News Releases
February 7, 2008 — The polar
bear (Urses
maritimus) is now recognized
as threatened under The
Endangered Species Act. Declaring the
polar bear a threatened
species will
further ensure its protection, along with its habitat on
both Crown and privately-owned land.
More detail on this announcement is available in the official
news release.
In 2002, the provincial government introduced The
Polar Bear Protection Act, which regulates the capture,
holding and export of live polar bears. There are also
stronger regulations under a new Resource Tourism
Operators Act,
which established fines and stricter licensing regulations
for outfitters and ecotourism operators, some of who work
in these sensitive habitats.
You can read more about
the agreements,
legislation, and policy for the protection of polar bears
in Manitoba on this website.
August 2, 2007 — Manitoba Conservation is offering free workshops
to communities, cottage associations and groups of 15 or more wanting to
become Bear Smart. The main goal of Bear
Smart is to encourage the public to eliminate or secure anything
with a bear-attracting scent. Such preventive action means
bears will be less attracted to residences, cottages and
campsites as they stock up on food to get ready for fall
hibernation.
To schedule a workshop in your area call
Manitoba Conservation at 204-945-6811 or toll-free at 1-800-282-8069, ext. 6811. More information on how to be bear smart is available
on this web site.
More detail on this announcement is available in the official
news release.
June 11, 2007 — Four species have been declared as threatened
and an additional species declared as endangered under the Endangered
Species Act.
The Sprague’s pipit, hairy prairie-clover, buffalo grass and hackberry
have been confirmed as threatened and the Ross’s gull has
officially been declared as endangered.
These species require this
level of protection because of limited distribution, low numbers or their
dependence on specialized habitats. More detail on this announcement is available
in the official
news release.
More information on species at risk
in Manitoba is available
on this web site.
April 20, 2007 — The province has acquired 273 hectares of land for the Delta Marsh Wildlife Management Area including the former Fairfield Shooting Lodge property.
The Delta Marsh Wildlife Management Area is located at the south end of Lake
Manitoba in the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie. Delta Marsh is recognized
as an intergovernmental Ramsar Convention on Wetlands site of international significance,
a Canadian important bird area and a Manitoba
heritage marsh. The freshwater
coastal wetland is home to large numbers of colonial nesting birds including
Franklin’s gull, Forster’s tern, western grebe, eared grebe, black-crowned
night heron and pied-billed grebe. There is also a variety of waterfowl,
warblers, white-tailed deer and furbearers. There are a total of 80 wildlife
management areas in Manitoba, conserving approximately 2.5 million hectares
of habitat.
More detail on this announcement is available in the official
news release.
November 6, 2006 - The 2006-07 Manitoba Trapping
Guide which identifies changes in seasons and licensing
for the coming year is now available. Trapping plays an
important role in many Manitoba communities. Please see
the official
news release for general information. For detailed information,
please visit the online Manitoba
Trapping Guide.
Trapping Guides are also available from Manitoba
Conservation District offices and trapping licence vendors.
October 31, 2006 - Hunting season is underway
for several species in many areas of the province and will
continue through the fall and winter.
Hunters are reminded to follow all rules. Recent violations
have resulted in enforcement action and some of the most
significant fines on record in Manitoba for violations of
the Wildlife Act and the Wild Animal and Plant
Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial
Trade Act clearly show support for the protection of
wildlife within Manitoba.
Please see the official
news release for hunting opportunities and forecasts.
Detailed information on hunting regulations, season dates
and bag limits is available in the 2006
Manitoba Hunting Guide.
July 19, 2006 - Manitoba Conservation reminds people
with homes, cottages or campsites in or near bear country
to be bear smart. Black
bears are beginning to increase food intake as they
prepare for hibernation later this fall. People may see
more black bears in the woods or near their homes as bears
search for maturing natural fruits.
Bears are a part of nature but they are wild animals and
must be respected for the danger they can pose to people.
When in bear
country, always assume bears are around even if no recent
problems have occurred. Be Bear Smart — l earn more about black bears in Manitoba on this website.
For more information see the official
news release.
July 14, 2006 - Manitoba habitat and native wildlife will
be better protected through changes to the Exotic
Wildlife Regulation, Conservation Minister Stan
Struthers announced today.
