Earlier this week the Province announced its investment of close to $400,000 to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) into Manitoba waterways. Six organizations across Manitoba will receive funding through the new Manitoba Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund.
The RM of Prairie Lakes is one of those communities, with just over $120,000 coming their way.
Council members have been working closely with their local AIS committee to develop an AIS mitigation model for Pelican Lake, and during the process they've held town hall meetings, sent out mass emails and have responded to many questions from their residents and the visitors to Pelican Lake. The goal was to inspire boat users to join them in their one boat-one lake program.
Being awarded the $120,000 through the new AIS funding program has been a welcome addition to their efforts.
"We had a little bit of an indication that we were going to get something. But of course, you're always apprehensive until it actually happens," shares Reeve Darren Seymour. "So, we carried on with our program as we started it, hoping we’d receive some support. We were quite surprised when the announcement came [Tuesday]."
The grant application required community organizations to already have current involvement in an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) mitigation strategy or efforts to reduce AIS transfer or travel. "But until we actually heard what was going to happen, we didn't want to count our stars before they lined up. But it's certainly going to go a long way to help us with our program moving forward," adds Seymour.
How is the municipality going to allocate these funds, the $120,000?
"Well, at this point, we haven't had a meeting since the announcement came out. I've spoken with some members of our group and our councillors about it. We’ve always said we’re going to be transparent—especially at the end of the season—about our costs, what we charge for inspections and decals, what our staffing costs have been, and how any government funding we receive will be used," explains Reeve Seymour.
Residents here in the southwest have been pressuring the government to add a decontamination station in this corner of the province. Are you working towards this incentive?
"We've been working with the government to try and get something closer. Fortunately, we’ve turned away several boats from Pelican Lake that came from control zones. The Province mandates that boats from contaminated areas must be decontaminated, but unfortunately, not everyone understands or follows that rule," says Seymour.
"We’re happy with our program so far. We’ve redirected a number of boats to get decontaminated, and most people have been very compliant and supportive. They want to do their part to protect the lake. Others, however, feel it’s their right to access the lake regardless, which is concerning—especially since the closest decontamination station is in Minnedosa, which is quite a drive," he adds.
"We were hoping to get something closer. Last year, the government announced a traveling decontamination station. We saw it twice last year, but unfortunately, it hasn’t shown up at all this year."
"There have been discussions with the government about potentially partnering to staff and operate a decontamination station. Our hesitation has been that we’ve already taken on a lot just running the program as it is. We wanted to get through our first year before committing to more."
What other options have been suggested?
It has been suggested to add a second inspection station elsewhere on the lake, not just in the town of Ninette. But that would require additional staffing and operational costs.
Another consideration has been to reduce the cost of decals or inspection fees, but they would not do that this year in mid-season. It is a consideration for next year, however.
"We’re looking at all of these factors to determine what makes the most sense," shares Seymour. "The funding we’ve received is specifically earmarked for AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species) efforts, and that’s exactly where it will go—to support initiatives that help keep AIS out of Pelican Lake."
The issue of AIS has gained more attention over the past year, especially after the infestation of zebra mussels in Clear Lake and reports of zebra mussels being found in the Assiniboine River in Brandon. Do you think the Province is recognizing how critical it is to jump on AIS mitigation strategies?
This growing awareness is prompting more people to take the threat seriously, and the government has become more engaged as a result.
But protecting our waterways from AIS is just one of the many significant issues the Province is managing. With limited time, staff, and resources, it's clear the government is struggling to keep up with the demands of these programs.
However, there’s been a noticeable shift—after numerous meetings and ongoing communication, it seems the government is listening. The recent funding announcement is a sign of that.
"Obviously it is overwhelming for them as well," notes Seymour. "I know the decontamination stations they've got around the province now they're having trouble staffing them and keeping things going with the ones they've got. So that's why I get where they're apprehensive to just start putting more out there that they have to try and look after. But we tried to work with them and say, you know, we're willing to do a lot of the leg work."
"And it has been a lot of work. There are obviously people against what we're doing and a lot of people for it ... on both sides. And we've had to work through some of those issues and things."
"I think this funding shows that the government appreciates us, you know, for jumping in with both feet and trying to help them work towards supporting the lake and the health of the lake for the future," he adds.
What would be your advice for folks today for a lake communities that does not have any kind of AIS program in place?
"Well, I think the first thing is you just have to start by making that first step and that step is going to be different for different communities depending on the size of their lake, all the things that come into play," says Seymour.
"For us, we went around and educated ourselves with some of the surrounding places such as Sandy Lake and Clear Lake. We had meetings and discussions with them to find out what they had done, what had worked, what didn't work. And then we looked at trying to adapt that to a lake the size of ours with all of the different places to get onto the lake. Like we had 21 different locations to launch a boat. Well, we couldn't just close those off completely that nobody could access any of those. That wouldn't be very good for our local ratepayers that are living in these locations."
"So we tried to come up with a program that would allow us to slow down the travel possibility of getting AIS in the lake and to be able to funnel some of the traffic that is coming from other lakes that are possibly bringing a contamination to the lake and doing inspections and sending them for decontamination. But yet still allowing our local people that are part of the one boat-one lake program who just want to be on Pelican Lake, still allowing them access to be on the lake as well."
"So, it really does depend on your community and what you've got, but it's a matter of reaching out and starting. You know, we're certainly willing to help any community with information of what we've done. We've had a lot of conversations with other communities to this point. And I would assume at the end of this year people will be looking for, okay, how did things work out? What are the problems that you see?"
"Because we've had to make changes along the way, and we're looking at some different changes, possibly for next year and how we're going to roll out forward, so I think reaching out to communities that are already involved is very important," he adds.
What would be your message to residents, cottage owners and visitors to Pelican Lake?
"I think the only thing for me is, it disappoints me some of the controversy that's happened between families and neighbors and stuff regarding this project. We certainly don't want to see that. And I know I get that people are passionate for one side or the other, but you also need to be willing to listen to each other and listen to the reasons why we're trying to protect Pelican Lake and the lakes around us," shares Seymour.
"And, you know, I think if people realize that we're doing this for the grandkids and the kids of the future ... you know, we can plug away and carry on as status quo. But we need to think of what's going on down the road and do the best we can to leave things as good or better than they were when we got them. And I think that's what people really need to look at."
Additional recipients of the Manitoba Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund include:
- Citizens for Protecting Our Northern Waterways Inc. - $11,782;
- Gull Lake Basin Management Board Inc. - $95,000;
- Municipality of Harrison Park - $51,000;
- Norway House Cree Nation - $108,228; and
- Swan Valley Sport Fishing Enhancement - $2,650.
Overall, Budget 2025 invests more than $2.2 million to protect Manitoba’s lakes and rivers from aquatic invasive species.
For more information about the AIS partnership program, visit: www.manitoba.ca/stopais/partnerships.html.