The watercraft ban on Clear Lake now includes a yacht that offered tours and sunset cruises following a positive test of zebra mussel DNA near the national park’s main marina.
“This is not a confirmation of a live zebra mussel in the immediate area, but it is an indication that Parks Canada must step up its response,” Dameon Wall, Riding Mountain National Park’s external relations manager, said in an email Wednesday.
The watercraft ban, which includes everything from paddleboards to canoes to motorboats, was implemented in May following the discovery of the invasive species last fall in the park’s largest lake. The yacht, Parks Canada vessels and a boat belonging to the neighbouring Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation were originally excluded from the ban. The latter two remain exempt.
A worker in a small boat drags curtains into place at Clear Lake. (Tim Smith / The Brandon Sun)
As a result of the latest positive DNA test, Parks Canada expanded the range of a semi-permeable containment curtain that was being installed this week to prevent the spread of mussels. Previously, Parks Canada believed the zebra mussel’s presence was limited to the main boat cove.
The massive curtain will now stretch from the cove to the nearby public beach and encircle the marina, which is where the cruising yacht is moored.
Swimming, fishing and beach access is not limited at this point. Parks Canada is also still considering using potash, a Health Canada-approved pesticide treatment, in the lake to eradicate the mussels.
The yacht operators could not be reached for comment. However, according to a statement on the marina’s website Wednesday, the operators “are heartbroken to announce that as of July 31, 2024, The Martese Cruises are shut down for the remainder of the 2024 season.”
The statement added: “Although 2024 has been a year of sadness and difficult decisions, we are keeping our eyes on the light at the end of the tunnel. Clear Lake’s 2024 watercraft restrictions are temporary, and we look forward to the day that we can share this wonderful lake with you once again.”
Parks Canada officials were hopeful the containment curtain was going to be fully installed by the end of day Wednesday.
According to the original work tender, the curtain would be installed by a four-person dive team, covering an area two kilometres long, with a maximum depth of seven metres and a surface area of 10 to 30 hectares.
It’s the first time Parks Canada has used the technique against zebra mussels, Wall said. In 2017, the federal department used containment curtains to prevent the spread of whirling disease among fish in Banff National Park’s Johnson Lake.
“There’s a float along the top and then the curtain itself is actually suspended from that float,” Wall said. “It is sort of bunched up and tied up when it’s being put in place.
“Once the curtain is in position, the staff will remove some ropes, which will allow weights to carry them to the lake floor and keep them in place.”
— Brandon Sun