Consultation Starts on Tobeatic Plan

The Department of Environment and Labour is inviting the public to share their ideas, interests and concerns on how the Tobeatic Wilderness Area should be managed. The four-week public consultation this fall is one of the first steps in the development of a management plan for the province's largest wilderness area.

"Community participation is crucial to the development of a management plan that is timely and relevant and that meets the needs of a variety of stakeholders," said Environment and Labour Minister David Morse.

The feedback obtained through the public consultation will be used by the Tobeatic Advisory Group and the Department of Environment and Labour to develop a draft plan. The department has prepared a newsletter and worksheet to help guide participants through the process. In the spring, public workshops will give residents a second chance to comment on management- planning issues.

The Tobeatic Advisory Group was established late in 2001 especially to advise the department on matters related to management planning for the Tobeatic. It is made up of 26 members, representing industry, the provincial and municipal governments and many community-based interest groups and associations.

The Tobeatic Wilderness Area is the largest natural protected area in the province, comprising nearly 104,000 hectares in Annapolis, Digby, Yarmouth, Shelburne and Queens counties. It is one of 31 areas that were designated in 1998 by the Wilderness Areas Protection Act, as representative examples of distinct natural landscapes and ecosystems in Nova Scotia.

Written submissions will be accepted until Nov. 25. A copy of the newsletter and worksheet can be picked up at any Environment and Labour office, or can be downloaded from the department's Web site, at www.gov.ns.ca/enla/whatsnew.htm .