Motorboats allowed back on Clear Lake

Parks Canada has announced that motorboats will be allowed back on Clear Lake this season — but they will be banned two days each week and during “quiet” periods at dawn and dusk.

The agency announced the return of motorboats under a mandatory tagging program in a bulletin on Wednesday morning.

The reinstatement comes after Parks Canada banned motorboats completely for the 2025 season.

The news drew positive reactions — as well as some caution — from the area’s Conservative member of Parliament and advocacy group Fairness for Clear Lake.

“We’re pleased, but we also want to see how it will be implemented,” Trevor Boquist, the group’s spokesperson, told the Sun Wednesday.

“I would say we want to be part of the conversation of how this will be implemented.”

Parks Canada also announced that launch fees may be introduced at Clear Lake as early as next year in order to recover costs of lake management activities in the future.

The policy plan for this year includes aquatic invasive species management measures such as mandatory boat tags, inspections by Parks Canada staff, and clean, drain and dry protocols for water equipment.

It also includes an expanded no-wake zone to help protect shorelines.

Riding Mountain National Park superintendent Tom Sheldon said the priority of the plan is to uphold the ecological integrity of the lake in a balanced way that respects the diversity of ways the public uses the park.

“As much as possible, what we hope is that when folks look at this decision, that they can appreciate how others connect with and value Clear Lake in ways that may be different than they do,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday.

“People care about Riding Mountain National Park so deeply, and care about Clear Lake so deeply in their own unique ways.”

Sheldon noted that the newly announced measures — the expanded no-wake zone and motorboat bans two days a week and at dusk and dawn — blend the need to protect ecological integrity with user experience.

He said that shoreline areas are commonly an impacted area in freshwater lakes, and dusk and dawn are periods of high ecological activity.

No-wake zones and no-motorized-boat days provide a buffer for the many stakeholders who said they valued peaceful connections with the lake through activities such as paddling, he added.

Under the new management rules, non-motorized watercraft must be committed this year to either Clear Lake or to other waterbodies in Riding Mountain National Park through the park’s permit program.

Complete program details are being finalized at this time, Parks Canada said.

Riding Mountain MP Dan Mazier told the Sun on Wednesday that he supports the reintroduction of boats as a product of democracy. The advocacy and pushback that arose in response to the 2025 boat ban “absolutely” contributed to this year’s policy change, he said.

“They listened to the community. I’ve been asking for this, and the community has been asking for this,” he said. “We’ve got boats back on Clear Lake, with some caveats that need to be discussed further.”

While he is happy to hear the news, he said he will continue to watch the policy roll out at the lake to avoid a possible “slippery slope” of increased boating bans over time.

“I’m going to be watching that, and I think the community is going to be watching that, to make sure that the park, all of a sudden, doesn’t decide: ‘We’re going to make it three days, or make it more hours,’ or anything like that.”

Mazier added that the decision is “proof in the pudding” that leadership at the park has improved in the past year since the appointment of Sheldon as the new superintendent.

“I think there’s a really good opportunity to move forward in a more positive fashion, versus the fortress that was created with the last administration.”

Parks Canada said it plans to create a proposed fee schedule for boat launches and will host public consultation this summer.

The Martese tour boat will continue to operate during the two days each week when motorboats are banned, the Parks Canada bulletin said.

Kelsey Connor, owner and operator of the Martese, told the Sun Wednesday that the news is positive after a challenging two years.

“We welcome Parks Canada’s recent announcement,” Connor said in an email. “While much work lies ahead, we look forward to continuing our services and contributing to the visitor experience and enjoyment of Clear Lake.”

Connor added that the company acknowledges its ongoing commitment and responsibility to reconciliation and environmental stewardship in Riding Mountain National Park.

Boquist said Fairness for Clear Lake is currently working to form “a collective agreement” so that the Clear Lake Cabin Association, the Clear Lake Cottage Owners Association and the Wasagaming Chamber of Commerce will be represented in future decisions at the park.

“How do we put something in place that brings accountability, so that we never have to form Fairness for Clear Lake again?” he said. “How do we make sure we don’t wind up back in the same situation?”

He said the advocacy group spent roughly two-thirds of the $115,000 that it fundraised to challenge Parks Canada’s boat ban in 2025.

Wednesday’s bulletin also said Parks Canada will “accelerate the advancement of a joint stewardship or management agreement for Clear Lake with Chief (Dwayne Sonny) Blackbird and Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation (KOFN), a commitment that further formalizes and deepens this shared stewardship.”

It said the federal agency will also support KOFN’s continued participation in “a robust monitoring program for Clear Lake to support ecological integrity.”

Blackbird was unavailable for comment on Wednesday.

Clear Lake has been grappling with the presence of zebra mussels since their first confirmed detection in November 2023, when a cluster of 48 live mussels was discovered. In October 2024, eight juvenile zebra mussels were found. That same month, zebra mussels were also discovered attached to dock infrastructure along the lake’s north shore.

During 2025 monitoring, one zebra mussel veliger — microscopic larvae— was detected for the first time. Parks Canada also found two adult zebra mussels and roughly 15 juveniles.

“Zebra mussels are now reproducing in Clear Lake, which means future tests will always detect their eDNA,” Parks Canada said last year.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com