Clear Lake boat closure raises concern for nearby lakes
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/05/2024 (475 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Following this month’s announcement from Parks Canada that Clear Lake would be closed to boat traffic this summer, surrounding municipalities are preparing for an influx of boaters as well as considering their own measures to protect waterbodies from zebra mussels.
Around 800 boats were launched into Clear Lake last summer and tagged, preventing them from going into other waterbodies. Ian Drul, Reeve of Harrison Park, is expecting that traffic in the lakes he oversees will increase because of the closure.
“We are preparing for more boats. I think this year we’re going to see a higher number… So now, those 800 boats, they could potentially be coming to our neighbouring waters,” he said Tuesday.
Drul said that they have their watercraft inspection station up and running at Sandy Lake, but that isn’t the only measure being taken to protect the water. The Sandy Lake Water Protection Working Group will be discussing possible measures to protect the lake against aquatic invasive species at the May 15 council meeting. One of the measures being considered is a voluntary “one boat, one lake” policy, Drul said.
“So, if you want to participate in the program, then your boat would just stay in Sandy Lake only, and then we wouldn’t have to worry about it,” he added.
Unlike similar programs rolled out at Clear Lake in the past, this policy would be completely voluntary to boaters.
Janice Smith, mayor of Killarney, also said that she is expecting more boats than usual this season. At this point, there are no plans for them to roll out measures like Harrison Park’s or Prairie Lakes, who are going to be putting stickers on boats that have been inspected. Prairie Lakes did not respond for comment by deadline.
“We’re hoping that the province is going to do some random checks and have some check stops throughout the summer,” Smith said Monday. The province added $500,000 in new funding for the prevention of aquatic invasive species in the April budget, but no specific details have been released about how that funding will be used beyond that more watercraft inspection stations and personnel will increase.
At the April Association of Manitoba Municipalities conference that took place a week after the budget announcement, multiple municipality representatives stated that they did not have the funding, nor the personnel required to set up more watercraft inspection stations.
Smith said that a Killarney city councilor Greg Erickson recently took a course in the Prairie Lakes area about zebra mussel prevention and would be applying that knowledge going forward. She also said that they hope to have a meeting with natural resources and tourism minister Jamie Moses to discuss what the province will do to support Killarney’s waterbodies.
»cmcconkey@brandonsun.com