Northern Manitoba is a land of many lakes – one need only look to a licence plate of yesteryear to see that the province stopped counting at 100,000.
The magnitude of this water cover makes the north an outstanding habitat for game fish and a mecca for tourists. Yes, and those tourists feed an industry that adds fuel to the economy of numerous regional communities and to the province on the whole.
However, concern has risen of late that in addition to the many good things that result from tourism in our lakes and waterways, it is just a matter of time before it brings something no one wants to deal with: zebra mussels.
Chris Smith is a long-standing and well respected wildlife biologist based in Cranberry Portage. He has over 35 years’ experience in the field.
Earlier this year he sounded alarm bells in respect to the inevitable coming of these voracious pests, with a letter to the Local Urban District (LUD) of Cranberry Portage.
In that letter, he noted that zebra mussels were discovered in Lake Winnipeg in 2013 and in Cedar Lake, near Easterville, in 2015. He also pointed out that Cedar Lake is the body of water the Saskatchewan River flows into, downstream of The Pas, and is part of the larger Saskatchewan River watershed, which includes Lake Athapapuskow.
In later correspondence to me, Smith also added that the outlet of Lake Winnipeg is the Nelson River, which raises his concern for the lakes connected to the Nelson, including Paint Lake.
In his communication with the LUD, Smith explained that zebra mussels are an invasive species originally from Eastern Europe. It is believed they entered waters in the Great Lakes in the mid-’80s through the dumping of ballast water by large vessels from Europe.
Once established, zebra mussels alter the natural aquatic ecosystem, with several potential impacts.
They attach themselves to hard surfaces including docks and the intake of personal and community water supplies, eventually creating blockages that can become costly to maintain.
“I do not know how quickly the spread of zebra mussels will take place through the connected waterways of the Saskatchewan River Basin,” Smith noted in his letter. “However, given that the juvenile stage (veligars) are free floating with the current, I assume the spread in this manner will be slow due to the current and flow direction of the Saskatchewan River and its tributaries.”
Smith advised that, to date, the eradication of zebra mussels has not been possible. As a result, the best defence is to stop their spread.
“I believe that the quickest way for the spread to occur into northern Manitoba is by the transportation of zebra mussels by tourists from the south who visit our region for summer fishing (e.g. mussels attached to boats and trailers, in live wells, bait buckets),” he said. “One cannot assume that these watercraft are free of zebra mussels. In fact, as an example, in Minnesota over 100 lakes are known to be infested.”
The biologist maintained that education is one of the most important tools that can be employed in the fight to stave off infestation. He stated that this should take the form of a program that informs the public and boat owners of the problem, asking them to take the needed precautions to prevent the transfer of zebra mussels.
However, to date Smith says he hasn’t seen any signage in the Cranberry Portage area about the problem or measures to prevent the spread of the invasive species.
“In my view an aggressive education program needs to be implemented,” Smith said. “Decontamination of watercraft is deemed an important preventative measure. There are a number of well documented websites that outline approaches to establish an appropriate watercraft inspection program. In Minnesota, this includes both an inspection program and placement of portable decontamination units.”
Smith said to his knowledge there are no infested waters north of Lake Winnipeg or Cedar Lake and that in his view that makes obvious the placement of inspection and decontamination stations at two locations: North of The Pas, PTH 10 south of the Clearwater Lake turnoff, and north of Grand Rapids, PTH 6, north of the turnoff to Crossing Bay, which is part of Cedar Lake.
In closing his correspondence to the LUD, Smith explained that his purpose for bringing this information to the council was to create a greater awareness of the importance of the issue and to stimulate action to help prevent the spread of zebra mussels in the region.
“Our beautiful lakes and waterways are a large part of what makes us northerners and contributes considerably to our local economy,” he said. “I feel we have the responsibility to represent and protect these important natural resources. It is my hope that through respectful advocacy for our pristine waterways that we can stimulate the government to act.”
It is believed that the LUD of Cranberry council has circulated Smith’s information to current local MLAs, the minister of conservation and the opposition critic for the environment as well as candidates for the April 19 election.
My Take on Snow Lake is published Fridays.
