Businesses, lake users fear ‘sudden’ action by Parks Canada to deal with zebra mussels – Winnipeg | globalnews.ca

As the ice continues to melt in many parts of the country and boaters and paddlers prepare to hit the water, an invasive species that has been slowly making its way westward across Canada for nearly four decades is in danger of being destroyed. boat ride Even before the start of the season at Riding Mountain National Park.

Parks Canada informs the Manitoba government it is considering a ban on boats, canoes and kayaks clear lake to compete this year zebra mussels, which were reportedly found at a boat launch there last November. The farthest west it has ever been found is in Canada.

Water was tested in more than 74 percent of the lake in winter and zebra mussel DNA was not detected. But Parks Canada – and a zebra mussel researcher – says that doesn’t mean they’re not there.

Many who live and work in the area, three hours northwest of Winnipeg, say now is the time to increase prevention and surveillance with checkpoints and decontamination stations to prevent people from taking to the waters without proof. has come. cleaned, dried and dried,

“The rumors of a complete waterboarding ban are a knee-jerk reaction and we are seeking to consider a long-term solution,” says Carly McRae, a lifelong Clear Lake user and owner of Lakehouse Properties, a boutique hotel. At Wasgaming.

“It is extremely important for Parks Canada to engage in public consultation on this issue so that the voices of all stakeholders in the region are heard.”

Parks Canada says that’s what’s happening. In an email to Global News, a spokesperson said they engaged with “over 500 individuals and organizations, including First Nations leaders and elders, other levels of government, local and provincial tourism industry representatives, other businesses, Environmental NGOs, fishermen, boatmen, as well as hut and cabin owners.”

Manitoba Natural Resources Minister Jamie Moses has said the boat ban will hurt tourism, the economy and enjoyment of the national park.

Parks Canada says no decision has been made and “any comments to the contrary are misinformed and rest assured that, once a decision has been made, next steps will be widely communicated.”

But critics do not want to talk after the decision.

Ashley Smith is a member of the Gambler First Nation, whose ancestors lived, hunted and fished in the area for generations before it became a national park.

She says she spent two years battling bureaucratic red tape last year to open Turtle Village, an eco-tourism business in the park that could have negative impacts if people aren’t able to use the lake.

“Unfortunately we don’t have direct communication with Parks (Canada),” Smith said, adding, “As the only Indigenous tourism operator, I must be consulted.”

Parks Canada has one Partnership with seven First Nations Whose traditional area extends till the park. It is unclear what effect a ban on boats would have on their fishing rights.

zebra mussel devastation

Scott Higgins is a scientist formerly at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and currently at the International Institute for Sustainable Development working in experimental wetlands. His research involves zebra mussels.

He explains that the mollusks came to Canadian waters from the Black Sea in the late 1980s, probably on cargo ships, and as the ships moved from port to port, they quickly infected the Great Lakes. They spread through waterways in the northeastern US and eventually arrived in the Red River system and then began their journey north to Manitoba.

They were first confirmed in the province in 2013 in Lake Winnipeg, believed to be aboard a vessel that was in infected waters. and has since spread To the mouth of Hudson Bay.

“Once the horse leaves the barn, it becomes more challenging to control them,” says Higgins.

“It’s amazing how much they can change an entire ecosystem,” Higgins said, “because they have no natural predators and harm native mussels.”

Higgins says the boat launch at Clear Lake, where he may have died in November, was shocking.

“Our recommendation would be to limit or ban boats until they have treated and are somewhat certain that they have eliminated the mussels, then reevaluate.

“The short-term pain is probably worth it in the long term because if they become established they will be there forever.”

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