Parks Canada bans watercraft from Manitoba's Clear Lake for 2024 over zebra mussel concerns

Parks Canada says it is banning all watercraft on Manitoba's Clear Lake this summer in light of a "likely invasion" of zebra mussels — a move that the province remains at odds with.

The temporary ban is in effect immediately and means that no personal watercraft — such as motorized boats, as well as canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddle boards — are allowed on Riding Mountain National Park's biggest lake for the 2024 season, Parks Canada said in a Thursday news release.

The temporary ban is needed to determine whether there is an established colony of zebra mussels in Clear Lake and if eradication is possible, Parks Canada said, adding that personal watercraft can complicate, interfere and prolong that work while increasing the risk of spread.

Parks Canada officials reported removing a clump of live zebra mussels in the southern Manitoba lake last November.

Though two sets of tests earlier this year came up negative for zebra mussel environmental DNA in Clear Lake, Parks Canada's website says the invasive species could still remain.

The decision to impose the ban was informed by available science and Indigenous knowledge, and provides "the best opportunity to battle a likely invasion," Parks Canada said Thursday.

The presence of any invasive species in Clear Lake is troublesome, since it drains into the Little Saskatchewan River, which feeds into the Assiniboine River, Parks Canada said.

Those bodies of water flow through five First Nations and several communities, including the cities of Brandon and Portage la Prairie.

The maximum fine for using a banned watercraft in Riding Mountain National Park is $25,000, according to the Canada National Parks Act.

However, there are three exemptions to the temporary ban, including The Martese — a commercial tour boat — as well as watercraft owned by Parks Canada and a vessel from Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation for cultural use of their traditional waters, the release says.

Those watercraft will be part of Parks Canada's research and will be inspected regularly.

Swimming and fishing is still allowed, but Parks Canada recommends visitors keep along the shore or wharfs.

Province wants more consultation

Manitoba Economic Development Minister Jamie Moses says the province has and will continue to tell the federal government that it wants to work to keep Clear Lake open to boaters in a responsible way.

"I think that we could find that balance, if there is further consultation by the federal government. Sadly, we haven't seen that," he told reporters at a Thursday news conference.

"We've been continuously saying that they need to consider the economic impacts that their decision is going to make for those businesses."

Moses said he expects the federal government will provide "some financial package" to those affected by the ban, but said the province does not plan to top up that support.

The province's latest budget includes an additional $500,000 to fight the spread of aquatic invasive species and increase watercraft inspection and decontamination stations across the province, Moses said, adding that some of those stations will be operational this weekend.

The minister says he was in Wasagaming two weeks ago to speak with local business owners, who told him there "wasn't enough consultation" by Parks Canada and the federal government about the situation in Clear Lake.

They also suggested Parks Canada consider "a similar yet enhanced" boat tagging system on Clear Lake for all watercraft that enter the water there, instead of a total ban, Moses told Steven Guilbeault, the federal minister responsible for Parks Canada, in a letter dated May 2.

Greg Nesbitt, the MLA for Riding Mountain and the environment critic for the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives, says he advocated the same strategy to Guilbeault.

He called the temporary ban disappointing.

"It's a huge hit to the economy, not just of the businesses in Wasagaming," he told CBC. "It's the businesses outside the park, and I think within … the 40-mile radius of Clear Lake too."

Nesbitt says the area attracts 250,000 people and $50 million in profits each year.

"There's no question the numbers ... and the total sales in the area are going to drop, so it's devastating."

'Forever is not worth one summer'

But not everyone is upset by the ban. Aaron McKay, who's from Rolling River First Nation, lives in Riding Mountain National Park, and operates his own business, says he's in favour of it.

"This might sound contradicting, but money is not the be all and end all," he told CBC.

"I'm happy for it, because it means that the waters will be protected."

McKay says he feels keeping watercraft on Clear Lake in light of the zebra mussel concerns would morally and ethically wrong.

"I would prefer that Parks Canada just be allowed to do their jobs, and to live up to their mandate … to protect our ecosystems," he said.

"If there's a chance that zebra mussels are in that lake, I don't want to take it," he said. "Forever is not worth one summer."