The Manitoba government is designating two new provincial parks, expanding two others, designating six new ecological reserves and expanding the Lewis Bog Ecological Reserve as part of an ongoing commitment to protect the environment and maintain Manitoba’s parks and water bodies. This announcement was made by Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Tom Nevakshonoff.
“Protected areas are a reliable and economical way to protect wildlife populations and safeguard pristine areas that are valued by all Manitobans,” said Minister Nevakshonoff. “Last month, we introduced a new protected areas strategy to guide the protection of the environment and I’m pleased we’re now announcing more protected sites across the province.”
The two new provincial parks are located in the Interlake on the shores of Lake Winnipeg and will be called Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park and Kinwow Bay Provincial Park. The minister noted the new designations will protect many endangered or unique species of wildlife and plants, as well as other important habitat for wildlife.
The minister noted protected areas act as benchmarks that can be used to monitor the sustainable development of mineral, oil and other natural resources and support research, education and provide broader environmental benefits for all Manitobans.
“Manitoba is known as a model jurisdiction for its protection standards and our goal of protecting an additional six per cent of the province by 2020 goes beyond many other jurisdictions’ commitments,” said Minister Nevakshonoff. “We will continue to work with Indigenous communities, landowners, municipalities and stakeholders to set aside important areas.”
Designating new sites and expanding existing designations supports the commitment made in TomorrowNow: Manitoba’s Green Plan to add up to 15 more parks, ecological reserves, wildlife management areas or other protected areas by 2020. The new designations also support the commitment in Building the Parks Province: Manitoba’s Parks Strategy to create up to 10 new or expanded parks.
For more information on provincial parks in Manitoba, visit www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/parks. For more information on protected areas and on Places to Keep: Manitoba’s Protected Areas Strategy, visit www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/pai.
