South Atikaki Provincial Park. Draft Management Plan

South Atikaki Provincial Park Draft Management Plan

South Atikaki Provincial Park Draft Management Plan Table of Contents 1. Introduction... 3 2. Park History... 3 3. Park Attributes... 3 3.1 Natural... 4 3.2 Recreational... 4 3.3 Resource Use... 5 3.4 Additional Features... 5 4. Park Management Framework... 6 4.1 Park Classification... 6 4.2 Park Purpose... 6 4.3 Land Use Categories... 6 5. Management Guideline... 7 5.1 Natural Values... 7 5.2 Recreation... 7 6. Implementation... 7 Appendix... 8 A. Park Classification and Land Use Categories Bibliography... 9 Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship Parks and Natural Areas Branch Draft: Summer 2012

Draft Management Plan 3 2. Park History 1. Introduction South Atikaki Provincial Park The Provincial Parks Act (1993) requires that a management plan be prepared for each provincial park. Management plans establish long-term direction for parks and address issues pertaining to resource protection, use and development of park land. The process of preparing this draft management plan and co-ordinating the public involvement process is the responsibility of a team involving staff from Parks and Natural Areas Branch, regional staff of Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship and a consultant contracted to work on the project. The Treaty and Aboriginal rights of Aboriginal peoples to pursue traditional uses and activities within South Atikaki Provincial Park are acknowledged and respected within the context of this draft management plan. People have lived and travelled on the land east of Lake Winnipeg, including the area where South Atikaki Provincial Park is located, for thousands of years. Throughout the 1900s the area became known for its mineral potential as well as for its value as a wilderness area. South Atikaki Provincial Park was originally part of Atikaki Provincial Park, a Wilderness Park that was established in 1985. In 1996 the Provincial Parks Act (1993) came into force, including the designation of legally protected areas in certain parks where mining would be prohibited. As a result, existing mining claims in the south portion of Atikaki were in contravention of the act. To resolve this issue, the Atikaki Provincial Park boundary was changed in 1997, removing the approximately 140 square kilometres that contained the mining claims from the park and designating that land as South Atikaki Park Reserve. The park reserve was subsequently designated a provincial park in 2003 and classified as a Natural Park. Natural Parks may accommodate a variety of recreational opportunities and resource uses, including mining. 3. Park Attributes South Atikaki Provincial Park is 13,950 hectares (139.50 square kilometres) in size. The park is located on the east side of Manitoba approximately 25 kilometres east of the community of Bissett and 175 kilometres northeast of the city of Winnipeg. It is situated between Wallace Lake Provincial Park and Atikaki Provincial Park. Both Wallace and Siderock lakes are included in South Atikaki Provincial Park. There are no roads leading into South Atikaki, however Wallace Lake is road-accessible.

