Latest news with #cottageowners
CBC
19 hours ago
- CBC
Group files court action to overturn Parks Canada ban on motorized watercraft for Clear Lake
An advocacy group for Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park has filed an application for a judicial review of Parks Canada's decision to once again ban motorized watercraft in the battle against zebra mussels. "This is not a move we take lightly. Our goal is not conflict — it is collaboration," Fairness for Clear Lake, a coalition of cottage owners and businesses around the park in western Manitoba, wrote in a news release on Wednesday. The group, which filed the application June 16, wants a judge to declare the decision "invalid or unlawful" and order the attorney general of Canada to allow motorized watercraft back onto the lake. Parks Canada announced in May that it made the "difficult decision" to impose the boating restrictions for a second consecutive summer "to protect the health of Clear Lake." Under the ban, non-motorized watercraft — including kayaks, canoes and inflatables — can still operate under certain conditions, which include an annual permit, limitations on which bodies of water are used, an inspection and a cleaning protocol. That decision was made without meaningful consultation, clear evidence or regard for the economic, cultural and community impacts it would have, a news release from Fairness for Clear Lake says. "While legal action is not our preferred path, there has been no meaningful progress from Parks Canada in engaging stakeholders, providing evidence or working toward a collaborative solution," it says. "After months of outreach and silence, this became our only viable option to protect the interests of our community." CBC News has requested comment from Parks Canada but has not yet received a response. In 2023, after zebra mussel environmental DNA was found in Clear Lake water, Parks Canada instituted a "one boat, one lake" policy for Clear Lake that required a boat to only be used there and on no other body of water. Environmental DNA is genetic material shed by organisms into their environment. Sources include feces, shed skin or carcasses. Any time a boat was removed from the lake, it had to be tagged and sealed to the trailer. If the tag was tampered with, the boat was not allowed back on the lake. Fears about the invasive species were realized in November that year, when the first zebra mussels were discovered at Boat Cove, in the south edge of the lake. The following summer, Parks Canada set up a two-kilometre underwater curtain at Boat Cove in an attempt to contain them. The effort failed when the curtain dislodged days after installation. Watercraft were banned for 2024 to protect the lake and prevent any further spread of zebra mussels. Still, hundreds of live juvenile zebra mussels were found in September, attached to docks and other structures near the east end of the lake. In January 2025, Parks Canada said the full extent of the zebra mussel infestation is yet unknown but acknowledged that eradicating them was no longer feasible — it would require identifying the entire population, then isolating and containing them apart from the rest of the lake. The federal agency said it would continue to monitor water quality in Clear Lake and determine how to manage things now that zebra mussels are established. It also said it would implement the "one boat, one lake" policy for 2025. But in May, it reinstated the full ban "suddenly, and without consultation from the community," the court filing from Fairness for Clear Lake says. It goes on to say Parks Canada has lost its way, shifting from what used to be a global icon of conservation, community and Canadian identity to an autocratic institution making unilateral decisions. "This is bigger than Clear Lake. This is about restoring belief in the idea that government can serve the people with integrity. It's about safeguarding not just natural spaces, but the democratic values that shape our country," the release says.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Whiteshell Provincial Park closing due to extreme fire conditions
Whiteshell Provincial Park will close to the public on Thursday as firefighters work to control a wildfire that forced evacuations in the southeastern Manitoba area earlier this week. In a Wednesday news release, the province said access to the park will be restricted starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, and continuing until at least May 21. The closure is expected to remain in effect until the extreme fire conditions improve. On Thursday morning, access will be restricted to cottage subdivisions and campgrounds, along with commercial, group and day use areas. Recreational areas including trails, beaches, backcountry areas, canoe routes and campsites will also be under the restricted access. All park users, including full-time residents and cottagers, must leave the park by 1 p.m. Thursday, the province said. It's asking full-time residents to register with Manitoba Parks staff at their nearest reception centre: Whiteshell Community Club, Rennie Community Club or Eastman Snopals Garage. Any permanent residents who can't register in person can call 204-340-6769. Cottagers and campers are not required to register. Anyone with reservations over this period, which includes the Victoria Day long weekend, will be contacted by the parks reservation service, the province said. Cottagers fled the area Tuesday after the province issued an evacuation order due to the out-of-control wildfire along the Ontario border, near Ingolf. As of Thursday afternoon, that fire had grown to more than 23,000 hectares, according to the province of Ontario's fire map. The province of Manitoba told CBC News Wednesday that Highway 1 remains open in the area. Previously announced closures remain in effect for Nopiming, Pinawa Dam, Poplar Bay, Wallace Lake, South Atikaki and Manigotagan River provincial parks due to local states of emergency, the province said. These parks will also remain closed until conditions improve.
