A trip to the Rockies was out of the question, though, so I settled on the next best thing: getting up to Manitoba’s Duck and Porcupine Mountains, with their abundant trout-stocked waters.

I vividly recall my first exposure. Rising over 1,000 feet just west of Provincial Trunk Highway 10 and northwest of Dauphin, the Duck Mountain escarpment dominated the landscape like nothing I had seen before. Driving up the escarpment on rough gravel roads, one is quickly enveloped by spruce and mixed-woods forests, deep valleys and high hills, all replete with creeks and lakes.

I was driven by trout, but the general wild magic of the area also called to me. For over a decade, I found ways to hit the area as much as I could.

That pretty much ended when the demands of a growing family took over. It was relegated to a few day trips to a favourite trout stream when I visited my brother at his Lake Audy farm.

I’m long overdue for another trip to the region, if for no other reason than the tantalizing fishing reports that I receive. But I also want to see, first-hand, the results of the decades-long efforts of a unique group, Swan Valley Sport Fish Enhancement (SVSFE).

Their tireless volunteer work, effective partnerships, and a laser-like focus on creating and enhancing angling opportunities, has helped to ensure that the Duck and Porcupine Mountains regions continue to offer premiere angling opportunities.

A short history of Swan Valley fish enhancement

Holly Urban and Brock Koutecky, SVSFE technicians who have led a crammed program for SVSFE since 2009 and 2013, respectively, filled me in on the group’s history, activities and successes. As we chatted, the words ‘passion’ and ‘persistence’ kept coming to mind.

In the early 1980s, one of the Duck Mountains’ key recreational fisheries, Wellman Lake, fell on hard times. The walleye population had collapsed and local anglers wanted to put their shoulders to the wheel to help get it back on track. A combination of stocking, spawning reef development and regulation changes brought the lake back. The local volunteers worked hand-in-hand with provincial fisheries managers to make it happen.

Seeing what could be accomplished by working together, folks thought it was time to scale up the approach across the region.

“It was all about building relationships,” said Urban.” Widespread volunteer support, tied to guidance and efforts by provincial fisheries staff made it easier for everyone to get more done.”

Early success with the walleye spawning project at Wellman Lake has led to other lake enhancements. Beaver Lake, originally developed for trout, suffered an invasion of perch. The folks switched to walleye stockings, added a walleye spawning shoal and the area is now a fine walleye fishery.

Nearby, Black Beaver Lake was developed as a trout fishery, but it suffered frequent winterkill. A weir was constructed on the outlet to raise water levels.

One of the most popular walleye lakes in the Porcupine Mountains called Whitefish Lake, ironically, has an ongoing beaver management program on its inlet creeks to maintain fish access to spawning habitat.

SVSFE and provincial fisheries: a marriage made on the water

Ken Kansas, now retired from the provincial government, landed a provincial fisheries biologist position in Roblin in 1990 and got to know SVSFE folks soon after.

“They wanted to be involved in everything, from stocking, to monitoring and research. We worked together on many, many projects,” he said. “We could count on SVSFE to provide volunteer and staff support when we needed it.”

Ken also remembers that SVSFE was keen to learn the art and science of fisheries management. “They listened to the advice we provided,” he said.

For example, he points to SVSFE’s increasing involvement in population monitoring using the province’s electroshock fish sampling boat. Electroshocking and the use of live traps are non-lethal monitoring techniques: fish can be captured, sampled and then released unharmed, or even transported to other lakes for restocking purposes. Gillnets are also a fish monitoring tool, but result in a pile of dead fish.

Results you can catch

SVSFE activities fall into five major categories: stocking, habitat enhancement, surveys and monitoring, angler access projects and angler education. Koutecky estimates that the group has worked on over 50 bodies of water.

“We’ve had a hand in managing, improving or creating most of the recreational fisheries in the area,” he noted.

The Duck and Porcupine Mountain lakes are an interesting mix. Some hold pike, walleye and perch, species one traditionally expects in Manitoba.

But there are also many deep lakes that historically had no sport fish species, usually because they’re landlocked or have a very limited outlet. This fish void was an opportunity for the Manitoba government’s fish stocking program, which goes back decades. Often, that means stocking brook, rainbow, brown, splake or tiger trout. Many lakes also receive fry or juvenile walleye plantings, and a few have gained smallmouth bass.

If you’re looking for a really exotic experience, check out the lakes stocked with arctic char. The online provincial fish stocking dashboard has detailed information on each stocked water body in the province.

Fisheries managers and SVSFE have come up with some interesting species combinations. Walleye and trout co-exist quite well in some lakes in the region.