4 South Atikaki Provincial Park 3.1 Natural The park is part of the Lac Seul Upland portion of the Precambrian Boreal Forest Natural Region. Much like Atikaki Provincial Park to the north, South Atikaki is characterized by forested rock outcrops and granite cliffs mixed with rivers, lakes and bogs. The park is bordered on the west and south by the Broadleaf and Wanipigow rivers. The park contains significant habitat for a large variety of plants and animals. Generally, vegetation in the park is typical of the boreal forest and includes trees such as black spruce, jack pine, trembling aspen, balsam poplar, white birch, white spruce and balsam fir. Several plants that are rare or uncommon in Manitoba have been found in South Atikaki. These include rattlesnake grass and white-buttons, both very rare in the province, and running-pine, sensitive fern, pale manna grass, American wintergreen, dwarf huckleberry, swamp-pink, hooker s orchids, tesselated rattlesnake plantain, water lobelia, long-spurred violet, interrupted fern, round-leaved bog orchid, water-milfoil and graceful manna grass (Manitoba Conservation Data Centre, 2012). Wildlife that may be found in the park includes woodland caribou, moose, black bear, wolf, lynx, beaver, loon, bald eagle and other birds, furbearers and small mammals. The rivers and lakes within the park abound with many fish species, such as walleye, northern pike and lake trout. The purpose of South Atikaki Provincial Park is in part to protect woodland caribou habitat. Atikaki is an Ojibwe word meaning country of the caribou. There are two caribou herds whose ranges are in the vicinity of the park the Atikaki-Berens herd and the Owl-Flinstone herd. Woodland caribou are listed as Threatened under both the federal Species at Risk Act (2002) and the provincial Endangered Species Act (1990) (Species at Risk Public Registry, 2011; Province of Manitoba, 2011c). In 2006, Manitoba developed a conservation and recovery strategy for the species. This was followed in 2011 by a draft action plan specifically targeting the Atikaki-Berens and Owl- Flinstone woodland caribou ranges. The South Atikaki Provincial Park Management Plan will function alongside these and any future government policies relating to the management of woodland caribou in Manitoba. 3.2 Recreational South Atikaki Provincial Park is intended to offer nature-oriented recreation. Visitors can expect a very natural setting, limited development, little interaction with other park visitors in most areas of the park, excluding Wallace and Siderock lakes. The park is enjoyed by people looking for solitude, or a landscape that is physically challenging to navigate. Activities that take place in the park include canoeing, boating, fishing and hunting. Motorized boating in the park originates from the Wallace Lake shoreline and occurs on Wallace and Siderock lakes. Snowmobiling also occurs in the park on Wallace and Siderock lakes. In addition, a provision in the Atikaki Provincial Park and Bloodvein Canadian Heritage River Management Plan (2008) allows winter snowmobile access to Obukowin Lake through South Atikaki via a Siderock Lake access route. Wallace Lake is quite different from the rest of South Atikaki Provincial Park, due to the higher intensity of activity that takes place on the lake. Canoe routes through South Atikaki provide access to the Manitoba-Ontario Interprovincial Wilderness Area, which includes Woodland Caribou Provincial Park and the Eagle-Snowshoe Conservation Reserve in Ontario, as well as Atikaki Provincial Park and part of Nopiming Provincial Park in Manitoba. This wilderness area was established to conserve a significant portion of Canada s boreal forest and a high quality wilderness recreation area. A common route into Atikaki Provincial Park involves paddling or portaging from Wallace Lake east to Siderock Lake and then portaging north through South Atikaki to Obukowin Lake in Atikaki. Another option, when water levels are high enough, is to travel northwest from Wallace Lake up the Broadleaf River toward Aikens Lake in Atikaki.

Draft Management Plan 5 South Atikaki Provincial Park Map 3.3 Resource Use South Atikaki Provincial Park has a long history of resource use including hunting, fishing, bait fish harvesting, trapping and mineral exploration. There is one commercial outcamp located on Leaf Lake, and several outfitters operate in the area. There are several mining claims within South Atikaki Provincial Park. These claims are spread throughout the park (see section 4.3, Land Use Categories). South Atikaki lies on the Wallace Lake greenstone belt and the North Caribou terrane. Mineral exploration in the area began during Manitoba s mining boom of the early 1900s. Gold is the primary focus of exploration activities, but there are currently no mining operations in the park. 3.4 Additional Features South Atikaki Provincial Park is located within a broad area of boreal forest that five First Nations communities and the Manitoba and Ontario provincial governments are seeking to have recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After several years of research and planning, the site nomination to UNESCO was submitted in January, 2012.

6 South Atikaki Provincial Park 4. Park Management Framework 4.1 Classification Manitoba s Provincial Park System is made up of almost 100 different parks and park reserves. Each of these areas plays a role in conserving ecosystems, preserving natural, cultural or heritage resources, and providing outdoor recreation or educational experiences. Classification descriptions can be found in Appendix A. South Atikaki Provincial Park is classified as a Natural Park. As defined by The Provincial Parks Act (1993), the main purpose of a Natural Park is both to preserve areas of a natural region and to accommodate a diversity of recreational opportunities and resource uses. A System Plan for Manitoba s Provincial Parks (1997) states that the purpose of South Atikaki Provincial Park is to maintain habitat for woodland caribou and the existing natural condition of the canoe route access to Atikaki, and accommodate a variety of nature-oriented recreational opportunities while respecting existing commitments to the mining industry. According to that plan, the park will: provide a natural setting for nature-oriented recreational activities and the important canoeing access routes to Atikaki that depend on a largely undisturbed environment protect undisturbed habitat for the woodland caribou throughout their annual cycle accommodate mining in a manner that does not compromise other primary park purposes 4.2 Park Purpose Manitoba s provincial park system was established to conserve ecosystems and maintain biodiversity, to preserve unique and representative natural, cultural and heritage resources, and to provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities in a natural setting. Within this larger framework, individual parks contribute towards the overall objective of the provincial park system. 4.3 Land Use Categories Land Use Categories (LUCs) identify the important attributes of broad areas within a provincial park. Land may be categorized as Wilderness, Backcountry, Resource Use, Recreational Development, Heritage or Access LUCs. LUC descriptions can be found in Appendix A. The land comprising South Atikaki Provincial Park is categorized in two different LUCs. Seventy-three per cent (10,250 hectares) of the park is classified under the Recreational Development LUC (RD). This area accommodates non-intensive recreational opportunities and maintains habitat for a variety of plant and animal species. The remaining 27 per cent (3,700 hectares) of the park is classified under the Resource Management LUC (RM) and is intended to accommodate the potential for mineral development in the park.

