'Truly backcountry' park proposed

People living in an area west of Charlottetown, home to a rerouting of the Trans-Canada Highway, are feeling hopeful a draft plan to protect hundreds of hectares of land will prevent future development.

The realignment of the highway at Bonshaw was subject to a lengthy protest. Protesters called the project unnecessary and environmentally damaging. The province said it was needed for safety reasons.

Monday night many of the protesters attended a public meeting to discuss a plan to protect the area around the highway. The Bonshaw Hills Public Lands Committee, struck by the provincial government, has released a draft plan for large parcels of Crown land acquired for the highway realignment.

One of the suggestions is to expand Strathgartney and Bonshaw provincial parks. At more than 150 hectares, it would be the province's largest provincial park.

"It has the potential to be the province's only wilderness park, because there is a lot of acreage there that are really truly backcountry wilderness area," said committee co-chair Todd Dupuis.

"There are no trails, there are no roads, there are no people and you can really get away from things, and you don't hear any roads or anybody."

Chris Ortenburger was one of the most vocal opponents to the highway realignment. While she's pleased there's a plan to protect the Bonshaw Hills, she is still disappointed the highway is going through.

"I don't think they've forgotten that the only reason that they're doing this is that they're trying to protect this land because it's going to be really close to a really big highway that was, perhaps, not a very wise government decision," said Ortenburger.

The committee is accepting feedback from the public throughout the month of June, and will then make a final recommendation to the province.

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