Created in 1986, the Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve is a non-profit volunteer organization, managed by representatives from the surrounding area. The organization's stated mission is "to foster and encourage, through research, information exchange, education and communication, a sustainable regional economy with high biodiversity and landscape values, with Riding Mountain National Park as a key component."[6] Prior to its creation in 1986, The Riding Mountain Liaison Committee (RMNLC) was entrusted to oversee the integration of this area and surrounding communities, eleven of which participated in a consultation process.[7]
Upon establishment, the Biosphere Reserve included 18 municipalities, several of which were merged in 2015 as a result of the Manitoba Municipal Amalgamation Act enacted in 2013 by the Manitoba provincial government. A Biosphere Reserve Management Committee (BRMC) was created to oversee the area. Biosphere Reserve land situated outside of Riding Mountain National Park is both privately and publicly owned and managed.
Local initiatives hosted by the Biosphere Reserve include a spring market, a native species garden, educational programming and geocaching programs.[8][9] Public workshops held by the Biosphere Reserve covered topics such as climate change, beaver problems, sustainable agriculture, and the potential of poplar. In 1996 when Louisiana Pacific received hardwood cutting rights, the Biosphere Reserve researched "the impact of timber harvesting on cavity nesting birds and other species found in the corridor between the Ducks and Riding Mountain.".[10][11]
Other activities undertaken by the Biosphere Reserve include the rehabilitation of fish spawning areas on the Milk River. In December 1998 an elk in Riding Mountain National Park tested positive for bovine tuberculosis.[12] Because beavers, elk and moose freely moved within the boundary of the park and surrounding region, there was a risk of the disease spreading.[9] Some of the areas susceptible included agricultural farmland bordering the park.[7] In 2012 a Water Stewardship Project was launched in association with the Centre for Sustainable Watershed.[7] More recently funding issues have created a challenged for continued programming.[7]
Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve covers 15,000 square kilometres of land in South-western Manitoba, with the core area, Riding Mountain National Park (RNMP), covering nearly 3,000 square kilometres. It is some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg, Manitoba.[3] The Park, established in 1933 and governed by Parks Canada, predates RMBR by fifty-three years. It has a town site, Wasagaming, several trails, and a wild bison enclosure at Lake Audy.
Significant geographic landmarks in Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve include the Shell River Valley in the west, Manitoba Escarpment in the East, and Valley River and Wilson River in the North.[2][13] The local climate is cool and moist due to a higher elevation than the surrounding area.[7] Due to these unique conditions, several different ecosystems are present in the vicinity of the Biosphere Reserve, including the deciduous forest, boreal forest, and grassland.[2] Many small lakes and marshes dot the landscape in the transition zone.[7]
A total of 29, 758 individuals reside in the transition zone of the Biosphere Reserve as of the 2011 census, with an average population of 2.8 persons per square kilometre. When the area under the jurisdiction of Riding Mountain National Park is taken into account, the population density is 2.2 persons per square kilometre.[7]
Ecological Characteristics
Forests cover most of the area, dominated by aspen (Populus tremuloides). Although grasslands occupy only 7,400 of the total 1,331,800 hectares, they are considered of national importance since they exist as discrete units and the rare climax rough fescue community represents the eastern extent of its range. Grasslands once occurred throughout southern Manitoba, but have been transformed since European settlement in the late nineteenth century. The biosphere reserve also includes agricultural areas that used to be forests or grasslands. The forest ecosystem maintains many larger mammals, such as black bear (Ursus americanus), American bison (Bison bison), gray wolf (Canis lupus) and coyote (Canis latrans).[3]
Socio-Economic Characteristics
