Land Designation
Protected
Wildlife Management Area
Landscape
Description
Delta Marsh is
an extensive freshwater coastal wetland at the
southern end of Lake Manitoba. It stretches
from Lynchs Point in the west to St. Ambroise in
the east. The protected portion of the Delta
Marsh Wildlife Management Area encompasses 8,125
hectares. These protected lands are free from
logging, mining, hydroelectric, oil and gas
development as well as other activities that
could significantly and adversely affect
habitat. The total size of the wildlife
management area is 11,000 hectares.
Outstanding
Features
The Delta Marsh
in south central Manitoba is one of the largest
and most important marshes in the Canadian
prairies, occupying
approximately 18,000 hectares at the south end
of Lake Manitoba. In 1982, the Delta Marsh was
listed as a wetland of international importance
under the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Ramsar
Convention. It is recognized provincially as a
“Manitoba Heritage Marsh” and nationally as an
Important Bird Area due to its significance for
waterfowl and neotropical migrants.
The marsh formed
between 2,500 and 4,500 years ago when the
ancient Assiniboine River flowed into Lake
Manitoba. It is composed of a network of
interconnected shallow bays separated from Lake
Manitoba by a wooded barrier beach.
White-tailed
deer are common on the lands bordering the
marsh, with gray partridge and sharp-tailed
grouse seen year round as well. Common
furbearers include coyote, red fox, beaver and
muskrat. Western grebes, pelicans and
cormorants are found in the marsh. Although
traditionally noted for its abundance of
waterfowl, such as canvasbacks, lesser scaup and
mallards, Delta Marsh is also a critical site
for migrating songbirds. The Delta Marsh Bird
Observatory monitors the spring and fall
migrations of warblers and other passerine
birds, often recording the greatest number and
variety of these birds in Canada.
People have been
drawn to the wildlife of the marsh for countless
generations. Spear points, arrow heads and
other evidence of early use by First Nations
exists throughout the area. In the early 1900s
people came by train from Portage la Prairie and
Winnipeg to Delta Beach to enjoy the sandy
beaches on Lake Manitoba. Since the turn of the
century, many cottages have been built on the
forested ridge overlooking the lake, and the
marsh has been used for hunting, trapping, and
fishing.
The Delta
Waterfowl Research Station was established in
1938 east of Delta Beach to carry out waterfowl
research. In 1966, the University of Manitoba
leased lands at the west end of the marsh from
the Province of Manitoba and developed the Delta
Marsh Field Station (University of Manitoba) as
a teaching and research centre.
The Delta Marsh
Wildlife Management Area was established to
protect and enhance natural habitat, conserve
biodiversity, and provide opportunities for
compatible recreational activities requiring
little or no development. Hunting, trapping,
fishing and existing agricultural uses will
continue as they have in the past. The
protected area is categorized as an IUCN (World
Conservation Union) protected area management
category IV, that is, a protected area managed
mainly for conservation of habitat and species
through management intervention. The remaining
unprotected wildlife management area is
categorized as an IUCN category VI, that is, an
area managed mainly for the sustainable use of
natural ecosystems.
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