Winnipeg,Manitoba-The Manitoba Government announced today that 700 new cottage lots are available for lease or sale in our province. A cottage represents the largest ecological imprint that an individual makes in a park or wilderness area.
While it appears that the lots available this spring are restricted, for the most part, to already developed areas, the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS Manitoba) is concerned by the prospect of cottage sprawl happening, similar to urban sprawl. As existing cottage areas expand to capacity and the demand for lakefront properties continues to grow, it creates the prospect of more cottage subdivisions and additional lakes being opened up to cottages, spreading development over an increasingly wider area of our parks and wilderness areas.
“We had understood there would be open houses held for public discussion before the cottage program was established,” notes Krista Scott, executive director for CPAWS Manitoba. “We are disappointed this didn’t happen given that our parks and lakes belong to all Manitobans. We certainly hope public open houses will take place before the next round of cottage lot selections.”