Golf course developers eye part of provincial park in Cape Breton for second time

Emily Latimer CBC News - Oct. 24, 2022 Full article published here

West Mabou Beach Committee previously stopped a similar proposal in 2018

Some residents in Mabou, N.S., are disappointed that developers behind the world-renowned Cabot Cliffs and Cabot Links golf courses are trying for a second time to put an 18-hole golf course on part of the West Mabou Beach Provincial Park.

... 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.

Nadine Hunt is the chair of the West Mabou Beach Committee, a volunteer group that got provincial park designation for the beach in 2001.

Four years ago, Hunt fought to bar the developers from moving forward with their plans. She thought this issue was in the past.

"To try to open up old wounds within the community, it's really unforgivable," she said. "It shouldn't be happening. It should not be happening."

Hunt said the new proposal shows the potential course taking over the most environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas of the park.

"[They're] talking about actually putting a golf course on sand dunes and in salt marsh areas," she said. "This proposal should be nipped in the bud immediately. It makes absolutely no sense."

Read the full article here.