The Moose Mountain Water Resource Management Corp. met on Monday, July 25, to discuss their year at their Annual General Meeting.
The 2015 Board of Directors included: Jim Brown – President, Ed Plumb – Vice President, Coleen Bennett – Secretary/Treasurer, David Schnell, Glen Grimes, Elgin Pryce, Thomas Skye Maxie, and Boyd Cochrane.
Call for election of directors was completed and those on the board let their names stand, there were no new nominees, so the board remained the same for 2016.
The Water Corp. agreed to donate 500 bounties at $10 each to beaver trapped. This is something they have committed to do each year in order to add to the $30 offered by a combined Ministry of Park, Culture, and Sport, Ministry of Agriculture, and the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities. Last year a total of 601 beavers were trapped.
Beavers in the backcountry have been blocking waterways, so in order to keep the waterways open beavers are removed and tops of dams are lowered to allow water passage through. This continues to be done by Link Brickley.
Concerns have been mounting regarding the current spillway at Kenosee Lake and with the increased water levels, the Moose Mountain Provincial Park and the Water Corp. are looking to discuss with Highways and the Water Security Agency regarding lowering the level of the spillway.
They would ultimately like to see the spillway lowered slightly as many feel the lake is at a very good level right now, another culvert placed in Hwy 9 to help handle the water influx, and a low level crossing in the old highway. The water that flows through Kenosee makes its way through other smaller water bodies throughout the Moose Mountains and settles in White Bear. People at White Bear Resort and from White Bear First Nation are both excited for increased water levels, which will happen when Kenosee flows over its spillway.
Currently at risk if the water were to continue to rise is the service road and Manitoba Street, although no cabins look to be in danger.
Leigh Potter with Moose Mountain Provincial Park reported that they received no new fish this year for Kenosee, but did receive 1,100 perch for Gillis Lake and are hoping they will thrive there. Perch placed in Gillis Lake ranged from two inches to 12 inches in length with the majority being two inches.
White Bear Lake received 700,000 walleye and Kenosee is on the list to receive walleye next year, so will hopefully be restocked then.
He also added that in conversations with a senior conservation officer he discovered there are between 800-900 elk and 900-1,000 moose in the park.
The ongoing wild boar study will continue until February. They are collecting data from 12 collared pigs and in February will eradicate those boar and any boar with the collared ones. Samples from each will be taken to assess diseases being carried, if any, and to see what they have been eating. The government has also opened up wild boar hunting, but in the park you need a valid Big Game Licence to shoot one.
Potter also said that they would like to open up Centre Road more and do work to the gravel pit in the back country.
He added that Jim Brown acquired additional boat launch pads for the park and these will be placed, so people can launch boats and trailer boats at the same time. Potter is also hoping to reconfigure the boat launch to be more accessible this fall.
Joan Adams, Moose Mountain Provincial Park, spoke to the park’s ATV Pilot Project Park. This means that those looking to quad in the park must first stop in at the Chalet and sign a tread lightly policy, which ensures riders will stick to trails, wash their quads before going into the park, and travel responsibly. The trails are multiuse and motorized vehicles must yield to non-motorized vehicles when out there. The areas in the back country are home to numerous animals and while the park wants to allow people to access the back country they don’t want a huge impact on the natural world out there.
It’s a privilege to ride in the park, not a right.
Membership to join the Water Corp. is their main way to raise funds for the efforts they continue to support at the lake and if interested contact Coleen Bennett, the secretary/treasurer. Membership also comes with access to a program John Grimes operates, which tracks the levels of the lake everyday allowing people to see how it has increased after a rainfall or decreased from evaporation after a heat wave.
