Manitobans know that industrial development does not belong in parks, and with a changing climate and a relentless push for development across the province, they know that we need protected areas now more than ever.

That is why we have finally focused our Wilderness Committee resources and launched our "Stop Park Mining" campaign. We started this campaign because mining, potentially one of the most environmentally destructive industries there is, is still allowed in some of Manitoba's provincial parks. In 2008, after ten years of hard campaigning, the Wilderness Committee saw logging end in 80 of 81 parks. This was a huge success and we knew that we would have to one day achieve the same success with park mining. As our parks are slowly recovering from clearcut logging, we know the time has arrived to tackle mining and get our parks protected for good.

Bulldozed mining road in Nopiming Provincial Park

As part of my research for this campaign I was studying the Boreal Below Report (published by MiningWatch Canada), which takes a thorough look at mining in Canada's boreal. Did you know that 80 percent of Canada's highly productive mining industry takes place in this sensitive ecosystem? We know the boreal is globally significant for providing fresh air, clean water, and for storing carbon to mitigate climate change, so it's evermore important that we focus on getting mining and mineral exploration out of our parks.

Our GIS mapper, Geoff, assembled a map of Nopiming Provincial Park for us to show Manitobans what is really happening in their park. With 62% of Nopiming available for industrial activity, it is no wonder that on the map we see expansive bright red claimed areas throughout the park. The roughly 250 claims take up a whopping 29.9% of Nopiming. Some of these claims are even located on my favourite camping spots! I have seen firsthand the devastation that a mining operation can leave behind when I was in Sherridon, Manitoba, and I could not stand to have that happen in our parks.

We have a big fight up ahead in order to stand up for our parks. We need Manitobans to get ENGAGED and INVOLVED in a new wave of park protection, and we hope to see you out defending our parks with us this summer!

- Paloma

Click here to view the Wilderness Committee's Nopiming Mining Activity Map

Click here to view MiningWatch's Boreal Below Report

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