Shepody Mountain earns conservation protection in surprise announcement

'It was sort of a shocked silence'

Gail Harding · CBC News · Posted: Jan 10, 2020 6:11 PM AT

Mike Holland, minister of Natural Resources and Energy Development and MLA for Albert surprised those at a public meeting in Riverside-Albert by announcing the crown land on Shepody Mountain would be conserved lands. (Water and Environmental Protection for Albert County/Facebook)

People attending a public meeting in Riverside-Albert Thursday night to hear about a nomination to the provincial government to protect Shepody Mountain instead heard a surprise announcement that it would become conserved Crown land.

Mike Holland, minister of Natural Resources and Energy Development and MLA for Albert told those in attendance 700 hectares of Crown land would be set aside as conserved lands.

"Holland said he had just came out of a meeting with industry and he was taking the steps to put the entire 700 hectares of Shepody crown land into conservation protection," said Deborah Carr, a member of the group Water and Environmental Protection for Albert County, or WEPAC.

"It was sort of a shocked silence," she said about the reaction to Holland's announcement. "Then came the but."

Carr said the 'but' is JD Irving Ltd. will be permitted to go in and do a supervised select cut on about 20 hectares (50 acres) of land within the 700 hectares.

While details are still scarce, Carr said WEPAC and community members are now waiting to learn what it all means.

"This has not happened in New Brunswick before. This was a really big thing."

Work to protect the Crown lands on Shepody Mountain began in late summer when landowners became aware JD Irving had plans for a harvest cut on the mountain in the spring of 2020.

"We heard about the cut and we weren't quite sure what to do," said Carr.

Harvest plan prompts action

WEPAC obtained a copy of JDI's harvest plan which Carr said showed the extent of what was going to be cut on the mountain.

"That was a big concern and landowners, especially in that particular area, were concerned with what the impacts could be."

Carr said they also learned this harvest had been approved years before, but no one in the area was made aware of it.

Deborah Carr, a member of the Water and Environmental Protection for Albert County group said Shepody is a landmark mountain. (Contributed by Deborah Carr)

She added, while many wanted the mountain protected, there was no mechanism to increase the amount of conserved land before now.

But with an announcement by Holland in Oct. 2019 of a new federal/provincial initiative to increase conserved lands to 10 per cent before 2021, the group saw an opportunity to nominate Shepody Mountain as one of those areas.

While WEPAC was formed to fight against fracking in the area, the group stayed together after to provide education and advocacy on different issues affecting the environment.

"We decided rather than wait, we'd just jump in and figure it out as we went along," said Carr after WEPAC realized there was no process or guidelines to follow to submit the nomination.

Connection to mountain

"We pulled together what we thought were the highlights of Shepody and how meaningful it was."
Holland, who Carr said told them he was onside with the idea from the start, was invited to hear from local landowners at a meeting organized by WEPAC in December.

"We went around the room and everyone talked about what their connection to Shepody was and what their feelings were on Shepody. It was so moving to see people put into words this deep profound connection they have to this mountain."

While Carr said the group had a strong case for protecting the mountain in the nomination, she believes the tipping point was the support shown by the community.

"There's a very strong generational spiritual connection with this mountain.

"It's a very very special place. You can see it from as far away as Amherst. Shepody is a landmark mountain."

Carr said the threat of logging operations made many people in the community realize how much it meant to them.

"People stood up and just said 'we're not going to sit back and let this happen again'."

Deborah Carr said it was community support that helped secure Shepody Mountain's protection. (Contributed by Deborah Carr)

"There was a gentlemen there from the Nature Trust of New Brunswick and he said, you know, what just happened here tonight he said, this never happens. You know, you don't get what you asked for."

Carr is hopeful this is a precedent for future announcements of protection of provincial Crown lands.
"I'm hoping that this is a change in how we're viewing our forests, less as a commodity and more as the intrinsic value of the forests."

In a written statement, Holland said his government understands the importance of conserving natural areas as part of an overall approach to meeting forest and land management objectives.

"We are working to protect and conserve freshwater, forests and other wild spaces for future generations. We are committed to more than doubling the amount of protected and conserved land in our province, and I'm pleased that 700 hectares in the Shepody Mountain area will be protected."
Holland added there is a process to follow to get this area officially designated, but that work will be starting very soon.

"An important part of that process will be consultation with First Nations. In the meantime, no industrial work will be taking place in this area."

In an email, JDI spokesperson Mary Keith said the company recognized the importance of the mountain and the viewscape it offers.

"We respected the feedback we received and our foresters developed the 50 acre, low touch select harvest area that was designed to protect the viewscape on Shepody Mountain. It is important to note that our proposed harvesting plans for the viewscape area never involved any form of clear cutting and were designed to protect the mountain viewscape."

Keith continued, saying JDI respects Holland's decisions on how to 'achieve the Province's conservation targets and maintain the wood supply.'

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26 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.

David Raymond Amos
Methinks Holland blinked because it was in his backyard N'esy Pas?

David Raymond Amos
Methinks folks don't know what to think as they watch the circus these days N'esy Pas?

David Raymond Amos
Surprise Surprise Surprise

Methinks Minister Mikey sure knows how to keep our fellow Hillbillies Happy Happy Happy N'esy Pas?

Larry Larson:
There must be nothing Irving needs in the 700 hectares except the 20 they are allowed to destroy! Irving clear cutting needs to stop.

Paul Bourgoin

Reply to @Larry Larson: Money talks and politicians walk and some Run!

David Raymond Amos

Reply to @Larry Larson: Good Point

Matt Steele
The Higgs Govt. seems to be the first govt. in N.B. since the 1980s that has actually started to listen to what the public wants , and has acted on it .I remember back in the 1980s when former Liberal Premier Frank McKenna took all the Crown Land Leases away from the little guys , and gave them to Irving ; and McKenna just laughed when the little guy tried to protest . What a difference the PC govt. is making in how they are actually LISTENING to people . A job well done

Stephen Robertson

Reply to @Matt Steele: good point Matt!

Roy Nicholl

Reply to @Matt Steele:
The cynical question being, "would there be any listening if there was not a minority government?"

Larry Larson

Reply to @Roy Nicholl: Nope, that would be the realist's suggestion. Nothing cynical about it. The truth is never cynical.

Paul Bourgoin

Reply to @Matt Steele: Higgs does not walk on water but does what his financial supporter tells him what to do, and he does.

David Raymond Amos

Reply to @Larry Larson: Veritas Vincit

Kyle Woodman
Good way for Holland to secure votes. Every PC riding will get a PNA first.

Stephen Robertson

Reply to @Kyle Woodman: watch out for the con trail from the flying cows then!

Kyle Woodman

Reply to @Stephen Robertson: wut

David Raymond Amos

Reply to @Kyle Woodman: Methinks the Greens and their liberal cohorts would agree that Minister Mikey was trying to retain votes within his riding N'esy Pas?

Peter Demerchant
Love the line "low touch select harvest". That's great. I urge people to drive the shepody rd from RT 111 to the fundy park rd to see just how " low touch " jdi's forest practices are. But all and all good announcement.

David Raymond Amos

Reply to @Peter demerchant: Smoke and mirrors tis all

Justin Time
Good news! Would have been even better without the "BUT" to appease the masters.

David Raymond Amos

Reply to @Justin Time: But what would NB without the butt kissers?

David Raymond Amos Round 3

Saturday, 11 January 2020