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This week
DAR R E L L N E SBIT T / CR O SSR O ADS T H IS W E E K Students were among the volunteers spotted preparing and stacking sandbags on Thursday, July 2 in the town of Birtle to assist homeowners in low lying areas from the rising Birdtail River, which spilled its banks in various locales including Waywayseecappo First Nation. Due to the large volume of water, the Centre Street bridge in Birtle remains closed.
Zebra m ussels confirm ed in La ke of th e P ra iries RAC HEAL FLIN TO FT Cro ssro a d s This W e e k
Zebra mussel larvae have turned up in Lake of the Prairies, prompting the province to activate its rapid response plan for aquatic invasive species. The tiny larvae, known as veligers, were caught through Manitoba’s ongoing water monitoring program and confirmed through a second round of testing,
according to Manitoba Environment and Climate Change. Manitoba first dealt with zebra mussels in 2013, when a single mussel was found stuck to a boat at a Lake Winnipeg harbour. Since then, the species has worked its way into the Red River, Cedar Lake, the Nelson River system and, more recently, Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park, where it was confirmed in 2023. Because Lake of the Prairies
straddles the ManitobaSaskatchewan border, the two provinces have set up a joint incident command to manage the response, with Fisheries and Oceans Canada also involved. Officials are now working on a monitoring plan focused on the new detection and a containment plan that spans both provinces.
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Lake of the Prairies is now required to decontaminate their watercraft and gear before putting in anywhere else. Boaters hauling watercraft, motorized or not, are also required to stop at every open inspection station along their route. Zebra mussels are difficult to control once established. A single female can lay up to a million eggs a year, and the mussels are known to clog water intakes, damage boat
engines, drag down waterfront property values and smother native mussels by attaching to their shells until the host can no longer feed. Officials say the detection is a reminder that boaters and other water users remain the biggest factor in whether the mussels spread further across the region. Following all rules and precautions is the best route to prevent further contamination.