Big wildlife needs Big wilderness
East side of Manitoba’s Lake Winnipeg — heart of Canada’s largest intact and roadless section of boreal forest wilderness, and home to the province’s threatened woodland caribou. Industrial developments jeopardize this world-class wilderness. Photo by Ron Smid.
Woodland caribou are one of four subspecies of Canadian caribou. Caribou are the only member of the deer family in which both sexes have antlers. They can weigh up to 600 pounds. With half of Manitoba’s historic woodland caribou population already gone due to habitat loss, protecting the boreal forest wilderness on the east side of Lake Winnipeg is essential for the healthy future of this majestic but threatened species. Photo by Wayne Sawchuk.
The threatened woodland caribou’s home on the vast east side of Lake Winnipeg is a spectacular wilderness area, rich with rushing rivers, aboriginal culture, and abundant wildlife. The area’s intact boreal forests and potential for sustainable local economies is at imminent risk from short-sighted, forest-destructive developments. This trend will continue unless the Manitoba government makes both conservation and communities its top priorities.
Click on map to enlarge.
Click on map to enlarge.
The east side of Manitoba’s Lake Winnipeg is in the heart of the Earth’s largest roadless and wild boreal forest region. The boreal forest is the world’s largest source of fresh water and is deemed the “northern lungs of the planet.” As the largest single land storehouse of carbon, it also plays an important role in regulating global climate. Given that 25% of the Earth’s remaining intact forests are in Canada, we have a huge responsibility to ensure big roadless wild places like the east side of Lake Winnipeg continue to flourish as an essential part of the Earth’s life support system.
The Manitoba government has designed a planning process to develop a Broad Area Plan for 82,000 square kilometers on the east side of Lake Winnipeg – that’s an area larger than New Brunswick! They need to put the environment and local residents first by supporting community land-use planning efforts undertaken by First Nations which include land protection requests. Furthermore, commitments for community-led protected areas and wildlife protection must be achieved before any expansion of industrial developments such as logging and mining.
The Manitoba government has a one-time opportunity to set a world-class conservation example by protecting the majority of the east side of Lake Winnipeg in a network of large interconnected protected areas. Done properly, this conservation initiative would lead to community-driven sustainable economies. Now is the time for your voice to be heard by Members of Manitoba’s Legislative Assembly (MLAs). They will ultimately decide whether this conservation opportunity will be lost to short-term industrial development or whether we take a big, wild step toward a healthy future for caribou, Manitoba, and the Earth.
