Today, the Wilderness Committee is delivering letters to Premier Selinger's office, from Manitobans who are voicing their opinion on the Red Deer Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA).

During an extended public comment period, over 100 letters were written to the Manitoba government, asking that the entire new proposed Red Deer WMA be protected from development, in order to increase the amount of protected areas in the province, preserve endangered species like woodland caribou, and safeguard the ecosystems of this region from coal strip mining and exploration.

“This government deserves congratulations for moving forward with a new protected area, especially one that protects the home of woodland caribou,” said Eric Reder, Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee.

The Red Deer Lake Area of Special Interest has been a candidate for protection for many years in the government’s Protected Areas program, and is also on the Wilderness Committee’s long list of Manitoba Conservation Hot Spots. The government is proposing to designate a new Wildlife Management Area, which will prohibit industrial development for the majority of the region. The area has seen little disturbance, and is home to threatened woodland caribou from The Bog range. The area includes many rivers and streams, and lowland ecosystems, all of which flow into Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Winnipeg. The Wilderness Committee is concerned about the potential effects of ongoing coal exploration and mining in this area, and would like the entire area protected.

“We’re happy to see so many interested people writing letters in support of an area few have ever seen,” said Reder. “People know our world can only take so much development, and setting the whole Red Deer Lake area aside is in everyone’s best interests.”

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For more information contact Eric Reder, (204) 997-8584