A new provincial ban on logging in two North Eastman provincial parks is being hailed as a victory by Manitoba environmental group The Wilderness Committee.

Group spokesman Eric Reder said the province's announcement of a complete logging ban on all but one provincial park has brought a happy end to nearly 10 years of activism to try and stop the practise.

"This is a tremendous victory for us and for the people of Manitoba," Reder said.

"This is exactly what we wanted all along and we're so happy to see it finally accomplished. We're one of the last districts in the world to ban logging in parks, and it's great to see this chapter in our history come to a close."

Under the ban, all commercial operations would cease in Whiteshell, Nopiming, Clearwater and Grass River provincial parks. The two major forest product companies, Tembec Inc. and Tolko Industries Ltd. have agreed to move operations out of the four parks.

A total of just over $3 million in one-time financial compensation will be paid to Tembec and Tolko to reflect the cost of moving operations out of parks.

"Ending the practice of logging inside provincial parks will leave a permanent, positive environmental legacy for future generations of Manitobans," Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said. "The amount of work it has taken to end a practice that was entrenched decades ago cannot be understated."

Reder himself helped start an awareness campaign that took place in both the Nopiming and Whiteshell provincial parks in 2007. Reder, along with fellow environmental activists Dave Nickarz and Pat and Russ Popp draped their white van with a large flag proclaiming "Welcome to Clearcut Provincial Park --- Manitoba's Shame."

They also handled out flyers informing the public about the clearcutting being carried out in the area by logging giant Tembec Industries, which operates a paper mill in Powerview-Pine Falls.

Pat and Russ Popp were also instrumental in bringing Tembec environmental relations manager Chris McDonell to Nopiming in 2005 to see several clearcuts that had been done in the area. Tembec was later charged and fined for not following provincial guidelines when it cut wood at a site in the Euclid Lake area near Bird River.

Reder said the ban on provincial park logging will usher in a new era for Manitoba that he looks forward to being a part of.

"I have a six-month-old son, and in 10 or 15 years when he's old enough to understand this stuff, I'll be able to tell him stories about how they used to allow logging in the parks back in the old days," Reder said. "Thankfully, he won't have to experience the clearcutting and logging roads himself."

Tembec's reaction to the deal reached with the province was positive. Company spokesman Richard Fahey said on Friday that the $3 million is sufficient to ensure Tembec's operation in Powerview-Pine Falls remains viable and no jobs are lost as a result of the ban.

"Discussions were complicated, but we came to an agreement that is sustainable," Fahey said.

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