Manitoba wildlife sites gain protection under new strategy

The Manitoba government is protecting two new areas, which means more than 11 per cent of theprovince is now protected, Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Tom Nevakshonoff said in a news release on Thursday.

• Groups want more protected areas in Manitoba's boreal forest

• Manitoba adds 14,000 hectares to protected lands

Places to Keep Manitoba's Protected Areas Strategy, released Thursday, addsthe Red Deer Wildlife Management Areaand an expansion to Lake Winnipegosis'Salt Flats Ecological Reserveto the province's protected areas.

Both sites are habitats for endangered species, thenews release says, and the one atLake Winnipegosisisthe only known example of a long inland saline shoreline in Manitoba. It supports plant species otherwise found only along Hudson Bay.

"Manitobans love their great lakes and wildlife, and we need to do all we can to protect the environment," Nevakshonoff said in the news release.

"We want to ensure that a balance is struck between prosperous and healthy communities, and the protection of boreal ecosystems in partnership with northern communities and indigenous people."

Protected areas are a certain andeconomical wayto protect wildlife populations, maintain natural cycles and safeguard pristine areas, he said.

The areas are important for research, education and ecological services providing benchmarks to help monitor the sustainable development of mineral, petroleum and other natural resources, he said.