Keep development out of Bird River: Environmental group
Winnipeg Sun
A lobby group is hoping Premier Greg Selinger will declare the Bird River off-limits from developers.
The Wilderness Committee delivered approximately 3,600 letters to Selinger's office on Thursday morning, asking that the river — located in eastern Manitoba — be permanently protected from development. The committee is calling for a 17-kilometre-long protected area that stretches 1.5 kilometres on either side of the river, from Nopiming Provincial Park's boundary to Hammerstead Falls, at the first cottage development.
The proposal comes almost a year after a proposal from a mining company to develop in the area was withdrawn following public outcry from the committee.
"The more Manitobans learn about the amazing lower Bird River region, the louder the call for protection becomes," said Eric Reder, the committee's Manitoba campaign director, in a press release. "We expect the Manitoba government will soon begin taking steps to establish a new protected area on the lower Bird River."
