Awards Recognize Marine Habitat Protection
A Nova Scotia town and a university professor are among the individuals and groups honoured today, Jan. 11, for their efforts to protect marine habitat in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine.
Environment and Labour Minister Kerry Morash presented recognition awards in Wolfville.
"Countless Nova Scotians and others help protect our beautiful Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine, and the life they support," said Mr. Morash. "I thank our award recipients and others for their dedication, and encourage more Nova Scotians to get involved."
Anita MacLellan of Economy, Colchester Co., received the Nova Scotia Bay of Fundy Environmental Education and Awareness Award. Ms. MacLellan led the development of 30 kilometres of coastal and wilderness hiking trails in the Kenomee system. She launched the annual Economy Clam Festival and helped save lighthouses along the Minas Basin.
The Town of Annapolis Royal received the Nova Scotia Bay of Fundy Business Partnership Award. Members of the town worked with a number of organizations to construct a wetland as a habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife. The wetland will replace chlorination as the last step in treating municipal waste water before it is released into the Annapolis River. The project also includes a walking trail for nature education and outdoor recreation.
Sherman Bleakney received Nova Scotia's Gulf of Maine Visionary Individual Award. It recognizes his work over the past 50 years as a zoologist, marine biologist, historian, writer and professor at Acadia University in Wolfville. He authored many textbooks and papers on the plants and wildlife in the Bay of Fundy region. He also discovered a 3,800-year old bed of preserved oysters in the Minas Basin.
The Friends of the Cornwallis River Society received Nova Scotia's Gulf of Maine Visionary Group Award. It recognizes the group's efforts to restore and protect the river as a habitat for fish. The group has developed a fisheries management plan for the river. It has also worked with several organizations to improve the river's banks, encourage the creation of new wetlands and teach children about fish and their habitats in Kings County.
"With these awards, we're recognizing that groups and individuals are making progress in the conservation of marine life and are improving coastal communities," said Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Chris d'Entremont. "Their work benefits us all." Don Bade is the recipient of this year's Art Longard Award. Mr. Bade is president of the Parker River Clean Water Association in Massachusetts. The award recognizes his leadership, engagement of his community and local school projects. Art Longard was a long- time employee of the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. He dedicated countless volunteer hours to the conservation of marine life in the Gulf of Maine.
The Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment was established in 1989 by the governments of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine to foster co- operation in the gulf watershed. The council's mission is to maintain and enhance environmental quality in the gulf and to ensure that existing and future generations use the resource in a sustainable way.