
Ministry of Environment looking to protect Saskatchewan waters from invasive species
For many in Saskatchewan, the May Long weekend is the official kickoff to summer in the province, and that often means heading out to the lake either camping or hitting the water. That also brings the focus on protecting Saskatchewan lakes and waterways from invasive species, and there are a number of them that the Ministry of Environment is keeping an eye on.
The province has done a good job in keeping invasive water species out of Saskatchewan lakes and waterways, while the provinces surrounding Saskatchewan are having to deal with the fallout of species like Zebra and Quagga mussels.
Paige Gilchrist is an aquatic invasive species ecologist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment. Last year, six boats entering Saskatchewan were found to be carrying invasive mussels, along with another 250 watercrafts that were decontaminated on a precautionary basis, but they were all caught before entering Saskatchewan waters.
“Thankfully the news from last year again was very positive that we didn’t detect any invasive Zebra or Quagga mussels in any of our waters in Saskatchewan, but unfortunately they have spread to quite a few water bodies within some of the provinces and states where they had already established populations, so really close by like Manitoba and North Dakota, just for example.”