June 22, 2016
Manitoba Celebrates Opening of Brokenhead Trail
– – –$1 Million Provincial Support to Help Eco-Tourism Opportunity: Ministers
The Manitoba government is pleased to celebrate the official opening of the Brokenhead Wetland Interpretive Trail, Sustainable Development Minister Cathy Cox and Indigenous and Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clarke announced today.
“This is a great partnership between the province, the local community and naturalists who have worked tirelessly to promote and share the cultural and ecological significance of this area,” Cox said. “The best way to make people understand the importance of preserving our environment is to let them share in nature’s beauty without disturbing it.”
The province provided $1 million for the construction of a fully accessible floating walkway that lets visitors tour a carefully selected area along the edge of the Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve. The walkway will allow visitors to enjoy the educational and aesthetic benefits of natural areas without damaging the fragile, unique plant life found in the area.
“We are pleased to see this kind of partnership that empowers First Nation communities to support, celebrate and share the beauty of this land and their culture,” Clarke added. “We congratulate Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Native Orchid Conservation, the Manitoba Model Forest, and Eastside Aboriginal Sustainable Tourism Inc. for their work, and also thank the Winnipeg Foundation for their support of an endowment fund established by former naturalist Eugene Reimer that will see the trail maintained for years to come.”
The one kilometre trail route winds through various habitat types including a balsam fir forest, a white cedar bog and a rare type of wetland known as a fen. The route has numerous resting points with benches and signage that highlight specific plants such as orchids, pitcher plants and Labrador tea, along with other features such as boulders left behind by moving glacial ice. The special relationship that the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation has with the wetland is also a major focus of the interpretation.
The Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve covers approximately 3,060 acres andis part of the much larger Brokenhead Wetland complex. The area contains many rare and uncommon plant species, including numerous orchids and insect-eating plants.
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