Environmental Issues

I'm shivering in snow and slush six inches deep in a secluded paddock at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, shuffling from foot to foot in the raw cold of a damp December morning. I'm watching as Dr. Scott McBurney, a wildlife pathologist from the Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Health Centre in Charlottetown, with Dr. Art Ortenburger and his team of technicians and staff from the wildlife park, try again and again to extract a sample of spinal fluid from the neck of the unconscious moose laid out in the snow.

The Highlands of Cape Breton has abundant moose for the taking-for now-and a maze of getaway roads. One NS DNR enforcement officer talked to EW&W about his work in the Highlands.
"They [the moose] are getting hammered in the one area basically [Hunter's Mountain], Park Spur Road area and Cheticamp Lake, northern… they're getting a whack at the odd one all over but that's where they concentrate. Farther north, mostly.

In February of 2001, a tripartite process-the "Made in Nova Scotia" process-was initiated between government and native communities, preparatory to dealing with a broad range of aboriginal issues; among these is the task of sorting out the long-term ramifications of the Marshall decision.

Once a month, retired wildlife biologist Don Dodds heads to Rosie's Restaurant in downtown Kentville, NS, for a get-together with friends and former colleagues. Over a glass or two of cold beer, the men update each other on local news, tell a few jokes, discuss conservation and, for the sake of the other patrons, try not to get too rambunctious.