Draft Management Plan 7 5. Park Management Guidelines The following guidelines will direct park management actions in South Atikaki Provincial Park. 5.1 Natural Values 1. The park will be managed to minimize the impact of human activity on undeveloped areas of the park. 2. Negative impacts on known species of conservation concern will be minimized or avoided. 3. Woodland caribou habitat will be conserved in accordance with federal and provincial woodland caribou management strategies. 4. Mineral exploration and development in the park will be managed through a permitting process to ensure that:»» critical fish and wildlife habitats and cultural resources are not impaired»» existing or planned patterns of recreational use are not interfered with 6. Implementation This management plan will be reviewed in 10 to 15 years, or as may be required. The management plan is to be used in conjunction with park regulations, directives and other departmental and government policies. 5.2 Recreation 1. Nature-oriented recreational opportunities and experiences ranging from motorized boating to wilderness canoeing will be provided. 2. Permits may be issued for snowmobile access to the Manitoba portion of Obukowin Lake utilizing the access route from Siderock Lake. 3. Recreational infrastructure will be limited to the Leaf Lake outcamp and the Wallace Lake shoreline.

8 South Atikaki Provincial Park Appendix A Park Classification and Land Use Categories Park Classifications In accordance of section 7(2) of The Provincial Parks Act (1993), all provincial parks are classified as one of the following types: (a) a wilderness park, if the main purpose of the designation is to preserve representative areas of a natural region; (b) a natural park, if the main purpose of the designation is both to preserve areas of a natural region and to accommodate a diversity of recreational opportunities and resource uses; (c) a recreation park, if the main purpose of the designation is to provide recreational opportunities; (d) a heritage park, if the main purpose of the designation is to preserve an area of land containing a resource or resources of cultural or heritage value; (e) any other type of provincial park that may be specified in the regulation. Land Use Categories In accordance with section 7(3) of The Provincial Parks Act (1993), all provincial parks are categorized into one or more of the following land use categories: (a) a wilderness category, if the main purpose of the categorization is to protect representative or unique natural landscapes in an undisturbed state and provide recreational opportunities that depend on a pristine environment; (b) a backcountry category, if the main purpose of the categorization is to protect examples of natural landscapes and provide basic facilities and trails for nature-oriented recreation in a largely undisturbed environment; (c) a resource management category, if the main purpose of the categorization is to permit commercial resource development or extraction in a manner that does not compromise the main purpose of the park classification; (d) a recreational development category, if the main purpose of the categorization is to accommodate recreational development; (e) a heritage category, if the main purpose of the categorization is to protect a unique or representative site containing a resource or resources of cultural or heritage value; (f) an access category, if the main purpose of the categorization is to provide a point or route of access in a provincial park or a location for a lodge and associated facilities; (g) any other category that may be specified in the regulation.

Draft Management Plan 9 Bibliography Manitoba Conservation. Atikaki Provincial Park and Bloodvein Canadian Heritage River Management Plan. 2008. Manitoba Conservation. Manitoba s Conservation and Recovery Strategy for Boreal Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). 2005. Manitoba Conservation Data Centre. Personal communications. 2012. Manitoba Natural Resources. A System Plan for Manitoba s Provincial Parks. 1997. Penziwol, Shelley, and Peter Blahut. From Asessippi to Zed Lake: A guide to Manitoba s provincial parks. Winnipeg: Great Plains Publications. 2011. Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Project. Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Project: The Land that Gives Life. www.pimachiowinaki.org/ (Undated.) Province of Manitoba. Find Your Favourite Park: Eastern Parks Atikaki Provincial Park. www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/parks/popular_parks/eastern/atikaki.html 2011a. Province of Manitoba. Manitoba s Mineral Resources. www.manitoba.ca/iem/mrd/index.html (2011b.) Province of Manitoba. Species At Risk. www.manitoba.ca/conservation/wildlife/sar/sarlist.html (2011c.) Smith, R.E., et al. Terrestrial Ecozones, Ecoregions and Ecodistricts of Manitoba: An ecological stratification of Manitoba s natural landscapes. Winnipeg: Land Resource Unit, Brandon Research Centre, Research Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 1998. Species at Risk Public Registry. A to Z Species Index. www.sararegistry.gc.ca. 2011. The Provincial Parks Act. C.C.S.M., c. P20. 1993.