Provincial fisheries staff, with help from SVSFE, have kept up their search for new fishing opportunities that could be developed by stocking and/or habitat enhancement. SVSFE staff and volunteers often lend field support to these efforts to bring on new fisheries.

A unique recent addition is West Wajask Lake, the province’s only muskie-fishing opportunity. SVSFE’s commitment here included buying muskie stock from the U.S., navigating a tortured regulatory process at the border and keeping the transplants healthy all along the way. The lake’s road access and boat launch also received a major upgrade. Manitobans who have caught their first muskie in the Duck Mountains can attest to SVSFE’s persistence and ultimate success.

Top fishing files

Improving angler access is high on SVSFE’s ongoing priority list. In addition to informative signage, access projects include parking areas, boat launches and shore-fishing docks. The docks are a godsend for anglers without a boat, or who may have limited mobility.

“We have developed and continue to manage about 20 shore locations,” said Koutecky.

For more remote areas, SVSFE maintains many walking and ATV trails.

SVSFE also has an intensive youth angling program, including summer day camps that offer a structured opportunity for kids to wet a line and maybe catch their first fish. Winter fishing events are also held for youth and families.

Teens and young adults have also gained work experience through SVSFE, and the group sponsors a bursary program for students looking to pursue post-secondary education in resource management.

Building financial support

Creating a base of funding was a priority from the start for the volunteer board of directors. It runs an annual boat raffle and a fish fry. Upwards of 600 supporters have shown up for the annual spring event.

Local industries, cottager associations and resorts also get behind SVSFE. A recent example is the new access road, boat launch and dock at West Wajask Lake. Louisiana-Pacific, which operates a forest products mill in Swan River, supported the project. SVSFE also secures grants from Manitoba’s Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Fund.

Where to fish

Manitoba ‘mountain’ lakes and rivers are a wonderfully mixed bag of opportunities. Some lakes have the brown-stained look of boreal forest waters, while others, isolated and with gravel shores, are crystal clear. Many have easy road access, while wild experiences await those willing to hike down a trail.

Before making the trip up, check out the SVSFE website. Many lakes and rivers are profiled with detailed information on species and access, as well as contour maps.

Walleye and pike anglers can start off at Wellman Lake, which also has chunky smallmouth bass. Singush Lake also offers the same species mix. The largest lake in the Ducks, Child’s Lake, has pike and walleye, along with lake trout.

In the Porcupine Mountains, Steeprock and Bell Lakes are popular for walleye, but also hold large pike. Exceptional whitefish fishing is also available. Whitefish Lake, on the south side of the Porcupines, is also a good walleye lake. Check out the SVSFE website for some of the smaller water bodies that are also gems to fish.

The list of stocked trout lakes is impressive. At the center of the Ducks, East and West Blue Lake both have a number of trout species and walleye as well. Other well-known trout lakes include Gull, Laurie, Beautiful and Two-Mile Lakes. On the south side of the Ducks, Persse and Tees Lakes can be exceptional. Nearby, Twin Lake has tiger trout fishing that’s in a class all its own.

If you’re dying to fish a stream for trout, you need to hit this region. I’ve hiked the stunning Pine and Steeprock Rivers, and would love to take in the wild splendor of the Armit River in the north Porcupine Mountains.

Writing the piece reminded me of how much I miss this unique region. It’s a Manitoba gem, and not only because of the fishing.

If you have enjoyable fishing up there, remember to tip your hat to SVSFE. Its effectiveness begins with a vision that’s carried forward with passion and a never-quit attitude. SVSFE’s secret sauce also includes a knack for maintaining important relationships and a willingness to be guided by fisheries management principles. On the cusp of four successful decades, the SVSFE flame never seems to burn low.

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A team of international researchers reported that some of the world’s most important freshwater sources — from the Caspian Sea between Europe and Asia to South America’s Lake Titicaca — lost water at a cumulative rate of around 22 gigatonnes per year for nearly three decades. That’s about 17 times the volume of Lake Mead, the United States’ largest reservoir.

Fangfang Yao, a surface hydrologist at the University of Virginia who led the study published in the journal Science, said 56 per cent of the decline in natural lakes was driven by climate warming and human consumption, with warming “the larger share of that.”

Climate scientists generally think that the world’s arid areas will become drier under climate change, and wet areas will get wetter, but the study found significant water loss even in humid regions. “This should not be overlooked,” Yao said.

Scientists assessed almost 2,000 large lakes using satellite measurements combined with climate and hydrological models.

They found that unsustainable human use, changes in rainfall and runoff, sedimentation, and rising temperatures have driven lake levels down globally, with 53 per cent of lakes showing a decline from 1992 to 2020.

