Friday, July 25, 2025
The Manitoba government is investing nearly $400,000 in rural Manitoba for aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention, Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes announced.
“We know that working with communities is a great way to protect the waters we cherish from aquatic invasive species,” said Moyes. “Our government is getting more resources into the hands of partners early so they can fight AIS in the areas they value most and when it matters most.”
First announced in April, the grants are being distributed from the province’s new Manitoba Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund to help deliver AIS prevention resources to partners across the province.
Grants from the new fund are being distributed to a total of six organizations across the province including Indigenous, municipal and local community action groups. More than $120,000 of this new fund has been allocated to the Rural Municipality (RM) of Prairie Lakes to address the imminent threat of AIS and prevent its spread to Pelican Lake, noted the minister.
“We are pleased to receive provincial funding to help with the costs associated with implementing and maintaining our AIS mitigation strategy,” said Darren Seymour, reeve, RM of Prairie Lakes. “The province’s ongoing support has been instrumental in the development of our strategy and these new funds will be used to enhance our program, benefitting the Prairie Lakes community. We look forward to collaborating with the province to help prevent the spread of AIS.”
Additional recipients include:
- Citizens for Protecting Our Northern Waterways Inc. – $11,782;
- Gull Lake Basin Management Board Inc. – $95,000;
- Municipality of Harrison Park – $51,000;
- Norway House Cree Nation – $108,228; and
- Swan Valley Sport Fishing Enhancement – $2,650.
“The provincial funding that Gull Lake is receiving to help assist with our AIS prevention strategy will be a game changer,” said Kevin Betzold, president, Gull Lake Basin Management Board. “Our volunteer board has been doing its best to control AIS and the new funding will help make the efforts even stronger. The grant will not only help with the cost of supplies, updating decontamination equipment and water testing, but will allow us to allow us to invest in proper gate barriers to prevent watercraft from circumventing the inspection station. The funding will also ensure we can maintain proper staffing throughout the year and help improve our communication and education strategy to keep residents informed.”
The Manitoba government is continuing to work together with these partners and is looking to build more collaborative relationships in the future, the minister noted An application intake for the 2026 season will open in fall 2025.
“Our government has heard loud and clear that in addition to our existing provincewide programming, we also need to support local prevention efforts,” said Moyes. “Whether you are just starting out or have an established AIS prevention program, we want to work together to take positive steps for AIS prevention at the community level.”
Overall, Budget 2025 invests more than $2.2 million to protect Manitoba’s lakes and rivers from aquatic invasive species.
For more information about the AIS partnership program, visit: www.manitoba.ca/stopais/
