With Clear Lake already having had an appearance of invasive zebra mussels this year, other lakes in southwestern Manitoba may soon face the same concern. A group of concerned citizens in Ninette and around Pelican Lake are trying to get ahead of the problem.
A group of citizens has put together a model to help keep invasive aquatic species out of the lake and presented it to the RM of Prairie Lakes. According to a document on the RM’s website, they’ve got a budget in place and are ready to implement it for the start of boating season in 2025.
Pelican Lake AIS Mitigation Model was proposed to the RM at an open house on August 15. Another town hall meeting is planned for Sunday, September 8, in Ninette to share the model and concerns over zebra mussels with the community as a whole.
The proposed model places an emphasis not only on education and identification but on potential barriers to the lake as well.
“Access to Pelican Lake will be controlled by barriers that will be placed at all the boat launches around the lake to control watercraft access,” reads the document on the RM’s website. “The control measures will be in effect for the boating season only and will be open for access outside the boating season.”
Under this proposal, the main boat launch at Ninette would be the only launch on the lake designated as “non-restricted”. Only decaled boats would be able to launch from restricted sites, while all others would have to go through the Ninette boat launch.
A boating ban on Clear Lake went into effect in May as Parks Canada tried to determine if zebra mussels had established a presence there. On July 19, Parks Canada announced they had found a live zebra mussel in the lake.
