Wetland Ecosystem Services Protocol (WESP) Report 2020
In August 2020 Ducks Unlimited Canada published their report regarding the wetlands on the Church of Christ Development lands adjacent to the Shaw Wilderness Park on the shores of Williams Lake.
While the WESP report is technical in nature, it summarizes the benefits of these wetlands to Williams Lake and Colpitt Lake (highlighted area). Although the area studied is small, the report gives a sense of the importance of the other wetlands in the Colpitt and Williams Lake watershed, much of which lies within the protected boundaries of the Shaw Wilderness Park.
Background
In 2020 these lands were put on the market for development by the owners, The Church of Christ Development Ltd. A large parcel was zoned Urban Reserve for future development, but the WLCC and the Backlands Coalition felt strongly that any development on the other parcels would negatively impact the watershed and environment of Williams Lake. Halifax Regional Municipality took action to review the possibility of rezoning those parcels as Urban Reserve as well. The owners subsequently took the land off the market. However, the WLCC and Backlands Coalition would like to see the entire area protected from development. Halifax Regional Municipality undertook to review the zoning of the lands. For more on this, see this post from June 2020.
[To download the PDF of this report click here.]