Nearly two billion people who live in a drying lake basin are directly affected and many regions have faced shortages in recent years.

Scientists and campaigners have long said it is necessary to prevent global warming beyond 1.5 C to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. The world is currently warming at a rate of around 1.1 C.

Thursday’s study found unsustainable human use dried up lakes, such as the Aral Sea in Central Asia and the Dead Sea in the Middle East, while lakes in Afghanistan, Egypt and Mongolia were hit by rising temperatures, which can increase water loss to the atmosphere.

Lakes in Canada’s Arctic were part of the drying trend, the study found, “partially because of changes in temperature and PET (potential evapotranspiration), which is in line with broader climate changes toward increasing evaporative loss due to higher lake temperatures and reduced lake ice extents.”

Water levels rose in a quarter of the lakes, often as a result of dam construction in remote areas such as the Inner Tibetan Plateau.

Declines seen in naturally occurring lakes were in part offset, the study found, by “precipitation- and runoff-driven LWS (lake water storage) gains” in others such as the Great Lakes and Lake Winnipeg.

In all, the study said, between 1984 and 2015, satellites have observed a loss of 90,000 square km of permanent water area — an area equivalent to the surface of Lake Superior — whereas 184,000 square km of new water bodies, mainly reservoirs, were formed elsewhere.

Trends and drivers of global lake water storage have remained “poorly known,” the study added, which “impedes sustainable management of surface water resources, both now and in the future.””

— Gloria Dickie is a Reuters climate and environment correspondent in London. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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“We have this common problem of pollution. It doesn’t spare anyone,” said Gladys Chigamba, a research scientist at Lilongwe University in Malawi.

Chigamba and three other women from Malawi, Kenya and Tanzania, visited Manitoba through a partnership between the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the African Centre for Aquatic Research and Education (ACARE).

They visited the Experimental Lakes Area, a “freshwater laboratory” of 58 lakes in northwestern Ontario. They also attended events to network with other scientists and share research.

The Manitoba Co-operator spoke with the four women at an Oct. 6 event at IISD’s offices.

The scientists work on the African Great Lakes in east Africa. The best Manitoba comparison might be Lake Winnipeg, said Pauline Gerrard, deputy director of the Experimental Lakes Area.

Pollution in general is an issue in both places, the women said.

The scientists learned about a project to study the effects of 6PPD-quinone, a chemical found in tires, on rivers and lakes. The chemical wears off tires onto roads and then washes into the water table, they explained. Some said they’d like to test for the chemical.

They also viewed a study on microplastics, which are microscopic bits of plastic that end up in the environment. Researchers are studying the impact of plastics on lake organisms, Gerrard said and Elizabeth Wanderi, from Kenya, said she’d like to study them in her country.

As in Manitoba, eutrophication — huge algae blooms caused by an excess of nutrients in water — is a big problem in the African Great Lakes, the women told the Co-operator.

Agriculture along the lakes and rivers is a big issue, said Wanderi, so nutrient loading is a problem.

In Kenya, a lot of the population is concentrated on the banks of rivers and streams, Wanderi said. They see it as their land, so any laws designed to conserve water are seen as challenges to their property.

The public struggles to understand the need for conservation, said Margret Sinda, from Malawi.

“They don’t understand that if they don’t find fish, it’s because it’s depleting,” she said.

Food insecurity complicates conservation efforts, said Catherine Fridolin, from Tanzania.

“It’s very difficult to go tell those fishermen to stop fishing just because the fish are depleting while they’re dependent on the fish resources for food,” she said.

“if you tell them that this is closed season, it’s very hard for them because it’s like you’re telling them that now they will not have anything to eat,” added Sinda.

Communities must be included in policy making, Fridolin said. The government needs to see how it can help communities while working to manage resources.

Governments also need to put more effort into conservation, said Sinda.

In Malawi, the government funds research but she does not consider it to be enough. A lot of the research depends on donors, which aren’t reliable sources of funding.

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Organized by the Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve (RMBR) and Friends of Sandy Lake, with the assistance of the Municipality of Harrison Park, this switch-out enabled Candace Parks, aquatic invasive species (AIS) specialist with Manitoba Sustainable Development to present a volunteer AIS inspector training session.

The 30-plus people who attended learned from a simulation where a fishing boat, Jet Ski, canoe and water-related equipment typically found on board watercraft, were “spiked” with AIS, including water potentially loaded with zebra mussel veligers (microscopic babies).

