RAILS TO TRAILS GROUP ACTIVE by Diane Griffin 
     
    
   
   
    
     Now that the province has lost its 
     
     appeal to the Supreme Court against the g a 
     
     abandonment of rail lines on Prince C:::)§ C:::é 
     
     Edward Island, everyone seems to have C§__= 
     
     accepted the fact that trains will never ‘\4F Citjli c:::f 
     
     run again on the Island. CM is arranging 
     
     a contact to have last of the rails and 
     
     ties removed. 
     
    

    
     While we may all grieve that an important part of our cultural heritage 
     
     has been lost (the railway is what forced P.E.I. into Confederation), there is 
     
     a potential silver lining in this cloud. He will never again have such an 
     
     opportunity to establish recreational corridors from one end of the province to 
     
     the other. These multi-use trails would not only provide recreation for 
     
     Islanders, they would attract tourists, especially Europeans who are looking 
     
     for cycling and hiking vacations. This is an opportunity to benefit the tourism 
     
     industry Island wide in the "shoulder" season. While support has come from many 
     
     Islanders with a wide variety of interests, the proposal has not been without 
     
     detractors, especially some landowners living adjacent to the railway who want 
     
     the provincial government to turn the land over to them. 
     
    

    
     A "Rails to Trails“ chapter has been formed on the Island to study the 
     
     situation and act as an advocacy group. Don Deacon of Charlottetown is the 
     
     chairman of this active group. However, just because this group has been formed 
     
     and is actively presenting compelling arguments, the rest of us should not sit 
     
     back and assume all is well and that their advice will be heeded by government. 
     
    

    
     There are two things you can do. The first is to send your $10.00 
     
     membership fee to Rails to Trails, 53 Grafton Street, Charlottetown, P.E.I. CIA 
     
     8C1. The second is to write to Premier Joseph Ghiz (P.0. Box 2000, 
     
     Charlottetown, P.E.I. CIA 7N8) and express your support for turning the railway 
     
     into a multi-use trail. 
     
    
   
   
    
     FOREST PHOTOS ANYONE? 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Department of Energy and Forestry and the Canadian Forestry 
     
     Association have combined their efforts with sponsorship from Fugi Film Canada 
     
     to promote the "Picture Canada's Forests" contest for amateur photographers. 
     
     Contestants may enter colour slides or 8 X 10 unmatted, unframed colour prints 
     
     in any or all of the four categories, namely, forest management, forest 
     
     recreation, wildlife in the forest, and forest landscape. The prizes include a 
     
     Fuji DL-60 camera for each category on the provincial level and even greater 
     
     prizes on the national level. 
     
    

    
     If you are interested, please contact the Department of Energy and 
     
     Forestry at 368-4700 for details on submission of entries. Good Luck! 
     
    
   
   
    
     LDIG POINT BIRD OBSERVATORY IEHS Spring Newsletter Excerpts 
     
    
   
   
    
     ,. For those of you who are not familiar 
     
     /”"'"““ with the Long Point Bird Observatory or 
     
     “$"'"" LPBO, it is an independent research 
     
     institute which fosters and promotes 
     
     investigative studies, appreciation and 
     
     conservation of birds and other aspects of 
     
     the ecology and natural history of the 
     
    
   
   
    
          
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
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