Manitoba wildlife sites gain protection under new strategy
Red Deer Wildlife Management Area, section of Lake Winnipegosis home to endangered species
The Manitoba government is protecting two new areas, which means more than 11 per cent of the province is now protected, Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Tom Nevakshonoff said in a news release on Thursday.
Places to Keep — Manitoba's Protected Areas Strategy, released Thursday, adds the Red Deer Wildlife Management Area and an expansion to Lake Winnipegosis' Salt Flats Ecological Reserve to the province's protected areas.
Both sites are habitats for endangered species, the news release says, and the one at Lake Winnipegosis is the only known example of a long inland saline shoreline in Manitoba. It supports plant species otherwise found only along Hudson Bay.
"Manitobans love their great lakes and wildlife, and we need to do all we can to protect the environment," Nevakshonoff said in the news release.
"We want to ensure that a balance is struck between prosperous and healthy communities, and the protection of boreal ecosystems in partnership with northern communities and indigenous people."
Protected areas are a certain and economical way to protect wildlife populations, maintain natural cycles and safeguard pristine areas, he said.
The areas are important for research, education and ecological services providing benchmarks to help monitor the sustainable development of mineral, petroleum and other natural resources, he said.