Government gets a C for environment stewardship

WINNIPEG — The Selinger government gets a C for environment stewardship and that’s a good grade, according to Manitoba Wildlands.

The 2009 grade reflects steps taken late in 2009 to establish some new protected areas, two of which are of moderate size, the environment lobby group says.

Those areas work out to 407,500 hectares. The largest area is Kaskatamagan Wildlife Management Area on Hudson Bay. The smallest newly protected area is the Whitemouth Bog Wildlife Management Area east of Winnipeg.

The technical assessment for this year, which includes bonus and penalty actions, shows improvement, but there is a lot of catching up to do,” commented Gaile Whelan Enns, director of Manitoba Wildlands.