The provincial environment department has released a proposal to develop the long dormant Holyrood Pond Provincial Park into an RV ground and day park from further environmental assessment.
But the developers, Frank Tobin and Rennie Tobin, must uphold all commitments made in their environmental assessment submission, said the Minister Bernard Davis.
Some of those commitments include that near waterbodies, slopes with a grade of less than 30 per cent must have a minimum 30 metre naturally vegetated buffer zone and that no activities involving grubbing, ground or soil disturbance, or timber harvesting will take place in those zones.
For slopes greater than 30 percent, the buffer zones have to be larger with similar prohibitions against the land use activities outlined above.
No vegetation clearing is to occur within 800 metres of a bald eagle or osprey nest during the nesting season of March 15 to July 31, according to the department, nor within 200 metres during the rest of the year. The 200-metre buffer also applies to all other raptor nests including those of the Northern Goshawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, American Kestrel, Great-horned Owl, Boreal Owl, and Northern Saw-whet Owl. The location of any raptor nest sites must be reported to the Wildlife Division.
The proponents are also required to update the Province’s Environmental Assessment Division on the status of the project, and provide copies of all permits, licences, certificates, approvals and other authorizations within one year from the date of the final approval of the venture, and to provide additional updates, if requested.
