The Ecological Corridor program is stopped: lessons learned and a path forward. Mercifully, the Assiniboine West Watershed District has made the decision not to sign a contribution agreement with Parks Canada for a $1 million grant to deliver programming within the federal government’s Ecological Corridor program framework. This ends a months-long, divisive battle between a rapidly expanding group of local agricultural producers, known as the Manitoba Land Stewards Inc. (MLS), and the Assiniboine West Watershed District (AWWD). The conflict has raged on since last Fall, with the intensity increasing to a fever pitch leading up to an eventful Town Hall…
Author: Rob Olson
Rob Olson
Rob Olson M.N.R.M. Rob is an avid outdoor enthusiast who lives for spending time fishing and hunting with his family and friends in the forests, lakes and fields of Manitoba. He has held many key positions as a wildlife manager. Rob held a variety of positions with the Delta Waterfowl Foundation for over 15 years, culminating in 10 years as President. Olsontook on the role of Deputy Minister of Sustainable Development with the Manitoba government in 2017 and filled a variety of roles till present time, focusing on rebuilding Manitoba’s Fisheries Branch and Conservation Officer Service. Rob has recently rejoined the MWF as its Senior Scientific Advisor, and organizer of the Access for All Campaign.
Editors Note: This opinion piece was printed in this Saturday’s Issue of the Winnipeg Free Press and supplied to me by the Manitoba Wildlife Federation. A conservation disaster is quietly unfolding in rural, agro-Manitoba with the potential to set private-land conservation and reconciliation back many years, all fuelled by the federal government’s current approach to land protection. In 2020, at the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, participating countries, including Canada, approved a global goal to protect 30 per cent of the planet’s lands and oceans by 2030 to stem the loss of biodiversity (30…
A Campaign to Protect the Rights of Licensed Anglers and Hunters By Rob Olson, Manitoba Wildlife Federation If you are a reader of Hooked, I bet I can safely assume that you are passionate about the outdoors. Fishing is probably so important to you, that it would be hard to imagine not being allowed access to your favorite lakes and rivers anymore. I suspect many of you also hunt. If you are like me, the places you fish and hunt are probably so special to you, that the memories of going to those lakes, forests and marshes define who you…