Submitted by Ed Woodsworth
Vision:
First let me state that I am a professional fly fishing guide operating in Cape Breton(http://www.cbflyfishing.com) and the resource is already so deeply and negatively impacted that it will take a long time to return it to historic levels.
My vision would have areas which are precious and imperative to biodiversity and wild life protected and improved upon. Forests are essential to this end and I would recommend forestry industries practice the strictest of protective regulations.
Mining is probably the most destructive of the industries and should only be done under specific circumstances which assure it will not negatively impact any special wildness areas or endangered or threatened species. They should also adhere to the strictest of protective regulations.
The National and provincial parks system is fantastic in that it provides some protection to specific area's. Imagine if the planet earth were a national park!!
Strengths:
We need to work together. Period. Jobs and money are what these industries provide which is unfortunately essential in the modern world. Wilderness is essential as well.
Barriers and Issues:
I would imagine their biggest barrier would be people, communities, organizations, like me who want to see wilderness and wildlife protected and not further negatively impacted upon.
Community's Priorities:
To ensure we all work together to a complimentary end.
Guiding the health and sustainability:
Eco-tourism is one of the biggest industries in Cape Breton right now and we should cultivate that. Let's work with what is naturally here already. It should be easy to enhance that as long as we stop destroying it.
Additional Comments:
In a nutshell I love being in and communing with nature. The health of fish habitat in Cape Breton is essential to my livelihood. Wild areas are becoming rare in the modern world and one day there will be regret at not protecting them better.