Protected should mean protected. End of story. 

And yet, the Cabot Cliffs and Cabot Links golf course developer is once again trying to develop West Mabou Beach Provincial Park into a private 18-hole golf course. This legally protected and ecologically sensitive area is part of the mere five percent of Nova Scotian coastline that is protected public land. We, and future generations of Mabou residents, cannot afford to lose it to private development.

In 2018, the department found that parts of the park were "a priority ecosystem for conservation" and noted the park was home to endangered and threatened bird species and rare plants. The triangle-shaped park is about 215 hectares and includes a two-kilometre sandy beach along one side, and home to sensitive ecosystems of a sand dune system and a salt marsh as well as an estuary and trail networks. In developing this land, the negative impact on the local biological systems will be far reaching and unprecedented in the region. 

Please sign the petition to urge local government officials to JUST SAY NO! to leasing West Mabou Provincial Park as a golf course.

There is plenty of private coastline that Cabot can buy to make their golf course. This is a democratic issue. West Mabou Beach Park is public land, it belongs to the people, and is protected through legislation to save crucial ecosystems and ensure access for everyone living in Nova Scotia. Cabot can pay locals market value for the land and still make contributions to the local economy, as any developer should. If they want to build a golf course, then they can do it on private land and leave our ecologically crucial provincial parks alone! 

(photo credit: Gabe MacDonald)