Ducks Unlimited makes province’s largest-ever conservation-land purchase

A Manitoba landscape that helped save the Giant Canada goose from extinction has now been permanently protected in the province’s largest conservation land purchase in history.

Ducks Unlimited Canada announced Tuesday in a virtual press conference that it has acquired a conservation easement for East Meadows Ranch, a more than 8,000-acre property near Lundar in Manitoba’s Interlake region, about 80 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, that includes wetlands, native prairie and bur oak savannah.

Ducks Unlimited called the property, now known as the Kennedy Field Station at East Meadows, one of Manitoba’s most ecologically diverse landscapes and said protecting it will contribute to the long-term health of Manitoba’s wildlife, biodiversity and natural heritage.

“The sheer size of the property is not that common in private ownership here in Manitoba, and to have that in a complete connected tract is just something that we’re not likely to see again or come available anytime soon,” said Mark Francis, Ducks Unlimited Canada’s manager of provincial operations.

The property is part of the Marshy Point Goose Refuge, an important staging area for waterfowl that played a major role in the reintroduction of Giant Canada geese to the Interlake in the early 1950s. The effort started with 12 birds.

“By 1971, 20 years later, there were reported 350 Giant Canada goose nests at Marshy Point,” Francis said. “East Meadows Ranch has had a major impact on the introduction of the species thought by many to be extinct.”

Today, the refuge sees upwards of 10,000 geese each year, including between 3,000 and 5,000 goslings.

East Meadows provides habitat for a variety of wildlife, including western grebes, trumpeter swans, lesser yellowlegs and bobolinks. The property has also been used for waterfowl research and graduate studies over the years.

The land was purchased by W.A. Murphy in 1944 and was later stewarded by the Murphy, Currie and Vincent families for more than 80 years, Ducks Unlimited said.

Paul Vincent, a member of that Vincent family, said the conservation deal was “the realization of a dream for our family.”

Ducks Unlimited’s conservation work at East Meadows dates back to 1958, when it constructed a 200-acre project near the lodge. A four-cell project was later completed in 1983, Francis said.

Going forward, Francis said Ducks Unlimited’s first goal will be to protect the habitats that have been maintained by the family.

“That’s goal one: just protect what they’ve been protecting for the last 80 years,” he said.

The organization also plans to restore grassland habitat on one quarter section of the property and develop a management plan to maximize waterfowl and other wildlife benefits while guiding conservation, research, donor stewardship and broader community engagement, Francis said.

Future management of the property could include conservation grazing to support native grassland health, and carefully managed public access could also be considered over time where it is compatible with conservation goals.

The project received funding from public and private contributors, including the Government of Canada through the Natural Heritage Conservation Program, the North American Wetland Conservation Act, Cox Enterprises and private donors.

“We are humbled to be selected to carry on this responsibility,” Francis said.

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca