Guest blog post by volunteer Kati Nagy
Manitoba is my home. I grew up thinking that Winnipeg and the southern part of the province was farmland for a long time. Images of settlers in a distant past Laura Ingalls style came to mind, creating this farmland. Perhaps you were like me, shocked to realize that an entire ecosystem had been thriving here for eons before this land was converted into farms.
Alex Martin, an 18-year-old kayaker from Winnipeg who is graduating from high school this June, is attempting to circumnavigate the entire shoreline of Lake Winnipeg by kayak – a 1,750 km trip that he will be attempting solo which will take approximately two months to complete.
Add your voice to the campaign to protect nature in Turtle Mountain and Duck Mountain provincial parks from industrial activities such as logging, mining, and oil/gas extraction.
The province is requesting your input by April 1 on their proposal to renew the protected status of Amisk Park Reserve. Without expressed support for continued protection, Amisk may once again be open for industrial resource activities that would impact the area’s pristine natural state.
The province will create a $102-million Conservation Trust Fund intended to support the goals and objectives of our provincial climate strategy, particularly those related to conserving ecosystems and using natural solutions — such as restoring wetlands — to improve water quality.
The Winnipeg Free Press deserves high praise for its comprehensive coverage of the federal budget and what it means to Canadians, which includes conserving our incredible diversity of natural landscapes and wildlife. As reported, the federal budget allocates 1.3 billion dollars over 5 years “to expand protected areas and help endangered and threatened species — a move that reflects its pledge to safeguard at least 17 per cent of Canada’s land and inland waters by 2020.” What does this mean for Manitoba?
These initiatives demonstrate that our provincial government has the know-how to become a leader in Canada in the conservation and stewardship of wetlands. The test will be in how this knowledge is implemented on the ground. I look forward to the new legislation and to the boreal conservation policy for wetlands, and sincerely hope they result in effective conservation of this valuable resource.
Conservation of vast complexes of undisturbed boreal wetlands and forests needs to be top priority because if the carbon they hold is disturbed and released into the atmosphere, it would accelerate climate change. These complexes are also critical as natural flood mitigation infrastructure necessary for adapting to the impacts of a changing climate.
As of this month, the province of Manitoba has received over 21,000 petitions and letters collected in the province that call for stronger efforts to protect and recover threatened boreal woodland caribou. The correspondences, facilitated by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), were delivered in advance of yesterday’s federal deadline for provinces and territories to outline recovery actions for woodland caribou ranges.
I remember the moment when my heart felt what my mind already knew: our beloved Lake Winnipeg is in big trouble. This sad feeling was sparked when I overheard a woman, after reading a sign on the beach about the risks involved with swimming in the lake, tell her children she didn’t want them going in the water. They briefly walked along the shore and then left with an unopened picnic basket and unused towels in their arms.
The arctic fox raises large litters, with an average 11 pups, in dens that can have as many as 100 entrances. In contrast, my modest house has 3 doors and I often have to text my teenage daughter to find her at dinnertime. How does the Arctic Fox manage to find its little ones in these dens of many doors?
In its latest annual report on the state of protected areas in Canada, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is calling upon Manitoba to step up efforts to preserve more land by 2020. CPAWS’ 2017 report “From Laggard to Leader? Canada’s renewed focus on protecting nature could deliver results” calls Canada out for ranking last among G7 countries in the percentage of land and freshwater protected for conservation purposes, and encourages governments to accelerate the conservation of natural heritage in Canada, starting by delivering on their international commitment.