Proposed: Commercial Light Industry and Storage Sites at Star Lake
Letters of Opposition sent to Manitoba Parks
September 6, 2020
Attention: Premier Brian Pallister; Sarah Guillemard, Minister of Conservation and Climate, and Dale Sobkowich, Head of Commercial Policy, Planning and Programming, Parks and Protected Spaces
RE: Proposed Commercial Light Industry and Storage Sites - South Whiteshell Provincial Park I am writing to express my concern about the above commercial development. I am a cottage owner at Star Lake, and have been enjoying this beautiful part of the park for 12 years.
The proposed site at Star Lake - the "old dump site" is noted to be "previously impacted and require minimal vegetative clearing". In reality this site is an area that was rehabilitated (at considerable cost and effort) when the dump was removed a number of years ago. It is now beautiful forest, home to vast species of plants and wildlife, including rare orchids. It is used regularly by my family and many others here at Star Lake for walking, biking, and berry picking. It offers a beautiful and safe alternative to the busy cottage access road.
It would be a travesty to undo all the good work that has been done to allow this site to return to nature. From the image provided, 11/13 of these storage sites would require bulldozing of fully established and healthy forest , which is hardly "minimal vegetative clearing".
This site is only 300 meters from several cottages along the closest cottage road.
In addition to the negative environmental impact, I am concerned about safety. We have no information about what may be stored at the site; I anticipate the possibility of dangerous materials. This development will without doubt bring more traffic. The proximity to cottages brings the possibility of an accident ( traffic or industrial). Should an accident occur, nearby cottages, children who may be exploring nearby, and even our access (and only egress road) may be affected.
I understand the need to find a location for safe storage for local businesses. However, there are many locations that would impact far few residents than this one. I would be interested to know who would benefit from this development, as to my understanding it would not be any of the local residents of Star Lake, who would end up carrying the long term burden of this project.
Thank you for your consideration to this important matter, and please find an alternate location for this project.
Wendy Sauer
Block 4 Lot 6 Star Lake
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