The amendments
will improve tracking, disease control and record keeping
of certain exotic wildlife species. The Exotic Wildlife
Regulation now prohibits the possession of exotic cervids
such as reindeer, Sitka, roe, fallow and Père David’s
deer, and wild boar, except under the authority of a wildlife
farm licence. Anyone possessing these exotic species is
now required to obtain
a licence.
See the official
news release and visit the species
monitoring section of this website for more information.
June 21, 2006 - Delta Marsh,
a wetland located at the south end of Lake Manitoba, will
gain further protection as the province will designate the
area as a wildlife management area.
In addition, 130-hectares will be designated as
the Hilltop Wildlife Management Area near Erickson
in the RM of Clanwilliam, and an additional 256-hectare
parcel of land will be designated to the Onanole Wildlife
Management Area, south of Riding Mountain National
Park, in the RM of Park South.
There are now a total of 80 wildlife
management areas in Manitoba that protect habitat for
wildlife and provide opportunities for hunting, trapping,
ecotourism and other compatible forms of outdoor recreation.
Since 1999, 842,947 hectares of land has been permanently
protected.
For more information, see the official
news release.
June 8, 2006 - Manitoba’s woodland caribou populations
are being listed as threatened under the Endangered Species
Act to strengthen steps already taken by the province
to protect herds.
Listing the animals as threatened under The
Endangered Species Act is one more step in a larger
strategy. A strategy document, released in April of this
year entitled Manitoba’s
Conservation and Recovery Strategy for Boreal Woodland Caribou
[PDF], outlines objectives and guiding principles to ensure
effective management of habitat and the creation of action
plans that will sustain boreal
woodland caribou.
For more information, see the official
news release.
May 23, 2006 - Beaver can inflict
considerable damage to private and municipal property in
Manitoba. The Problem Beaver Management
Program, initiated in 1993 by Manitoba Conservation,
has evolved into a comprehensive management program
to continue to help reduce losses to private property and
public infrastructure.
During a recent review of this program, municipal officials,
landowners and trappers agreed to end the break between
the summer removal and the winter subsidy time frames. Municipalities
can now continue their removal efforts and maximize the
trapping opportunities when pelts are worth more commercially.
The program provides monetary incentives to Manitoba trappers
to encourage the harvest of over- abundant beaver in designated
problem areas. In some areas, pond levelers may also be
made available as a non-lethal method of preventing beaver
damage.
For more information, see the problem
beaver program and its guidelines,
and the offical
news release.
May 10, 2006 - A new education and
awareness initiative called Bear
Smart will help the public to stay
safe and keep black bears in nature and out of harm’s way,
Conservation Minister Stan Struthers announced today.
The Bear Smart initiative will help to
safeguard humans; minimize property, crop and livestock
damage; and maintain a healthy bear population.
Bear Smart will include roadside signs, brochures and fact
sheets, an information campaign and free community
workshops presented by the government. The first
community workshop of the season will be held at 7 p.m.,
Thursday, May 18 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Participants
can register by calling 204-945-7775 or 204-945-6811.
For more information on black
bear in Manitoba, see the official
news release.
April 27, 2006 - Manitoba has finalized
an agreement with the Manitoba Trappers Association to implement
a problem predator program to reduce livestock losses.
Producers experiencing predator losses must report the incidents
to the nearest Manitoba
Agricultural Services office. A claim number will be
assigned, allowing the producer to contact the Manitoba
Trappers Association to have a qualified trapper assigned.
Only humane trapping methods will be permitted and only
predators causing the problem will be removed.
More details are available in the official
news release.
April 13, 2006 - Protecting
at-risk boreal
woodland caribou populations in Manitoba
and working to recover their habitats is the focus of a
strategy document released today by Conservation Minister
Stan Struthers.
The strategy is based on scientific research, knowledge
and experience gained from co-operative partnerships between
individuals and groups over the past three decades. The
Conservation and Recovery Strategy for Boreal Woodland Caribou
[675 KB PDF] outlines goals, objectives and guiding principles
to help ensure effective management of habitat and action
plans that will sustain boreal woodland caribou. The province
will develop and implement action plans based on this strategy,
which will continue to evolve with the ever-increasing knowledge
gained from ongoing research.
More details are available in the official
news release.
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