The Manitoba government has officially designated the Skylake Wildlife Management Area (WMA), ensuring the conservation of 614 hectares of forest and wetland near Arborg.
“We are committed to protecting and preserving natural habitat, rare plant species and wetlands,” Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires said. “The designation of the Skylake WMA adds another natural area in our province where activities that significantly affect wildlife and habitat will not be permitted.”
The Skylake WMA is a large fen–forest in the south central Interlake. This low-lying land has islands of tamarack–black spruce forest, trembling aspen, white spruce, wetlands bounded by cattails, sedges and willows, as well as pools fed by artesian springs.
The area supports a variety of wildlife species including white-tailed deer, sandhill crane and songbirds. It contains orchids, including rarer species such as Dragon’s mouth, Northern green bog and White bog orchids, as well as the more common Showy lady’s slippers and Yellow lady’s slippers.
Protected areas are land, freshwater or marine areas where logging, mining, hydroelectric development, oil and gas exploration or development, exploring for and harvesting peat and other activities are prohibited. Existing Indigenous rights will be respected and traditional uses, including hunting and trapping, will continue in the area.
There are now 85 WMAs in Manitoba, encompassing about 2.3 million hectares (5.6 million acres) of land.
