Agricultural Marshland Conservation Act Introduced

AGRICULTURE/FISHERIES--Agricultural Marshland Conservation Act Introduced

New legislation to conserve 300-year-old dyked marshlands for agricultural purposes was introduced today by Ernest Fage, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The Agricultural Marshland Conservation Act replaces the Marshland Reclamation Act of 1949. The new act focuses on conserving the current level of dykelands and limiting non- agricultural development, not on developing new marshland.

"Dyked marshlands are among the most fertile farm land in the province," said Mr. Fage. "It is important to the future growth of agriculture in Nova Scotia that these marshlands be maintained for farming purposes.

"By limiting non-agricultural development, we are also decreasing the chance of flood damage to commercial and residential structures built on marshlands, which can flood during severe storms and high tides."

The act deals only with dyked marshlands, not upland or natural non-dyked marshlands. Mr Fage noted that this new legislation is consistent with statements of provincial interest regarding agricultural land and flood risk areas in the Municipal Government Act.

Major provisions include:

• no development can be carried out on a marshland without a
  permit
• exceptions include normal farm practices that do not require
  the building of a structure and development to repair or to
  protect marshland
• developments that were started or that had all the necessary
  permits before Nov. 7 are excluded

This legislation was requested by the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, the Marshland Reclamation Commission and several provincial marsh bodies. Marsh bodies are groups of marshland owners that oversee the management of marshlands. There are 88 marsh bodies in the province. The main marshland areas in the province are in the counties of Kings, Hants, Cumberland, Colchester, Annapolis, Yarmouth, and Digby and the District of Clare.

The Acadians created dyked marshlands in the 1700s to reclaim fertile land from the sea for farming. The province now has 17,000 hectares of marshland. They are protected by 240 kilometres of dykeland structures, which are maintained by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The department will hold information sessions across the province on the new legislation over the next two weeks. Radio and newspaper ads will notify communities of local meetings.