At the dedication ceremony for the Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserve, Save Crow’s Nest members distributed a press release to media representatives and people attending the ceremony.  The text is reproduced below.

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DESPITE SOME LAND ACQUISITION, CROW’S NEST STILL ENDANGERED

The land acquisition commemorated in today’s ceremony will protect a part of Crow’s Nest.  But Crow’s Nest will not be “saved” until the entire peninsula is protected.  The current land acquisition leaves 60% of the peninsula endangered by development.

Development plans for Crow’s Nest are moving forward:

• Stafford Lakes LP (the property owner) has declared their intent to submit construction plans for Crow’s Nest Harbour.
• Backhoes and other equipment continue to be used on other parts of Crow’s Nest for pre-development activities.
• Additional locked gates have been erected in the areas of the pre-development activities.
• And a proposed new road that ends precisely at the Crow’s Nest property could further facilitate development there.

We should not forget that development has already occurred on hundreds of acres of land that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had sought to include in the original plan for a natural wildlife refuge.  The Poplar Hills subdivisions on Brooke Road were built on land that had been earmarked for protection.  Just last month, construction for a new phase of that development project was started.

Today’s ceremony marks a step forward, but much remains to be done before Crow’s Nest can be considered truly saved.

There are three different portions of the Crow’s Nest peninsula to be considered

• Parcel “A” is in two parts and covers 1720 acres (tinted green on the map above)
• Parcel “B” covers 1167 acres (yellow on the map)
• Crow’s Nest Harbour and the area just west covers about 1,120 acres (red on the map)

This deal guarantees purchase only of parcel “A” (green)–about 40% of the peninsula–for $19 million.  It has an option, but does not guarantee, purchase of Parcel “B” (yellow), for $16 million.  It does NOT cover the Crow’s Nest Harbour and nearby lots (red).