FRANCAIS

June 24, 2005

A wetland considered unique in North America will remain in its most natural state with the designation of the Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve, Premier Gary Doer announced today.

"Working with the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation and stakeholders, we have been able to save this precious piece of Manitoba’s natural heritage," said the premier. "Protecting this rare and beautiful area ensures we are preserving this land not just for ourselves but for future generations."

The new Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve is Manitoba’s 19th ecological reserve and the newest protected area. The 563-hectare parcel of land is located along PTH 59, northeast of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation reserve, and features a wetland rich in wild orchids and carnivorous (insect-eating) plants.

Brokenhead wetland features 23 species of provincially rare and uncommon plants. It is also home to 28 of Manitoba’s 36 native orchid species, including the rare ram’s head lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium arietinum), and eight species of carnivorous plants.

This type of wetland is rare in North America and contains a marshy area of land called a calcareous fen and a rare white cedar forest community. The calcareous fen is similar to a bog but is less acidic and features a fluctuating water table. Groundwater and surface water movement is a common characteristic of fens and can be seen in the channels and pools in the Brokenhead wetland.

"The Brokenhead wetlands initiative has been a co-operative effort by the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation and the other stakeholders not only to preserve the natural state and function of the wetlands, but also to protect the various species of orchids that are indigenous to this area," said Chief Tina Leveque, Brokenhead Ojibway Nation. "The Brokenhead wetlands will further enhance the First Nation’s eco-tourism program with the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Historic Village, as an integral part of sharing the vast traditional and sacred relationship of our land as an educational and hands-on learning program to the general public."

Since the start of Manitoba’s Protected Areas Initiative in 1990, 5.4 million hectares of land have been protected. Ecological reserves are the most protected of the provincially-designated sites within the network of protected areas in Manitoba. They have a unique role in meeting society’s commitment to set aside a portion of the land base in its most natural state, free from intensive recreational development or resource harvest. The Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve is the third to be designated in little over a year; the others are Little George Island Ecological Reserve and the Jennifer and Tom Shay Ecological Reserve.

"The Brokenhead Ojibway have hunted and gathered medicinal plants in the Brokenhead wetland for thousands of years," said Doer. "They are the traditional stewards of this land and it will continue to be a part of their heritage, now protected with the highest of land designations in the province."

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