Park Management Plans Stalled

In the mid-1990s, the provincial government undertook the process of creating and/or updating management plans for all provincial parks. The plans will determine the future course of each park, including what activities or developments are allowed within each park.

Sadly, Grand Beach Provincial Park remains the only major park with a completed management plan since this megaproject began.

Birds Hill Provincial Park is next in line for development of a management plan, but due to a critical lack of staff in the Parks Branch, it is not known when this process will actually start.

A draft management plan for Atikaki Provincial Park has been produced but the process also appears to be standing still.

Meanwhile, the Duck Mountain Provincial Park management plan is also stalled in mid-stream, with no final plan forthcoming since the September 2004 release of public comments on the draft plan, which was completed in 2003.

One of the most challenging issues facing Duck Mountain is the rampant ATV use in the Park. As can be expected, according to the report on public comments, "The use of ATVs in the park attracted a great deal of public interest, with a wide range of opinions on the subject. Some felt that ATV use should be unlimited and unrestricted, others felt it should be managed, and others supported general prohibitions on ATV use." As stated by a Brandon University "there's only so much pounding the landscape can take." Increased erosion and sediment loads into rivers, lakes and stream (ultimately affecting fish habitat), compaction of soil to the point where re-vegetation is not possible, and growth of invasive species that thrive in disturbed habitats are just some of the problems facing the park.

One encouraging note from the report on public comments is that "the most frequently heard comment was that logging should be phased out or prohibited in the park." While the Parks Branch appears to be serious about dealing with the ATV problems in the park, it remains to be seen how they will respond to the public sentiment against commercial resource extraction. Current park zoning allows for industrial activity in over 50% of the park.

Current Management Plans:

Atikaki

Duck Mountain

Grand Beach

Waterfall on Grass River, by Roger Turenne

Park classifications

Boundaries and the overall purpose of every provincial park in Manitoba were previously set out by “A System Plan for Provincial Parks,” released in 1997. In this process, each park was classified according to what activities are allowed, and not allowed, within its boundaries.

A provincial park is classified as one of the following: Wilderness Park, Natural Park, Recreation Park or Heritage Park.

Wilderness Park: This designation preserves representative areas of a natural region, meaning no resource extraction such as logging, mining, or development of hydro-electric power is allowed. Example: Atikaki Wilderness Provincial Park on the Manitoba/Ontario border. Atikaki is the only Wilderness Park in the southern half of the province.

Natural Park: Contrary to what the name implies, this designation accommodates both preservation of areas of a natural region and resource extraction. Example: Whiteshell Provincial Park in eastern Manitoba, which represents a combination of heavy recreational use, some wilderness protection, and resource extraction with 47% of the land within the park open to logging.

Recreation Park: The main purpose of this designation is to provide recreational opportunities. Example: St. Malo Provincial Park.

Heritage Park: The main purpose of this designation is to preserve an area that has cultural or heritage value. Example: Pinawa Dam Heritage Provincial Park.

Within each park, there can be a variety of land use categories that delineate what type of activities can take place, and where, within its boundaries.

Whiteshell land use categories
Source: Manitoba Conservation

Park land use categories

Within each park, there are designations of one, or a combination, of the following six land use categories, which sets out what general types of activities can take place there.

Example: Whiteshell Provincial Park contains each of the land use categories available (see map at right).

Wilderness (W): Purpose is to protect natural landscapes in an undisturbed state and provide recreational opportunities that depend on a pristine environment. [Whiteshell: 11% of the park]

Backcountry (B): Purpose is to protect examples of natural landscape and provide basic facilities and trails for nature-oriented recreation in a largely undisturbed environment. [Whiteshell: 22% of the park]

Resource Management (RM): Purpose is to permit commercial resource development or extraction, such as logging and mining. [Whiteshell: 47% of the park]

Recreational Development (RD): Purpose is to accommodate recreational development, such as cottages, campgrounds, hotels, businesses, etc. [Whiteshell: 18% of the park]

Heritage (H): Purpose is to protect a unique or representative site containing a resource of cultural or heritage value. [Whiteshell: 2% of the park]

Access (A): Purpose is to provide a point or route of access in a provincial park or a location for a lodge and associated facilities. [Whiteshell: <1% of the park]

Classifications of major Provincial Parks in Manitoba

Here is a list of the major provincial parks, their classification, and the breakdown of their land use categories.

Asessippi
Asessippi is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 23.3 km2.
86% of the park is designated as Recreational Development; 12% as Backcountry and 2% as Heritage land use category.

Atikaki
Atikaki is the only park in southern Manitoba classified as a Wilderness Park, which means that no logging, mining or hydro-electric development can take place within the park. Total park area is 3,981 km2. 99% of the park is designated as Wilderness and <1% as Access.

South Atikaki
An area containing several mineral claims was removed from the southern boundary of Atikaki Provincial Park in 1997 and redesignated as South Atikaki Park Reserve. (As part of Atikaki, no mining would have been allowed as this contravened the classification of a Wilderness Park. The Province's solution was to simply remove that section from the park.) South Atikaki became a separate provincial park on April 29, 2003. While mining is allowed in this park, forestry is not.

South Atikaki is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 139.5 km2.
73.5% of the park is designated as Recreational Development and 26.5% as Resource Management.

Clearwater Lake
Clearwater Lake is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 593 km2.
57% of the park is designated for Recreational Development; 23% as Resource Management (forestry and mining); 20% as Backcountry; and <1% as Access.

Duck Mountain
Duck Mountain is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 1,424 km2.
61% of the park is designated as Resource Management (forestry); 33% as Backcountry; 6% as Recreational Development; and <1% as Access.

Grand Beach
Grand Beach is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 24.9 km2.
56% of the park is designated as Backcountry and the other 44% as Recreational Development.

Grass River
Grass River is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 2,279 km2.
75% of the park is designated as Resource Management (mining, forestry and wild rice harvesting) although approximately two-thirds of this area is closed to forestry to preserve woodland caribou habitat and string bogs; 24% as Recreational Development; and 1% as Backcountry.

Hecla/Grindstone
Hecla/Grindstone is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 1,084 km2.
61% of the park is designated as Recreational Development; 32% as Backcountry; 5% as Resource Management (haying and peat mining); 2% as Heritage; and <1% as Access.

Nopiming
Nopiming is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 1,429 km2.
62% of the park is designated as Resource Management (forestry, mining, wild rice and bait fish harvest); 19% as Recreational Development; 19% as Backcountry; and <1% as Access.

Paint Lake
Paint Lake is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 227 km2 (including East Paint Lake Park Reserve). 88% of the park is designated as Recreational Development and 12% as Resource Management (mining and forestry although approximately one-half of this area is closed to forestry).

Spruce Woods
Spruce Woods is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 269 km2.
75% of the park is designated as Backcountry; 22% of the park as Recreational Development; 3% as Heritage; and <1% as Access.

Turtle Mountain
Turtle Mountain is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 186 km2.
65% of the park is designated as Backcountry; 23% as Recreational Development; and 12% as Resource Management (oil/gas exploration and extraction, and fuelwood cutting but no commercial forestry).

Whiteshell
Whiteshell is classified as a Natural Park. Total park area is 2,721 km2.
47% of the park is designated as Resource Management (forestry, mining and wild rice harvesting); 22% as Backcountry; 18% as Recreation Development; 11% as Wilderness; 2% as Heritage; and <1% as Access.