“This was done,” said Parks, “to show how it’s critical to pay close attention to the smallest detail — as a ‘juvenile’ zebra mussel can be the size of a grain of sand, so it’s not only important to ‘look’ but also to ‘feel’ surfaces while checking for AIS.”

“The level of attendance indicates that the general public are beginning to realize that, as citizens, everyone can and should play a crucial role in protecting our rivers, lakes and streams from AIS — to preserve our outdoor lifestyles and highly valuable tourism resources,” said Jim Irwin, chair of RMBR.

Parks also spoke about the additional requirements that are needed when leaving a high-risk “Control Zone,” or already-invaded water like Lake Winnipeg or the Red River. Currently, there are six AIS Control Zones in the province.

“The bottom line is,” said Parks, “despite the fact that the issue is often in the news these days, we need more AIS awareness.”

An information session was also held at Ditch Lake last month, and attended by 15 people. The event was organized by cottagers, who invited Parks and Don Huisman of Erickson to present, so they could learn how to be part of the solution to the zebra mussel infestation problem.

David Cairns, president of the Gull Lake Basin Management Board lent his expertise at both sessions, explaining that the Municipality of Alexander and St. Clements has allowed a locked gate and volunteer inspectors to control access to their lake. Gull Lake is located 80 km west of Lake Winnipeg.

Both sessions stressed that “clean, drain, dry and dispose,” are the requirements for all water users to incorporate when using Manitoba’s water bodies, to protect against AIS contamination.

Decontamination of AIS-infected watercraft is an entirely different matter. When watercraft are used in a designated Control Zone, in addition to “clean, drain, dry and dispose,” they must also be decontaminated. This is where water, low-pressure heated to 60 C, is used to clean inside and outside the watercraft, ensuring that any AIS that may have been in or on it is killed prior to the watercraft being launched into another water body.

The Province of Manitoba operates six AIS Watercraft Inspection Stations to enable watercraft to be inspected, and if necessary, decontaminated when travelling west, out of Control Zones.

When the stations are open, all watercraft being transported — including non-motorized canoes and paddleboards — must report to be inspected. The stations are open for six hours a day, except for the Selkirk Station which is open seven hours a day, and all are open Thursday through Monday. A schedule is posted at www.manitoba.ca/stopAIS.

Right now, there is no intention of providing additional AIS Watercraft Inspection Stations in southwestern Manitoba. So, the RMBR, led by Irwin and Valerie Pankratz, is hosting a meeting of the RMBR municipalities affected, to discuss the establishment of a regional decontamination station, which could be mutually supported by the municipalities.

“The rationale for this station,” said Irwin, “is to provide an owner possessed of a possibly contaminated watercraft, with a reasonable option — so they do not have to drive for hours back to an inspection station in central Manitoba, such as is located in Headingley, for example.

“This will definitely help when watercraft coming out of designated Control Zones pass the stations before and after they are open, ending up in our area uninspected. And, these boats are in addition to the ‘drive-by’ watercraft that have been recorded by the attendants of existing AIS inspection stations, which amounted to about 24 per cent in 2017,” he said.

To weigh in or become involved, contact Irwin at 204-848-7354 or at jimirwin@ridingmountain.ca.

To learn more go to ‘Spread the Word Not the Mussels’ on the RMBR website.

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A new project from the not-for-profit Lake Winnipeg Foundation (LWF) aims to find out.

Its Community Based Monitoring project, operating as a pilot program in 2016, aims to co-ordinate the water testing and sampling now underway by schools, landowners and other individuals and produce a comprehensive data set from their efforts, says Kirsten Earl McCorrister, programs director with the LWF.

“The idea is to have a network that collects phosphorus information on a geographic scale, that actually lets us truly get a picture of how much and where it comes from,” she said, adding that will ultimately better inform policy for strategic interventions.

“What we know is that we don’t know enough,” she told a June 18 Manitoba Conservation District Association tour group visiting the watershed management projects in the Seine Rat River Conservation District. “Our scientists say until we really have a better idea of where the nutrients are coming from, from what land masses they’re coming from, and what subject areas they’re coming from, we won’t be able to make strategic decisions about where to place interventions.”

The LWF is a not-for-profit volunteer-based organization founded in 2005 with a scientific advisory council of freshwater experts guiding its work.

Their pilot project underway this year is networking two school groups and two conservation districts — the Seine Rat River CD and the LaSalle Redboine CD — as they design protocols for water sampling and figure out how to get samples to labs for testing. Various groups and individuals now do these tests and want to share their data, but there’s a perceived lack of credibility to it because testing and sampling isn’t presently done consistently from site to site.

“What we want to do is make sure that the testing we do and the sampling are all done the same way,” she said.

