Moose hunters miffed by no-go zone at Bloodvein

The federation that represents sport hunters and anglers says they are losing access to Crown land and resources after the province announced a 500-metre “buffer zone” near Bloodvein First Nation for the moose hunting season that began Monday.

The community recently set up a roadside check stop aimed at keeping drugs and contraband out. It said “outside hunters” were not welcome on traditional land over concerns about the sustainability of the moose population.

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation demanded the province intervene on behalf of non-Indigenous licensed hunters who have tags allowing them to harvest a bull moose in the area.

On Monday, Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures Minister Ian Bushie announced changes to Wildlife Act regulations that would impose the buffer zone, on either side of a main road and river at Bloodvein, and restrict access to licensed hunters.

On Tuesday, the federation expressed its disappointment with the province’s decision and said it hadn’t been consulted. It said it will hold a meeting at the Lake Manitoba Narrows Lodge Friday for area members “to stay informed about the ongoing loss of access to Crown lands.”

The Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association said it’s also disappointed it wasn’t consulted prior to changing moose hunting regulations this season.

“Our billion-dollar industry needs stability and law and order to successfully run our businesses,” executive director Don Lamont said in an email.

He said the association is meeting with the minister this week to discuss the future of moose management.

Bloodvein First Nation Chief Lisa Young said Tuesday she’s not prepared to comment until details of the regulation changes are finalized.

When asked about the Bloodvein buffer zone and First Nations having control over conservation on their traditional land, Premier Wab Kinew had a careful response.

“The treaties are about sharing and everyone should be able to hunt moose according to the rules that we have in place here,” Kinew said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday.

Kinew said Bushie has been working closely with Bloodvein First Nation, and that the buffer zone prevents hunting from a vehicle or near the road.

“It’s already the practice of people who hunt safely that you don’t hunt near roads,” the premier said, noting he’s a gun owner and is teaching his children to hunt safely.

“I want everyone in this province to be able to learn to live off the land, to have a safe, clean, healthy environment. And it just so happens that our minister is working with this community to make sure that we can live up to that for everybody.”

The buffer zone will remain in place for the 2025 hunting season as the province steps up surveying moose numbers in the area, Bushie said Monday.

He called it a “proactive step toward conservation, community leadership and shared decision-making.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca