Manitoba's colour-changing lake becomes park reserve
Posted on July 23, 2007
Little Limestone Lake protected from industrial development
After
years of promoting conservation within the Interlake region, the
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) welcomes the Province of
Manitoba's granting of park reserve status for Little Limestone Lake
and surrounding lands. This designation means the area is now protected
from industrial activities while the province consults local First
Nations and considers input from all citizens about the future of what
CPAWS deems as "Manitoba's most amazing lake."
"CPAWS has been
promoting protection of Little Limestone Lake and the Boreal forest
around it for over a decade. We're pleased the Manitoba government now
recognizes the significance of this irreplaceable wonder," said Ron
Thiessen, Executive Director of CPAWS Manitoba. "We'd also like to
highly commend Mosakahikan First Nation for their efforts to protect
their traditional lands and waters."
Communities and Conservation
CPAWS
is looking forward to continuing to work with all involved to ensure
that a sufficient area around the lake is protected, so the lake's
ecology remains healthy and local communities' cultural and economic
needs are met.
" We expect the province to work with local
First Nations and all Manitobans to make certain the protected area is
large enough to maintain the lake's health as well as traditional
activities and sustainable tourism opportunities for the area's
residents," added Thiessen.
A Step Toward a Sustainable Future for the Interlake Region
CPAWS
is optimistic the Park Reserve process for Little Limestone will be a
stepping stone to other conservation initiatives within the Interlake
region.
"We look forward to continuing to work with
governments and local Interlake communities to create a large protected
areas' network that will protect Mother Nature and provide jobs for
people in the region. This will only happen with rightful consultation
and consent from First Nations, added Thiessen.
Little Limestone Lake - Why it's Special
Little
Limestone Lake, located near the northwest tip of Lake Winnipeg, is
considered by scientists to be Earth's pre-eminent marl lake. Marl is
created when calcite, the chief constituent of limestone, is chemically
precipitated from warm water. As the temperature rises, the quantity of
marl increases, which changes the colour of the lake.
"It's
common for the lake to transform from a brilliant turquoise in the
morning, to a robin's egg blue by mid-afternoon," exclaimed Thiessen.
The lake and surrounding area are home to the only place in North
America where moose, elk, whitetail deer and woodland caribou share
habitat, along with some of Canada's greatest concentrations of inland
colonial nesting birds.
Contact:
Ron Thiessen, CPAWS MB Executive Director (204)794 4971.
Please visit www.cpawsmb.org to view a map of Little Limestone Lake
About CPAWS
CPAWS is Canada's pre-eminent, non-profit wilderness protection organization.
With a network of 13 chapters, 20,000 members, over 50 staff and hundreds of committed volunteers, since 1963 CPAWS has helped to conserve over 400,000 square kilometers of Canada's most treasured wild places in parks and other protected areas- an area nearly seven times the size of Nova Scotia!
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