MEGI FYI #3

It won't be too long now till we can jump back into the Healing Waters of Little Manitou Lake. Beautiful sunset, eh?

Have you ever heard Little Manitou Lake referred to as “like the Dead Sea”?

The similarity lies in the fact that they are both closed basin systems, which means “what goes in the lake, stays in the lake” (except through evaporation). As well, they both contain a wide spectrum of minerals in suspension. But that’s where the comparison stops.

The Dead Sea is, as the name implies, dead. The ecosystem is unable to sustain either fish or plant life.

In contrast, Little Manitou Lake is host to a thriving species of “Brine Shrimp” that are harvested in a sustainable manner on a fairly regular, yearly basis. Due to varying conditions related to spring runoff, rainfall or lack thereof, the shrimp population can vary.

In addition, there are several mineral products that continue to be produced by various techniques. This practice has carried on pretty much uninterrupted in some cases for several generations.

Little Manitou Lake AKA Manitou Beach is well-known far and wide as a place of wonderful healing powers. The famous ‘Healing Waters’ have been visited by people from all over the world who come to enjoy the restorative properties of the naturally buoyant waters.

These are just a few of the reasons why this group is committed to the maintenance and protection of this unique ecosystem.

Please note: You can purchase ‘biodegradable soaps and shampoos’ to use at the showers on the beach at both Pioneer Health Products at Manitou Beach and Watrous Pharmacy.

Thanks to these community-minded businesses for making these environmentally-friendly products available to the public. Please take advantage of this option.

The group invites anybody with a ‘pet peeve’ regarding environmental, or any other concerns about the ecological health of Little Manitou Lake to post a comment on this blog.

We will do our best to address any questions raised, or point you in the right direction if possible.

Member Notice: Manitou Environmental Group Inc. will be holding an Annual General Meeting Upstairs at the Diner at Manitou Beach, SK. on Sunday, June 22nd at 1:00. All members are encouraged to attend. You can renew your membership at the door. New members are always welcome so bring a friend! Coffee served.

Awful mess left in Wellington Park

Lovely sign welcoming visitors to Wellington Park says "Enjoy the Peace and Tranquility of this beautiful ecosystem".

On a walk through Wellington Park this weekend, this disgusting mess was discovered left behind by some very disrespectful party animals that we shall call "pigs". Paper plates, napkins and other debris was observed blowing around through the whole park and floating in the little creek. Many food items were simply left behind to attract skunks, rats and other vermin to this lovely spot. What a shameful mess! PLEASE, people! Go ahead and have fun but CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES! The most ignorant thing of all is that there is a garbage receptacle within about ten feet of this picnic table. DUH!

These Little Piggies

These little piggies had a picnic
These little piggies had fun
These little piggies left an awful mess
They must’ve left on the run!


After only five minutes of careful organization, the mess was cleaned up. Not by the Mommy of the above-mentioned pigs, but by a couple of concerned citizens who were moved to action by the awful mess. Anybody taking offense to this reference ought to think twice before leaving a piggish mess behind them in our beautiful little park.

Spring is coming!

Prairie Crocus, the Champions of Spring here in Saskatchewan, are the 1st harbingers of milder climes...

A sure-fire sign of spring is the imminent arrival of the Prairie Crocus. After the ground has thawed, these tenacious little guys pop up once there have been a few days of fairly warm weather. We went out about a week ago now and found lots of them on the east side of the ravine over Wellington Park, up high in the virgin grassy meadow there.

Not only does this spot feature a sweeping panaramic view of Wellington Creek, you can see the lake to the north and Haberman's fields to the south.

Everybody, I'm sure, was happy to see the last bits of snow finally melt away after our brief heat wave of early last week. For a day or so, the temperatures soared to over 28 degrees Celcius. But it was not sticking around. A day or so later, the temp went back down to 10-12 degrees and now we are hearing that there is a winter storm warning that will probably dump up to 50 cms of wet snow on us this Saturday and Sunday.

Sigh.

This is, of course, great news for our farmer friends as long as it socks some good moisture in without delaying spring seeding...

Wonder what affect all this extra precip will have on lake levels?

Increasing Public Awareness of Little Manitou Lake

Spring is here in Saskatchewan, at least on the calender. So far it has been slow in arriving, so there's a good chance that the run-off will be gradual and less severe than it was in 2007. We can only hope.

Greg Brkich, MLA Arm River-Watrous Constituency wrote to Manitou Environmental Group Inc. last year:

"Thank you for your recent letter regarding the issue of Sask Water diverting fresh water into Little Manitou Lake.

