The Chitek Lake and Poplar/Nanowin Rivers park reserves have received a five year extension of their protection from industrial developments. A park reserve is an area placed in interim protection while a decision making process ensues to determine a permanent designation. The park reserve process obligates the province to consult with local communities and receive input from industrial stakeholders and Manitoba citizens.
The province has been shamefully slow at moving park reserves’ processes forward. Over the last decade, we have witnessed the extension of the majority of Manitoba’s park reserves’ deadlines due to the Manitoba government’s failure to take the steps necessary to complete the job. CPAWS encourages the province to deal with this issue by allocating the human and other resources required to establish protected areas in our wilderness regions.
For more detail and maps of the Chitek Lake and Poplar/Nanowin Rivers park reserves, please visit: http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/parks/public_consult/index.html