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A
s promised, we launch our newly formatted newsletters by looking at the recent plan released by the Ministry of Environment about dealing with zebra mussels.
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Also note our BREAKING NEWS at the end of the newsletter.
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So does the province now have a plan to stop zebra mussels?
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INTRODUCTION -
Last week I received an email from a friend who is wintering in Costa Rica. She had been on-line at
Discover Moose Jaw
and was excited to find this headline: "
ENVIRONMENT MINISTER PRESENTS PLAN TO PREVENT INVASIVE SPECIES"
. First let's
look back to put the plan in context.
THE PAST 5 YEARS -
Since February of 2015, we have included
articles about zebra mussels
in 17 different newsletter editions. Examples:
*
April, 2015
,
listed our
most vulnerable lakes
.
* Sept, 2015
, compared
Sask's struggling effort vs Alberta's exemplary program
.
* Jan, 2016
, unveiled our
policy: STOP THEM AT THE BORDER
.
To view :
Click on our logo. Go to the bottom of our home page. Click on resource documents.
* July, 2016, we announced that, the month before, the
PROVINCIAL AUDITOR had devoted an entire chapter of their annual report to
"Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species in Saskatchewan". The 3rd of the 5 recommendations in that report was that the
"Minister of Environment formalize a
risk-based watercraft inspection strategy
for aquatic invasive species".
MINISTER DUNCAN'S RECENT REPORT HAS ARRIVED ALMOST 4 YEARS AFTER THE AUDITOR'S REQUEST.
Before we look at that report, let's conclude PARCS over-view of these past four years.
*
The
March, 2017
newsletter carried
disappointing news
: Sask was now caught between
mussels to the east,
in Manitoba, &
mussels to the south
in Montana.
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*
In
June, 2017
, we
quoted engineer expert Renata Claudia speaking in Regina, who stated:
"It's not a matter of IF, it's now a matter of WHEN".
*
In
Dec., 2017,
we cheered that the province had put out a call for members to a multi-agency
TASK FORCE ON INVASIVE SPECIES
!
* In
April, 2018, the
SUMMER OF ACTION,
we reported on the exciting PARCS workshop on Lake Diefenbaker with representation from dozens of communities and agencies. Follow-up action resulted in the establishment of the
Lake Diefenbaker Task Force against Zebra Mussels. LDTF raised thousands of dollars and obtained grants, hired staff to work at the busiest boat launches, involving all communities around the lake. That first summer
LDTF intercepted two contaminated boats before they could infect Lake Diefenbaker.
*
That same summer, PARCS hosted other informational meetings in the
NW at Jackfish
Lake, in the
NE at Candle Lake and in the
SE at Echo Lake.
*
In the
2018 season
, Sask Environment hired
Jeri Geiger
as the new
Sask. Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator.
Two part-time inspection stations were established and Jeri undertook an in-depth training program for provincial parks staff and Canada Border inspectors. Jeri was allocated only a meagre staff of 6 employees, however.
(
It takes 8.4 employees to operate a full-time inspection station!).
Jeri has demonstrated how to do a lot with few resources!
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* O
ur Updates during the summers of 2018 & 2019
have reported on the threats from the east and compared the number of Saskatchewan inspection stations with those of our neighbours:
Alberta:
11 full-time inspection stations
Manitoba:
6 part-time inspections stations
Montana:
30+ inspection stations
Sask:
1 almost full, 2 part-time
stations
Is it any wonder that we hastened to read last week's reported plan from the Minister of Environment (as requested 4 years earlier by the provincial auditor!)?
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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
SASKATCHEWAN'S 2020 AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES STRATEGY
is a document that is long on generalities but short on specifics. For example, the plan analyzes the risks of an infection based on "ecological, economic and social factors" (factors that the province cannot control anyway). It was a relief to find, at the end of the document, the admission that "
managing pathways to prevent introduction
" is also an important risk factor. [In 2018, when PARCS tried to provide written input to the AIM Task Force about the most frequently used traffic lanes for recreational boaters, that input was disallowed.] Since that time, however, Jeri Geigeri has reached out to PARCS' for our community knowledge - just as she has reached out to the Canada Border staff.
As one of members of the the Provincial Task Force against Aquatic Invasive Species, I wondered whether the Minister's Plan would make any mention of
the severe underfunding from the province that has restricted this program
. [
Did you know that there is
no line item in the provincial budget for fighting mussels
!]
Surpise -
The Minister's report
does make reference to "limited funding and resources" on the last page
.
(Addendum: This summer, Jeri's staff allocation for operating the inspection stations has been increased for 6 to 9.staff members - emough to operate one inspection station full time!)
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BREAKING NEWS ABOUT FIGHTING MUSSELS
-
A recent edition of the Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Manitoba government is pushing the federal government for increased federal financial assistance to stop further infested boats from coming across their US border. In the article, a research scientist at the
International Institute for Sustainable Development
cautioned that "officials should be more worried about mussels already in Lake Winnipeg spreading west and north, because there is suficient calcium in Prairie waters for the species to thrive".
Also, a document obtained by the Free Press from the Institute's meeting with Manitoba's Deputy Minister of Sustainable Development, refers to an
annual meeting of the Deputy Ministers in charge of invasive species - pending for April 2020
. Perhaps PARCS input would be fortuitous?
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READERS - To learn more about PARCS, visit our website by clicking on the logo at the top left of the newsletter or on the button below.
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PLEASE NOTE THAT PARCS' IS NOW HOSTING SPACE AT THE END OF EACH OF OUR NEWSLETTERS FOR COMMERCIAL ADS. Welcome to our first ad from ANDERSON PUMP HOUSE - See last page.
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