Alteration of shoreline in park leads to fines

A cabin owner and his contractor have been fined a total of $22,400 for environmental offences stemming from damages to the shoreline and park property at Madge Lake in Duck Mountain Provincial Park.

During construction of a new cabin in the park’s Benito cabin subdivision, a large amount of clay fill from the basement excavation was placed between the leased property line and the bank of the lake. According to a government news release, the fill destroyed the natural park vegetation in the area.

Instead of removing the fill as instructed, it was used to landscape beyond the property with a gradual slope to the lake. Just over a metre deep in places without vegetation, the slope caused sediment to run into Madge Lake.

Cabin owner Stanley Riddell, 62, of Sammamish, Wash., and his construction contractor, Jeffrey Dahl, 34, of Aspen Builders in Swan River, Man., recently pleaded guilty to altering the configuration of the bed, bank or boundary of Madge Lake, contrary to the Environmental Management and Protection Act, and to unlawfully damaging trees and other natural vegetation on park land, contrary to The Park Regulations. Riddell was fined $12,600 and Dahl $9,800.

In addition to the fines, an immediate environmental protection order was issued with conditions to remediate the damage and put the area back to a natural state.

It includes removing the earth fill placed near the water, placing rock rip-rap to stabilize the bank, laying geotextile fabric on the damaged area and re-establishing a naturally vegetated bank and boundary.

A court order was also issued to plant five white spruce trees, some three metres in height, between the cabin and the shore of Madge Lake.

In Saskatchewan, permits are required before any work near the shoreline of a lake or any work on provincial park land can begin.