The studies listed add to the Ecological, Recreational and Cultural knowledge of the area. We did not do a complete article search. This list is compiled from information we had at hand.
1971, Natural Environment Survey: A Description of the intrinsic Values in the Natural Environment Around Greater Halifax-Dartmouth. Dean P. and D. Lister, Canadian Wildlife Service, Dept. of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Dept. of Fisheries and Forestry. Identified 7 important natural areas to preserve in Greater Halifax-Dartmouth. http://sandylake.org/1971-pb-dean-environment-report/
1971, MAPC (Metro Area Planning Committee) Recreation Work Group Report. Proposed 7 Regional Parks for Hfx-Dartmouth. (McNab Island, Long Lake, Chain Lake watershed, Hemlock Ravine, Marsh and Sandy Lakes, Sackville Flood Plain, Admiral Cove, Lake Williams & Lake Charles canal complex, Cole Harbour. http://sandylake.org/1971-mapc-recreation-report-on-7-regional-parks/
1972, MAPC Water Quality Survey for Selected Metropolitan Lakes. Description, lake and water quality. 1973, Natural Land Capability: Halifax-Dartmouth Metro Area. NS. Dept of Municipal Affairs.
1974, Ecological Reserves in the Maritimes: Region 7: NS. NB. PEI. Halifax. Canadian Committee for the International Biological Programme – Conservation Terrestrial Communities Subcommittee.
1975 Halifax-Dartmouth Regional Development Plan defines and separates regional parks and development areas, including the 7 proposed regional parks.
1979, July, Hfx Dart MAPC Regional Parks Report, by Parks Advisory Group, identifies 7 proposed Regional Parks – the same as in 1971 but with more detail and Marsh and Sandy Lakes, Sackville Flood Plain park name changed to Sackville River Regional Park. It includes Sandy, Marsh and Sackville River corridor as before, but with a protective buffer around the area. The boundaries and conceptual maps contain half of Jack Lake as part of the buffer area. https://sandylake.org/wp- content/uploads/2018/02/1979-Halifax-Dartmouth-Regional-Parks-Full-Report.pdf.
1982 Bedford Zoning Bylaws created to protect land around particularly Sandy Lake from development 1983, Water quality study of Sandy Lake and Bedford Town. Detailed Area Study of Sandy Lake area.
1984, Natural History of Nova Scotia. Simmons, L. et. al. NS Department of Education and Department of Natural Resources.
1984, An Experiment On The Feasibility Of Rehabilitating Acidified Atlantic Salmon Habitat In Nova Scotia By The Addition Of Lime. W.J. White, W.D. Watt, C.D.Scott, Department of Fisheries and Oceans. (At a time when the entire southern end of the province was losing fish because of acid rain from the US northeast, the scientists dumped industrial levels of limestone into the lake to learn about adjusting pH.)
1986, Jack Lake Environmental Evaluation Final Report. CMHC and NS Dept. of Housing. Contains a detailed environmental assessment. http://sandylake.org/document-gallery/
1986, Canadian Wildlife Service, NS Wetlands Atlas. Environment Canada.
1988, Sackville River Historical Research- Environmental Planning V, NS. Coakley, M., College of Art and Design, Halifax.
1988, Main Sackville River Watershed Project. Koenig, M., Environmental Planning, NSCAD.
1989, A Draft inter-Municipal Planning Strategy for the management of the Sackville River Basin.
Environment Planning Studio IV, NS College of Art and Design, Halifax.
1989, The Scenic resources of Nova Scotia: A Macro-Scale Landscape Assessment. Millward, H. and Dawn Allen, Dept. of Geography, Halifax.
1990, April 23, Reconvened session Bedford Town Council: Recreation Advisory Commission requests
“environmental study of the sandy Lake watershed area” before use of the Bluewater Lot is developed.
1990, Assessment of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.)Habitat in the Sackville River, NS, 1986, Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences No. 2059. Cameron, J.D., Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Halifax.
1990, Correspondence and reports from the Sandy Lake Area Residents association with the Bedford Water Advisory Committee, Feb. 25.
1992, A Quiet Place in the white Man’s world. Edwards, T., Bedford Magazine, October, p.6. 1993, Hammonds Plains the First 100 Years. Evans, Dorothy Bezanson, Bounty Print Ltd.
1993, Summary: Parks and Protected Areas Systems Planning. Lynds, A., Nova Scotia Dept. of Natural Resources.
1994, Towards the Identification of Environmentally Sensitive Areas for Environmental Management: A Case Study in the Sackville River Watershed, Nova Scotia. Rhea D. Mahar thesis. Sandy Lake is rated as the second most valuable Environmentally Sensitive Area between Bedford Basin and Mt Uniacke. Old Quarry Corridor of the Sackville River is third. https://smu.ca/academics/departments/rhea-d- mahar.html
1994, Field Surveys. Mahar, RD.