Descendants of the Ojibwa First Nations live in four relatively small Indian Reserves within the transition zone. The rest of the area is settled mainly by people of Ukrainian, English, French or Scandinavian descent.[3]
The region supports a rural agricultural economy supplemented by tourism associated principally with the national park. The national park also maintains a well-developed interpretive centre with a wide variety of public information materials.[3]
In terms of the human population, a small number of permanent residents live within the core area in the form of resident park wardens and their families at warden stations along the periphery of the National Park. However, since 2000 most of these stations have been closed. A large, seasonal population of cabin owners occupies a site in Wasagaming town in Riding Mountain National Park during the summer months, with up to 15,000 people occupying the site during peak periods.[3]
The Clear Lake Chamber Music Festival is a classicallive music festival in Manitoba. The first Festival, held in 2006, featured pianist Alexander Tselyakov, cellist Yuri Hooker, violinists Daniel Scholz, and Philippe and Mark Djokic.[15]
Harvest Sun Music Festival
This Canadian prairie music festival, held in Kelwood, Manitoba, features local musicians and was first held in 2006. It has featured musicians such as Fred Penner, Sierra Noble, Old Bones Buffalo, Burnt Project, Don Amero, Al Simmons, Carly Dow Band, and Scott Nolan Band.[16]
DUKE Fest
DUKE Fest is a music festival held annually in Rossburn, Manitoba since 2014. It has featured musicians such as Ryan Keown Band, Jake Boreskewich, Sonny and the Hurricanes, In Too Deep, and Tom Dowden.[17]
Manitoba Maple Syrup Festival
This winter festival, held annually in McCreary, Manitoba since 2013, is based out of McCreary Community Centre and McCreary Golf and Country Cub as of 2016. Events held in the municipality include a Maple Syrup trivia night, performances by local musicians, horse-drawn wagon rides, and sampling of maple taffy.[18]
Dauphin's Countryfest
Held for over 30 years each Canada Day long weekend, Dauphin's Countryfest is Canada's longest running country music festival with over 15,000 attendees on-site and up to 45,000 visitors over the 4 day event. The festival has featured world famous acts including the Zach Brown Band, Terri Clark, and Toby Keith.
Recreation
Riding Mountain Trans Canada Trail Network
Onanole Trail The Onanole Trail, opened after three years of planning, links the town of Onanole in the Rural Municipality of Harrison Park to the town site of Wasagaming in Riding Mountain National Park. The multi-use trail is five kilometres, and can be accessed by cyclists and pedestrians during the summer, and skiers and snowshoers during the winter. The trail covers both private and public land.[19]
Elk Link Recreation Trail The Elk Link Recreation Trail, which opened on Friday, July 31, 2015, links Elk Park in Onanole, Manitoba to the town of Erickson, Manitoba. Animals such as moose, bears, elk, squirrels, and coyotes can be seen on the trail.”[20]
The non-profit Trans Canada Trail organization is constructing a recreation trail that reaches both the West Coast and East Coast of Canada. The segment of the Trail in Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve, over 175 kilometers in length, connects the towns of Russell, Manitoba and Neepawa, Manitoba, and runs parallel to Riding Mountain National Park, at varying distances. It also connects to the Elk Link Recreation Trail in Erickson, Manitoba.”[20] The two trails meets at the junctions of Highways 45 & 10.[21]
Curling There are curling clubs in Dauphin, Gilbert Plains, Grandview, Newdale, Russell, and Shoal Lake, registered as members of CurlManitoba.[22]
Golf There are golf clubs in Dauphin, Gilbert Plains, and Russell, registered as members of Golf Manitoba.[23]
Waterton Lakes National Park is in the southwest corner of Alberta, Canada. The national park borders Glacier National Park in Montana, United States. Waterton was the fourth Canadian national park, formed in 1895 as Kootenay Lakes Forest Reserve. It is named after Waterton Lake, in turn after the Victorian naturalist and conservationist Charles Waterton. Its range is between the Rocky Mountains and the Prairies. This park contains 505 km2 (195 sq mi) of rugged mountains and wilderness. It has a diverse ecosystem.
