The candidate wilderness area consists of Archibald, McDonald and Rocky lakes (240 ha altogether), along with surrounding provincial lands. At least 300 ha is old hardwood forest on elongated hills (drumlins). The remainder is primarily mature or older hardwood forest on hills and mature softwood forest on flatter terrain. This forest provides important habitat for species that depend on or prefer old forest.
The watershed of Archibald Brook provides quality habitat for brook trout and other aquatic species.
Nearly the entire site consists of ecosystem elements that are poorly represented in Nova Scotia’s protected areas network, including the well drained hardwood drumlins. It also overlaps with a mainland moose concentration zone delineated by the Department of Lands and Forestry.
With the lakes and surrounding hardwood hills, this is a very scenic area. It is used and enjoyed for a variety of outdoor activities, including sport fishing, hunting, camping and camp use.
Three campsite leases occur on Archibald Lake. These will be honoured under the Wilderness Areas Protection Act.
The proposed boundary avoids forest access roads and trails wherever practical. Depending on interest, the final boundary can be adjusted to accommodate public vehicle access to one or more of the lakes.
About 10 ha around Archibald Brook is subject to mineral exploration rights. These rights can be honoured under the Wilderness Areas Protection Act, provided activities do not degrade the wilderness area.
Archibald Lake is also identified in Atlantic Gold’s description for the proposed Cochrane Hill Gold Project: https://ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/80159?culture=en-CA The company’s proposed use of Archibald Lake cannot be permitted within a wilderness area.
https://novascotia.ca/parksandprotectedareas/