Some Kentville residents hope a road that threatened old-growth forest will be rerouted

A resident of Kentville, N.S., who was concerned that the town's plans for a future connector road to support the construction of new housing would result in the destruction of old-growth forest on his property is hopeful that the road can be rerouted. 

As a child, Ron Cousins spent his days playing in his family's woodlot, on the edge of the town; as an adult, he cut trees selectively from the forest. 

Over time, he said he came to recognize the forest was special — especially the forest on the furthest edge of the 10.5-hectare property, with its towering oaks and massive yellow birch.

"This really is priceless," Cousins said.

Last year, the Town of Kentville told Cousins it required nearly half a hectare of the land on that edge of his property to expand an existing service road into a connector road for new development — and that it would expropriate the land if necessary.

But after months of campaigning by Cousins and his advocates — attending council meetings, contacting politicians, and launching petitions — the town is considering other routes, a change Cousins hopes will mean permanent protection for the forest. 

"They said it's the only way around," he said. "They were determined to cut it and I want to save it. If we have to take expropriation, I won't take any money for it — whether it's a big amount or a little amount, I won't accept it."

'I'll never sell the woodlot'

Cousins's family has owned the land on School Street for eight decades. When Cousins, 77, was caring for his mother before she died, he said she asked him what he intended to do with the property; he told her that he intended to keep the forest.

"I said if I have to I'll sell the house, but I'll never sell the woodlot," he said. "I definitely don't want to part with it."

But last year, Cousins heard that the town planned to open up the land adjoining his property to residential and commercial development, and noticed that the proposed road appeared to run through his land. 

Then, in May 2023, he received a letter from Kentville's director of engineering and public works stating that the town was planning a connector road over a portion of the property. While it was the town's intention to find "mutually agreeable arrangements," the letter said, the land would be expropriated with compensation, if required.

For months, Cousins attempted  to get an answer from the town about their plans.

Recently, the land on the opposite side of the service road bordering the old-growth forest on Cousins's property was put up for sale. When he proposed the town buy that land as an alternative route, he said he received no response.

Several trees on his property are hundreds of years old, he said, including a hemlock that's at least 218 years old and a yellow birch that naturalists have said may be the largest in the province.

"We may need houses, but we also need to help protect the environment."

John Burka, secretary of the Blomidon Naturalists Society, said clearing the forest didn't make sense given the area's environmental targets.

"It's law, in effect, that 20 per cent of Kings County should be protected by 2030, and we're only about 14 per cent," he said. "We think any destruction of forest that is not necessary should be looked at."

There's no reason why the future connector road can't curve around Cousins's property, he said.

"It's just being done for convenience's sake."

Concerns about potential flooding

For some Kentville residents, a plan that would see trees removed in the forest, which is uphill from the town, at a time when the area is experiencing increasing flooding is a concern.

The forest naturally absorbs water, said Garry Randall, Cousins's neighbour, who has also been advocating against expropriation of the land.

Already, Randall said he sees increased flooding in his home, which is downhill from the forest, after the first service road was built along Cousins's property.

"Once they clear this out, I should be moving out [of Kentville], to be honest with you, before I get flooded, if I were that type of person," Randall said.

Town official said road was 'critical'

Kentville CAO Jeff Lawrence declined an initial request for an interview, but said in a release that the road is "a critical piece of infrastructure that is key to opening up hundreds of hectares of land for housing and development within the Town of Kentville."

The release also said  the road is a piece of infrastructure that will direct stormwater to management areas, and that the concerns about stormwater and the housing crisis have made it more important to complete the road.

Nonetheless, the statement said the local municipal council is aware of the Cousins family's attachment to the land, and is reviewing and considering "all reasonable and financially feasible pathways" for the road.

Then, in August, Cousins says he received a call from the real estate consulting firm Turner Drake about assessing his land for sale. At the next council meeting, Cousins stood up and said he wouldn't sell his land under any circumstances. 

Shortly after that, council gave direction to the town to pursue a different route for the road that would not require expropriating land. 

Lawrence did not respond to CBC's request for a followup interview. 

Cousins and his allies are still waiting for confirmation, but are hopeful.

Still, Randall says the experience has been stressful. "Every morning [when] I wake up, I think about what [we can] do to better Ron's position."

But Randall says the experience is a testament to the fact that ordinary citizens can advocate for what's important to them, and participate in local politics.

"Ron's little forest is not just ... a little piece of land. It's unique. And someday the real value of what that is may come out, even more than what we realize."

Cousins said he won't rest until the alternative route is confirmed, and not just for his benefit. 

In his will, Cousins, who has no children, has left the property to his niece, with instructions that she give it to a nature trust.

"I've seen lots of people say, 'Oh, I'd love to have your woodlot,'" Cousins said. "They'd have it so they could sell it and make some money, and [my niece] is not like that, and I'm not like that. I don't want the money."

Whatever it takes, he says he's determined to save the trees. "I wouldn't give up, not ever," he says. "You can't replace them."