Riding Mountain National Park is a national park in Manitoba, Canada. The park is located within Treaty 2 Territory and sits atop the Manitoba Escarpment. Consisting of a protected area of 2,969 km2 (1,146 sq mi), the forested parkland stands in sharp contrast to the surrounding prairie farmland. It was designated a national park because it protects three different ecosystems that converge in the area; grasslands, upland boreal and eastern deciduous forests. It is most easily reached by Highway 10 which passes through the park. The south entrance is at the townsite of Wasagaming, which is the only commercial centre within the park boundaries.
Cascade Head is a headland and 102,110-acre (41,320 ha) United States Forest Service Experimental Forest and part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. It is situated 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Portland, Oregon on the Oregon Coast between Lincoln City and Neskowin. Cascade Head Preserve is a Nature Conservancy Selected Site.
McCreary is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of McCreary, Manitoba, Canada.
Parkland is an informal geographic region of the Canadian province of Manitoba, located between Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis on the east and the Manitoba–Saskatchewan border on the west.
Neepawa is a town in Manitoba, Canada, on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection with Highway 5.
Tatra National Park is a national park located in the Tatra Mountains in Tatra County, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in central-southern Poland. The park is headquartered in the town of Zakopane.
Provincial Trunk Highway 5 is a provincial primary highway located in the Canadian province of Manitoba.
Duck Mountain Provincial Park is a provincial park, located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) east of the town of Kamsack and stretches about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) eastward to the Saskatchewan / Manitoba boundary. The park covers approximately 150 km2 (58 sq mi). Road access to the park is via Highway 57, which connects Saskatchewan Highway 5 to Manitoba Highway 83.
Census Division No. 17 (Dauphin) is a census division located within the Parklands Region of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Unlike in some other provinces, census divisions do not reflect the organization of local government in Manitoba. These areas exist solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government of their own.
The wildlife of Canada or biodiversity of Canada consist of over 80,000 classified species, and an equal number thought yet to be recognized. Known fauna and flora have been identified from five kingdoms: protozoa represent approximately 1% of recorded species; chromist ; fungis ; plants ; and animals. Insects account for nearly 70 percent of documented animal species in Canada. More than 300 species are found exclusively in Canada.
Provincial Trunk Highway 45 is a provincial highway in the Parkland Region of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It runs from PTH 16 and PTH 83 in the town of Russell to PTH 10 five kilometres (3.1 mi) north of the village of Erickson.
The Beaver Hills, also known as the Beaver Hills Moraine and the Cooking Lake Moraine, are a rolling upland region in Central Alberta, just to the east of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It consists of 1,572 square kilometres (607 sq mi) of "knob and kettle" terrain, containing many glacial moraines and depressions filled with small lakes. The landform lies partly within five different counties, Strathcona, Leduc, Beaver, Lamont and Camrose. The area is relatively undeveloped compared to the surrounding region, and is protected in part by Elk Island National Park, the Cooking Lake–Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, the Ministik Lake Game Bird Sanctuary, Miquelon Lake Provincial Park and a number of smaller provincial natural areas. Since 2016 Beaver Hills has been a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve.
The Prairie Mountain Health is the governing body responsible for healthcare delivery and regulation for the eponymous health region in southwest Manitoba.
Waterton Biosphere Region is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve encompassing Waterton Lakes National Park in the extreme southwest of the Province of Alberta, Canada. The region includes a section of the east slopes of the Rocky Mountains extending from the Continental Divide to the edge of the Canadian Great Plains to the east, including the Municipality of Pincher Creek and Cardston County. The Glacier Biosphere Reserve and National Park in Montana, USA is located to the south of the area.
The D Division is the division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police responsible for federal policing in Manitoba and, at times, northwestern Ontario. Headquartered in Winnipeg, the division is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Scott McMurchy and consists of 1089 police officers and 438 support staff.
Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve situated in Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. A diverse range of ecosystems exist within the biosphere reserve boundaries, including temperate coastal rainforest, ocean and rocky coastal shores.
White Lake Grasslands Protected Area is a conservation site located in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen of British Columbia, Canada. It was established on April 18, 2001 by an order-in-council under the Environment and Land Use Act to protect the semi-arid grassland and pine forest ecosystem west of Vaseux Lake.
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