Public Lands
Crown Land is also referred to as Public Land, and as the name 'Public' suggests, it is land owned by the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador and held in trust by the government. It belongs to all of us equally. It belongs to every man, woman and child in our province. Together we own about 385,000 square kilometres of land in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Some patches of Public Land like Terra Nova National Park and Butterpot Provincial Park are familiar to many Newfoundland and Labradorians. Other patches like the hotspots which the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Lands Coalition would like to see protected, may not be so familiar. A very general description of our Crown Land is that it possesses great ecological diversity, and wonderful recreational opportunities. Its future, however, is threatened by exploitive activities like industrial forestry, mining and other forms of land development.
The NLPLC believes that more of our publicly owned Crown Land should be protected - set aside for nature and its ecological functions and people who love the great outdoors.
Crown Land accounts for approximately 95 % of Newfoundland and Labrador's total land area. Although Newfoundland and Labrador citizens are the owners of this land, it is held in trust by the Provincial and Federal governments, who act as the managers for it. The Provincial and Federal Governments have legally protected approximately 4.5% of Newfoundland and Labrador, through the establishment of National and Provincial Parks, Wilderness Reserves/Areas and Special Places (nature reserves) on Crown Land. This leaves about 91% of our publicly owned land available for mining, forestry, development and protection.
