The Manitoba government is creating a new ecological reserve and expanding the boundaries of an existing reserve to better protect two outstanding sites in southeastern Manitoba.
Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh said the new 76-hectare Holmgren Pines Ecological Reserve and the expanded Pocock Lake Ecological Reserve will protect the habitat by prohibiting commercial logging, mining, hydroelectric development, oil and gas development or any other activity that could affect these sites.
“Protecting species and natural landscapes is best done by protecting an entire ecosystem,” Mackintosh said. “Designating these new areas as ecological reserves will ensure that these special places are protected from development for years to come and conserve them for future generations.”
The Holmgren site, located 30 kilometres northeast of Sprague, is the only known location in Manitoba where all three native pine species — eastern white pine, red pine and Jack pine — grow together. The expansion of the Pocock Lake Ecological Reserve, 30 km southeast of Steinbach, will be accomplished by removing 39 hectares of land with cross country ski trails in the southeast corner and adding 81 hectares of undisturbed wetlands.
— Staff