In 2017 the LWF hopes to expand this network and include more citizen scientists collecting data. The more gathered, especially at key periods such as spring run-off, and after heavy rainstorms, will also help fill in data gaps, Earl McCorrister said.

“The province, Environment Canada, and academia are doing a lot of monitoring, but they can’t always be where they need to be to test the water during peak flows,” she said.

“Having a network where we can call up local people and say, ‘there was just a thunderstorm in your area; can you get out in the next 24 hours to check the water and get a sample?’ means we can see what’s happening in terms of phosphorus leaking into the waterways.”

Earl McCorrister said the LWF is trying to spread the word as widely as they can about the merits of participating in community-based water monitoring.

“If you’re a landowner and you’re interested in collecting samples, please come and talk to us,” she said. “We will be looking for volunteers in the coming year.”

The data will be carefully analyzed and those collecting it will see how their efforts inform the bigger picture, added Mike Stainton, vice-president of the LWF board of directors who was also on the MCDA tour.

“It’s not going to be just a bunch of raw numbers,” Stainton said. “It’s going to answer questions we have about where the hot spots are in the watershed and where land use management interventions are more necessary than others. The landscape isn’t uniform. There are some areas more of a concern than others. We’ll find out where those are.”

For more information about the project contact programs@lakewinnipegfoundation.org.

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Warm temperatures are causing ice conditions across much of southern Manitoba, from Lake of the Prairies to Dauphin Lake and as far east as Lake of the Woods, to deteriorate faster than normal this spring.  A milder-than-usual winter meant the ice did not reach its usual thickness in many areas, which could lead to a faster thaw.  Everyone venturing onto the ice should exercise caution and good judgment.

March 31 is normally the last day for removal of ice shacks in the south, but the recent weather means earlier removal is required.  Fishers are asked to have shacks in the area south of Riding Mountain National Park, as well as those on Lake of the Prairies, Dauphin Lake, Moose Lake and Buffalo Bay in the Lake of the Woods off the ice by March 15.

Regulations require that all ice-fishing shacks be moved off the Red River by March 13.

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Last week, Alberta and Ontario signed on to the Lake Friendly Accord, which already includes many mayors and reeves, as well as the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, Manitoba Hydro, the government of Canada and state of Minnesota.

For Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), it’s welcome news.

“We’ve been working with the accord quite closely over the years and were involved in developing the Lake Friendly practices for farms,” said KAP president Dan Mazier, as he returned home following a meeting of the Assiniboine River Basin Initiative. “KAP has been at the table all along, and yes, I think this is good.”

He added that by participating in the process, the organization has been able to make sure farmers’ needs were met and understood, while also ensuring the health of waterways.

Bringing two new provinces into the fold will only help move the accord forward by adding that knowledge and experiences to the mix, he said.

“Ontario has the advantage that it has the Great Lakes, so they’ve been there, done that, and brought it back to life. They have a lot of knowledge, not just about water, but about people and how you bring these things together,” said Mazier, noting that Alberta’s experiences with the oilsands would also add to the discussion.

“But we all have agriculture and I would think we in Manitoba are at the forefront in how we manage nutrients,” he said.

Manitoba’s Minister of Conservation and Water Stewardship Tom Nevakshonoff said Ontario has pledged to undertake numerous actions to reduce nutrient loading in the Lake of the Woods area, Lake Simcoe and the Laurentian Great Lakes. Alberta has agreed to a similar pledge to address the issue of nutrient loading in its watershed.

“There are many opportunities for different jurisdictions to work together on this issue because nutrient loading poses one of the most serious threats to water quality across North America,” said Nevakshonoff.

The hope is that by adding these two new provinces to the accord, all partners in the Lake Friendly Stewards Alliance will be better able to share and implement best management practices, the minister added.

“I’m very much encouraged by seeing governments work together,” said Mazier, adding that for “too long” Manitoba has been left alone to deal with the issues affecting Lake Winnipeg, even though several jurisdictions feed into the water system.

The accord has its roots in local government and was the brainchild of nine communities concerned with deteriorating water quality in Lake Winnipeg in 2008. The South Basin Mayors and Reeves launched the Lake Friendly Initiative in 2009, aiming to create a community-to-community approach to improving water quality. It has expanded and evolved since.

“The South Basin Mayors and Reeves recognizes that we need to engage a diverse range of partners to reduce nutrient loading in Lake Winnipeg,” said Rick Gamble, chair of the South Basin Mayors and Reeves and co-chair of the Lake Friendly Stewards Alliance. “We have much to learn from and much to offer our neighbours to the east and our friends to the west as we welcome them as signatories to the accord.”

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