The government is taking too long to give one Manitoba area provincial park status, say community members and activists.

On Tuesday, Mar. 10, representatives and supporters of Fisher River Cree Nation met at the Manitoba Legislative Building to present the 10,000th letter of support in their 10-year plight to establish Ochiwasahow (Fisher Bay) Provincial Park.

Located just two hours north of Winnipeg, the area is currently protected as a park reserve, a temporary five-year status that was already renewed once.

The current term expires in October 2010.

“Basically we’re telling the province it’s time now to make a decision for permanent protection,” Fisher River chief David Crate said. “We’ve received overwhelming support.”

“We thought we should try to protect it not only for our people but for all Manitobans,” Crate said. “We want to ensure that that’s going to be here for today and for our future.”

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Manitoba has been supporting Fisher River’s initiative for the past four years through a letter-writing lobbying campaign.

“The government has been stalling,” said Ron Thiessen, CPAWS Manitoba’s executive director.

Based on talks with some government workers, Thiessen said the file is currently inactive.

However, Barry Bentham, director of the parks and natural areas branch of the provincial government, says that’s not the case and plans for the area are underway.

“Our next step is to engage some of the stakeholders,” he said.

Discussions with mining and logging companies, as well as surrounding communities, are set to begin soon; a public consultation process will follow next winter.

And while the 10,000 letters of support gathered by CPAWS will be considered, third party information cannot replace the government’s own public consultation process, Bentham said.

“We have to find some middle ground with protection being our ultimate goal and representation being our ultimate goal.”

For Crate, this timeline is unacceptable.

“They’ve had a long period of time. Consultation should have happened already,” Crate said.

He said land claim issues involving the park with surrounding First Nations have already been resolved. Peguis First Nation has given Fisher River their support in principle, Crate said.

According to Bentham, the department is bogged down by the number of designated protected areas on its plate, including Chitek Lake and Poplar/Nanowin Rivers, which are currently under park reserve status, expiring this fall.

Bentham said this expiration date makes these areas a priority.

“The conservation department is extremely under-resourced,” Thiessen said, citing another reason for the delay.

“That’s hardly an excuse,” said Liberal Party of Manitoba leader Jon Gerrard, a Fisher River supporter who was present on Tuesday. “It’s inexcusable not to have the staff to do the job.”

“It’s all about priorities,” Gerrard said. “The progress is nowhere near what it should have been.”

When status is granted, Fisher River hopes to use the land for ecotourism initiatives, such as a permanent tipi camp at which tourists can stay to enjoy the area.

Such a camp has been implemented in the past but had to be taken down as it lacked funds to continue under current circumstances.

Thiessen remains optimistic about the project.

“We believe if the will is there from the province… then they’ll put their resources in place,” he said.

The story above has been edited from the version in which it originally appeared. This version was posted Mar 19, 2009.

Published in Volume 63, Number 24 of The Uniter (March 19, 2009)