The walls of my office are covered with maps. There are days when I gaze at them,  contemplating, envisioning the different areas of this province.

One particular provincial map is covered with circles and marks, all indications of the work we are doing in Manitoba. It is ripped, stained and wrinkled from road trips, rallies, protests in the rain, government meetings, and community events. Before too long, visitors to the office are told stories about the areas on this map – stories of woodland caribou, wild rivers and forested trails.

This map is the one that tells the story of what needs to be protected in Manitoba.

 And this is where our Conservation Hotspots campaign comes from, our wild vision for the province. Our latest educational report, Wild Manitoba: 5 Natural Treasures at Risk, is our second report in this campaign, highlighting five key areas the Manitoba government needs to preserve.

Click here to download the full report.

This report tells the story of five of these circles on our map. The proposed Red Deer Lake Wildlife Management Area, for example, and the Overflowing River which winds through it, have been circled for years, as their protection would safeguard the home of some of our endangered species and protect some of our critical intact ecosystems.

The popular, widely visited lower Bird River has just recently come under serious threat again, as a proposal by Cabot Corporation, operator of the TANCO tantalum mine, suggests draining the polluted Bernic Lake into this river.

The shores of Hudson Bay and the proposed Polar Bear Provincial Park were more of a distant concern until last year when climate change and fossil fuel exports brought them into our conservation spotlight.

Protecting Duck Mountain Provincial Park from logging has been on the horizon since the Manitoba government recommended ending park logging back in 1993!

And the woodland caribou in the proposed Nopiming - Owl Lake Caribou Protected Area are the most widely studied and experimented on in the province – protecting their habitat has been discussed for more than a decade. These final two areas are long overdue for action, and protecting them will safeguard Manitoba’s rich natural heritage for the next generations.

Currently, just over 10 per cent of Manitoba is protected. Protecting these five areas would put us on track to the Wilderness Committee’s target of protecting 20 per cent of Manitoba by 2020.

Please read through this new report about these magnificent wild areas and how they need our protection. Then take the time to write to our elected representatives, urging them to fully protect these five threatened wilderness areas.

Click here to write your letter now >>

You can also help by spreading the word and sharing this report with your family and friends. If you’d like additional copies to distribute, send an email to papers@wildernesscommittee.org and we will send you as many as you need.

Together we can make sure Manitoba’s wild heritage is protected into the future.

Eric Reder | Manitoba Campaign Director