Riding Mountain National Park makes boat inspections mandatory

Parks Canada is introducing mandatory boat checks atManitoba's Riding Mountain National Park to prevent the parkfromseeing an invasion ofzebra mussels.

All boats or watercraftentering the waters within the national park boundary will be subject to a free mandatory inspection by Parks Canada staff; this includes all trailers, canoes, kayaks and wind-driven vessels.

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The inspections will be carried out at the Clear Lake boat cove, which has seen upgrades such as an accessible canoe and kayak launch,expanded parking, and additional boat launches.

In addition to the mandatory inspections, Parks Canada is asking parkvisitors to take precautions includingcleaning and dryingboats, removing all plants and mud, as well as drainingall water stored in the boat, including livewellsand bait buckets.

Decals will be issued to boat users that frequent the park and as long as the vessels are not taken outside the park, the decal remains valid. If a boat is takenoutside the park, users must advise Parks Canada staff and undergo additional inspections before coming back in.

Zebra mussels have already been found in other parts of Manitoba,including Lake Winnipeg in 2013.

The invasive species can colonize any hard surface which can lead to clogging of water infrastructure. They also have a negative impact on native fish and wildlife by taking over algae and microscopic food sources.

Females lay upwards of one million eggs each year.

Eastern Canada has experienced millions of dollars worth of damagefrom invasions of zebra mussels and the populations are nearly impossible to control oncethey areintroduced.