1995, Sandy Lake Vegetation Survey and Trail Design, for the Town of Bedford to aid in and complete the trail design and layout for the area. Basic Elements Ecological Enterprises.
2000, Bedford Barrens Petroglyphs. https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/about-the- city/archives/709.6113BTownOfBedfordPetroglyphAdvisoryCommittee1992_0.pdf
2001, Environmental Inventory of Sandy Lake, Marsh Lake and Jack Lake. DalTech and NSCAD Environmental Planning: This was a study of the environmental attributes of the Sandy Lake, Marsh Lake, Jack Lake area “that impact water quality, to analyze the information, and to develop a synthesis of this knowledge to understand how to maintain water quality in the valued habitats of wetlands and watercourses.”p.ii https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/faculty/architecture-planning/school- of-planning/pdfs/studentwork/SandyLake/environment01.pdf
2001, February, Sandy Lake Park Environmental Review. EDM Consultation Report
2002, Issues of Urban and Rural Fringe. DalTech and NSCAD Environmental Planning: This study based on Sandy Lake, Bedford, had three objectives: “1. To review and document the pressures for growth in the urban/rural fringe locally and nationally, and to consider the key approaches being used to respond.
2) To examine demographic and economic trends in the urban/rural fringe of HRM. 3) To examine land use and transportation patterns on the urban/rural fringe of HRM.” P.1 This and the next 3 articles are available at: http://sandylake.org/2002-daltech-and-nscad-reports/
2002, Sandy Lake Community Profile. DalTech and NSCAD Environmental Planning: This study explored the impacts of development on a community located on the urban fringe. It researched urban growth pressures, demographics, land us patterns (both historical and current), transportation patterns, and community perceptions of the landscape of Sandy Lake, Jack Lake, and Marsh Lake area.
2002, A Water Quality Analysis. DalTech and NSCAD Environmental Planning: This report, created by senior Environmental Engineering students from Dalhousie University in 2001-02, involves the examination of Sandy Lake and surrounding area creation of baseline data including dissolved oxygen, pH, total suspended solids, a bathymetric map of the lake, total and fecal coliform, as well as other water quality parameters.
2002, Suggestions for managing Development, DalTech and NSCAD Environmental Planning: This study integrates the information found in the Urban Fringe document and examines the outcomes of different types of development and consequences of each on the Sandy Lake area.
2002, Policy Review and Recommendations, DalTech and NSCAD Environmental Planning. (This document is missing.)
2004 Bedford West development Subwatershed Management Plan. Contains ecological information on the Sandy Lake area.
2014, October, Sandy Lake Conservation Association Response to AECOM report, to accompany the August 2014 AECOM Sandy Lake Watershed Study (both were posted on the HRM website) www.sandylake.org
2015, August, The Off-site Parkland Dedication Request contains a Conceptual Map for acquiring 160 acres of watershed west of Marsh Lake and the city’s rationale for acquiring watershed west of Sandy and Marsh Lakes. http://legacycontent.halifax.ca/council/agendasc/documents/150804ca1114.pdf
2016, Bedford Land Use Bylaw – 1983, 5 acres on public road is an ongoing bylaw. Also, archaeological sites identified on lands west of Sandy Lake, Jack Lake, tributaries, and Sackville River.
2017 & 2018 breeding seasons, Species of interest to Federal and Provincial conservation bodies observed on surveys conducted on the lake areas of the proposed Sandy Lake-Sackville River Regional Park lands, by Clarence Stevens.
2017 – ongoing, Compiled Species List for Sandy Lake and Environs, in Sandy Lake Conservation Association and Sackville Rivers Association submission to the Halifax Green Network Plan implementation public process 2017; revised October 2019
2016 – ongoing, A natural history perspective of the forests, wetlands and surface waters of Sandy Lake (Bedford) & Environs www.sandylakebedford.ca
June, 2018, HRM Flooding Study (National Disaster Mitigation Program) Base of Bluewater Road is one of three areas listed as needing mitigation for significant flooding.
August 14, 2018 Halifax Green Network Plan is passed unanimously by Halifax City Council. SL-SR have 3 important corridors at the pinch point of the Chebucto Peninsula, and Sandy Lake is a large sub- watershed of the Sackville River Watershed, which is one of the five major natural corridors in HRM.
August, 2018 Sackville River Floodplain Study Phase 2. The city must not be planning to develop Sandy Lake area for 100 years because it was not included in the scope of this study.
2019 – ongoing, Water quality regular testing, deep lake readings and surface waters, including tributaries.
2019, Sandy Lake-Sackville River area’s old growth Ash trees are to be included in a new undergraduate honours study on Ash tree vulnerability in the urban forest.
2020, January, Sandy Lake – Sackville River Regional Park Planning Vision.
2020, March, Avian and Species at Risk Surveys of the proposed Sandy Lake-Sackville River Regional Park, Natural Wonders Consulting Firm.