Nova Scotians have until Thursday to respond to a proposed 70-hectare clear cut on Crown land at St. Margaret's Bay near Halifax.

An unidentified company has applied to the Department of Natural Resources for a clear cut harvest on three parcels of provincial land near a 1.6 kilometre connector road from Highway 103 into Trunk 3 at Ingramport. The road is under construction.

The plan came as a complete surprise to Ingramport resident Leslie Ann Stephen who lives near one of the areas proposed for clear cutting.

"I'm concerned where run off will go if there's not a root structure to support it. I would be concerned about wells. I would be concerned about loss of wildlife habitat," Stephen says.

The St. Margaret's Bay Stewardship Association says a clear cut will damage a valuable greenbelt.

"This goes right alongside the Ingram River which is the major nutrient pump for St., Margaret's Bay," says Geoff LeBoutllier who founded the stewardship association.

"We want to establish land that is being harvested responsibly and in concert with the community not in opposition to them or running roughshod over them."

LeBoutllier claims the clear cut plan blind sided the community.

"We hear about it in a tweet last Friday. We have until Thursday to respond. This is crazy," he says.

Plans public long ago, says department.

The Department of Natural Resources says it notified the public it was considering harvesting last fall, when it posted individual parcels on its website. The McNeil Government is the first to post crown land harvest allocations publicly.

"All were reposted Jan 12, following a pre-treatment assessment, as a clear cut harvest.

"The opportunity for the public to comment was extended to Jan. 22," said DNR spokesperson Bruce Nunn in an e-mail to CBC.

"The decision on the type of harvest method will include the public input received."

Input received will be considered in reaching a final decision," he said.

In Ingramport Stephen wonders if the clear cut is the first step towards commercial development of the land surrounding the $16-m connector which is expected to be completed this fall.

"I would be concerned about how much development this little area can support when you already have everybody on septic and dug or drilled wells."

The department says the proposed clear cut harvest has nothing to do with the connector road.