The Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation (MHHC) marked Earth Day Apr. 22 with the signing of its 600th conservation agreement, which will permanently conserve 93 privately owned acres of uplands and 51 acres of wetlands in the Turtlehead Creek watershed in the Turtle Mountains.
The agreement brings the total under conservation agreements to 110,000 acres of wetlands, grasslands and riparian areas on private land in Manitoba. Payments provided to landowners for these agreements have now reached a total of $8.2 million and MHHC has issued a further $700,000 in tax receipts for donated lands.
The announcement was made at a ceremony in Winnipeg where Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh announced eight artificial duck-nesting tunnels at St. Vital Park. In partnership with the Delta Waterfowl Foundation, the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation has installed and maintains 1,785 nesting tunnels across Manitoba. Research has shown that nest tunnels improve the hatching success rate to about 80 per cent, compared to a success rate that can be as low as five per cent for birds nesting on the ground.
