Paddlefest participants cautioned on invasives

Organizers of this weekend’s Paddlefest on the Assiniboine River are reminding people to be responsible and vigilant about the spread of zebra mussels.

The event is scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Brandon Riverbank Discovery Centre. It will draw an anticipated 100 canoes, kayaks and standup paddle boards, said Riverbank executive director Dean Hammond.

The culmination of the event on Saturday evening is called Brandon 100, with the goal of having that many boats on the river at about 7 p.m. to watch the sun set.

“We hope that the paddling community will police themselves,” Hammond said. “But we remind people to clean, drain and dry their boats before transporting them between bodies of water.”

Paddlers also need to be aware that if they move their water craft out of a body of water in a provincial control zone to another lake or river, they must go through a decontamination process.

A control zone is an area where the presence of an aquatic invasive species such as zebra mussels has been confirmed.

Control zones include Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba, the Red River north of the U.S. border and the Assiniboine River from the Portage la Prairie control structure to its confluence with the Red River.

“So bringing a clean, drained and dried boat is required under provincial regulations,” said Hammond.

“And if people want education on what that looks like or involves, we will help them with that or direct them to provincial resources.”

Zebra mussel larvae were found in the Assiniboine River late last year at the Brandon Generating Station, located on the south bank of the river about six kilometres east of First Street.

They were detected during Manitoba Hydro’s routine zebra mussel monitoring program, which confirmed its findings in followup sampling.

At the end of June, the province announced there was no further evidence of zebra mussels in the Assiniboine River, with additional testing returning negative results.

Still, Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said paddlers need to be mindful if they are switching bodies of water, no matter how long it may have been between outings.

“People need to take responsibility,” Fawcett said.

“One person can ruin things for everyone, but my hope is that everybody who is participating in Paddlefest is already engaged in community events and will follow best practices in order to get on the water.”

This is the second year for the Riverbank’s Paddlefest event. It begins Friday evening with a paddle and marshmallow roast.

Saturday features yoga, a gear swap and sale, demonstrations on land and on the water, and rides in a voyageur canoe with RiverSong Wilderness Outfitters. The 45-minute rides are free for kids under 18 and $10 for adults.

A pancake breakfast is scheduled for Sunday morning, followed by a group paddle and closing ceremonies.

All events are a go, rain or shine, Hammond said.

“If people are bringing their own boat, we strongly encourage them to make sure they have all their safety gear.

“So that includes a life-jacket or personal flotation device, a signalling device, which is usually a whistle, 50 feet of rope and a baler. Those are the Transport Canada minimums.”

For more information on Paddlefest, call the Riverbank Discovery Centre at 204-729-2141.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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