Protecting and restoring the health of our forests, lakes and rivers is essential if we and our children and grandchildren are to have sustainable economies and a chance at living long and healthy lives.

To its credit, the Houston government is standing by its commitment to protect 15 per cent of Nova Scotia’s lands and waters by 2026, and 20 per cent by 2030. Meeting those targets is going to take a concerted effort by the departments charged with making it happen: the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environment and Climate Change. Ministerial letters assure us they are working together towards this goal, but are they?

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The 3,900 hectares of the proposed Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area is an ideal candidate for protection. Goldsmith Lake – a pristine lake, never dammed, with native trout and no cottage development – is ringed with stands of old-growth forest, some with trees over 300 years old.

So far DNR has recognized 21 stands, with more in the works. Citizen scientists have documented 111 species at risk occurrences in the proposed wilderness, 90 of them specifically associated with old forests. In a province where less than one per cent of our forests are old growth, the whole Goldsmith Lake area is a treasure.

The Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area meets all the criteria laid out in the Collaborative Protected Areas Strategy. Not only does it have........

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