Through conversation with Hon John Nilson, Minister of Environment and his officials, they understand that your group is committed to preserving the protection and integrity of the lake. They also are aware that your group realizes the occasional need to address the issues that arise during times of extreme drought and low water levels and the need for consultation and co-operation between the Department of Environment and your group during these times.

Sincerely,

Greg Brkich, MLA Arm River-Watrous Constituency"

Seeing as how Mr. Brkich wrote this letter of support while in opposition, we are sure he will reiterate his support now that he's in government. We will be asking him to do this in order to maintain a level of awareness of the issues around protecting and maintaining the ecological health of Little Manitou Lake in the future. Manitou Environmental Group Inc. wrote the Manitou Beach Mayor and Council on February 5th, 2008:

"Dear Council Members;

The Manitou Environmental Group Incorporated is advising Council that we are currently conducting an ongoing sampling program to monitor input water from:
1) pig barn area run-off (east end of Little Manitou Lake) into the lake
2) lagoon area (west end of Little Manitou Lake) into the lake
3) west end area into the lake

This will give us an overall picture of the ecological health of Little Manitou Lake. These findings will be published on an ongoing basis, along with other factual information.

We are aware that Council is in the early stages of upgrading the lagoon system as required by the Saskatchewan Government regulations.

We have been approached by many concerned people about the lagoons. Is it possible for Council to supply us with a progress report on their plans and intentions on how they are dealing with the lagoon expansion and lagoon overflow into the lake. We are pursuing this in the interest of creating public awareness surrounding these issues.

Please respond at your earliest convenience. We look forward to hearing from you in the very near future.

Manitou Environmental Group Inc. Board."

Bobbi Crittenden, Administrator of Manitou Beach responded on February 21, 2008:

"To Manitou Environmental Group Incorporated Board

Council wishes to thank you for your letter dated February 5, 2008. Creating public awareness around the ecological health of Little Manitou Lake is very important.

At this point there is nothing to report for the lagoon expansion as it is in the early stages of development. Please keep in touch with us in regards to the expansion and we will be happy to let you know what's going on."

The MEGI Board always welcomes new members and always encourage folks with an interest in protecting the health of this unique lake to get in touch with us. We want to remind our members that the year-end is coming right up and that it's time to renew your memberships. Sign up your friends as well, to add to the strength of our united voice to defend the long-time ecological health of Little Manitou Lake.

If you are interested please call Rob at (306)946-2124, Fraser at (306)946-2700 or Sharon at (306)946-3676.

What goes up, Must come down?

These three pictures were all taken from the same spot last year, at the 'boat launch' east of Danceland. There is no denying that the water levels went way up. About 36" higher level or maybe even a bit more than that.







You will note that the big rock to the right is just about submerged by late August. We will be watching this rock before, during and after the spring runoff this year to see where the high-water mark ends up.

Attention Members

Manitou Environmental Group Inc. has a yearly membership fee of $20.00 and we presently have 14 members and growing. Our year end is coming up at the end of March.

Please plan to renew your annual membership and encourage your friends and neighbors who care about the long-term ecological health of Little Manitou Lake to take out a membership as well.

Blue-Green Algae in Little Manitou Lake?

Last summer folks here at Manitou Beach noticed a bloom of bright blue-green colored algae in a sheltered bay just east of the Beach Store. It was a noticeably different color from the algae the usually grows there.

Lots of people expressed concern and alarm about the blue-green colored algae. Was it the toxic strain that was killing livestock in other parts of the country?

A MEGI member collected a pristine sample and shipped it off to an independent laboratory in Regina for analysis. M-R-2-McDonald & Associates (Consulting Engineers) wrote in their letter dated Sept. 20, 2007, in part,

“Attached are the results of the microscopic examinations carried out on the three samples you submitted from Manitou Lake. The dried sample collected Sept. 9 approx. half-way down the lake on the south side was predominantly composed of filaments (trichomes) of the cyanobacteria, Lyngbya sp. Cyanobacteria were previously known as blue-green algae. The genus has been mentioned as being found in previous studies of saline lakes in Saskatchewan. It may grow on submerged surfaces (epiphytic) or free-floating (planktonic). In large numbers, it becomes visible to the naked eye. Based on available reference material, this genus is not known to have toxic strains. The unidentified brown spherical particles may be brine shrimp eggs...

...The species observed from your samples suggest typical phytoplankton populations for Manitou Lake. Although some species may become more abundant periods of ideal growing conditions, and therefore become more noticeable than previously. Without further information, we cannot comment on possible causes.”

So, the good news is,
"NO. The blue-green colored algae is NOT the toxic strain."