BRANDON—The Province of Manitoba and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) have signed an agreement to include DUC-owned lands in Manitoba’s network of protected areas.

 

The agreement was signed here today by Conservation Minister Stan Struthers, Bob Grant, manager of provincial operations, DUC, and Greg Bruce, head of industry and government relations for DUC in Manitoba.

 

“The province is fortunate to have a partner as dedicated as Ducks Unlimited in preserving wetlands,” said Struthers.  “We are pleased with this partnership agreement which adds threatened habitat to our protected areas network.”

 

“The agreement we are signing today is a result of our shared goals to conserve, protect and promote the stewardship of habitat for the conservation of biodiversity,” said Grant. “The southwest prairie parkland of Manitoba is home to one of the most productive pothole landscapes in North America for breeding waterfowl.”

 

The agreement ensures that DUC lands meet the provincial government definition of a protected area. It follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the province and DUC last December.

 

Approximately 3,440 hectares of DUC land within the prairie parkland region of southwest Manitoba will be added to Manitoba’s network of protected areas.  These lands will help to create a natural mosaic of habitat in an important area for waterfowl.  The Minnedosa pothole region in particular is recognized internationally as one of the most important breeding areas for canvasback ducks on the continent, as well as the life cycle launch pad for many other duck species.

 

Prairie potholes are low spots or hollows in wetlands, mostly freshwater marshes, left over from the glacial age. The potholes fill with snowmelt and rain in the spring. Some prairie pothole marshes are temporary. Submerged and floating aquatic plants take over the deeper water in the middle of the pothole while bulrushes and cattails grow closer to shore. These have the greatest capacity of all the wetland types to return water back to the soil and back to the atmosphere, significantly reducing the impacts of floods. They also have the highest species diversity known for amphibians and are crucial to the waterfowl life cycle.