Three local water and land conservation initiatives have snagged a chunk of nearly $12 million dollars that the Manitoba Habitat Conservancy (MHC) is investing this year into vital conservation initiatives across the province through the Conservation, GROW, and Wetlands GROW trusts.
    
Under the Conservation trust, Watersheds Canada has been given just over $38,000 for shoreline naturalizations along the Boyne River. 
    
Under the GROW trust, the Pembina Valley Watershed District has been awarded just over $1.3 million dollars for its 2024 Pembina Plum Initiative #5. $520,000 is going to the Redboine Watershed District for its RBWD Grow program for 2024-2026.

These Trusts, overseen by MHC, are strategically designed to rejuvenate natural habitats, mitigate floods and droughts, enhance water quality, protect wildlife, promote biological diversity, support carbon sequestration, and foster connections between people and nature. The annual funds that MHC grants are generated from an initial investment of over $200 million by the Province of Manitoba. 

"We are thrilled at the opportunity to collaborate with Manitoba Habitat Conservancy, Manitoba’s Watershed Districts Program, and other partners to preserve Manitoba’s diverse landscapes and keep our waterways healthy,” said Tracy Schmidt, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “More than $9.7M in support for GROW projects delivered by Manitoba’s watershed districts directly supports local land and water conservation projects. This funding also supports one of our government’s core environmental mandate to work with experts to protect and safeguard the health of all our waterways.” 

This funding will bolster work by watershed districts as crucial conduits for GROW. GROW incentivizes farmers to implement projects that promote watershed health while minimizing impacts on their operations. This year saw a record investment in watershed districts with more than $9.7 million being awarded to 13 watershed districts, including the largest single award of $2,434,002 to the Assiniboine West Watershed District. 

Under the Conservation Trust, over $2.2 million is being allocated across fifteen projects led by eleven non-profit conservation organizations in Manitoba, including a $50,000 project by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, which aims to bring outdoor learning to 12,740 early learners. 

Since 2019, when the first projects received funding, a grand total of $50.49 million has now been committed to 179 conservation initiatives, spearheaded by 47 Manitoba-based groups. For 36 years, MHC has diligently served its mandate to conserve fish and wildlife habitat in Manitoba. Since transitioning to a private, not-for-profit charitable organization in 2021, MHC has also managed granting programs from the Trusts, further bolstering conservation efforts across the province. 

 

With files from Manitoba Habitat Conservancy