Islands and Shorelines of Mahone Bay
Photo Jason Remai
The islands of Mahone Bay are a treasure that we cannot take for granted.
These gravel drumlins date from the end of the last Ice Age. They provided refuge and food for the native people. Imagine their pleasure at returning to our beautiful Bay after a hard winter in the woods, arriving to feast on salmon, seals, clams, mussels, and lobster all cooked over an open fire in front of their wigwam!
How lucky we all are to still have a few of these islands available for our own picnics. Although many islands and practically all of the mainland shoreline are in private hands and not available for public enjoyment, there are several groups dedicated to returning islands and shoreline to both public control and preserving them in a natural condition. The success of these groups is remarkable:
Sheep Island and a large portion of the Aspotogan Peninsula have been preserved thanks to the Nature Conservancy of Canada www.natureconservancy.ca
Andrews Island, Backman’s Island, Covey Island, part of Masons Island and a group of islands including Long Island have all been returned to public ownership by the Mahone Islands Conservation Association (MICA; www.mahoneislands.ns.ca) and the Nova Scotia government. www.gov.ns.ca/natr
Big Fish Island, Clay Island and Round Island Nubble have also been returned to public ownership thanks to the Chester Regional Working Group of the Nova Scotia Nature Trust www.nsnt.ca, the Municipality of Chester www.district.chester.ns.ca , and the generosity of private donors. Our thanks go to the far sighted Councilors and staff of the Municipality for their cooperation in these accomplishments.
Much more work is required to preserve additional islands, protect our shoreline from inappropriate development, encourage better stewardship of the beauty that surrounds us, legislate better land use and zoning policy, promote Mahone Bay as a National Marine Park and generally preserve our coastal natural heritage.
Please do what you can to respect our beautiful Bay and to support the cause. For more information or to join the dedicated volunteers working on your behalf, you may contact either:
Anne Lambert 1ambert@sciconnect.com Lambert@sciconnect.com
Sandy & Syd Dumaresq spda@ns.sympatico.ca
Enjoy our beautiful Bay and revel in the flight of the osprey, the stoic stance of the heron, and the haunting call of the loon. Long may they prosper!