While Canada Parks Day is celebrated this weekend, the Wilderness Committee wants to ensure that the Manitoba government upholds its commitment to increase protected area in the province. The first step toward upholding this commitment is for Manitoba Conservation to meet its stated goal of “permanently designating five new, major protected areas by 2010.”

Canada Parks Day is an opportunity to remind Manitobans why we need more protected areas in our province. Paloma Corrin, Assistant Campaigner for the Wilderness Committee, says “Manitoba has a lot of opportunity to protect essential wilderness areas and we need these protected areas in order to maintain biodiversity and uphold ecological integrity in our province.”

In the fall of 2009 Conservation announced the creation of two sizeable northern parks; Kaskatamagan Wildlife Management Area and Kaskatamagan Sipi Wildlife Management Area. In addition to these protected areas, the Wilderness Committee is asking the Selinger government to demonstrate its commitment by permanently protecting these seven crucial habitats: Fisher Bay Park Reserve, Poplar/Nanowin Park Reserve, Chitek Lake Park Reserve, the Whitemouth River Area, the Fish Lake Area, the Saskatchewan River Delta and the Gardenton and Pansy Pasture Regions.

Corrin states that “we are running out of time. If there is any hope of getting more of Manitoba protected as promised, the planning and consultation announcements need to be released in the next few weeks.” Corrin adds that “protecting these seven new areas by 2010 is exactly what is needed for Manitoba to meet its goals – anything less is a failure by current government.”

For more information please contact:
Paloma Corrin, the Wilderness Committee’s Manitoba Assistant Campaigner, (204) 798-8099