Weed pull for Piping Plover habitat

On Friday September 30th, at 9:00 am, a few of us will be pulling sweet clover at Sandy Bar. Clover has been taking over the area big time these last few years and we're hoping that its removal will provide a more suitable habitat for possible future piping plovers.

We'll be meeting at the IBA Sandy Bar parking area at 9:00 am. Manitoba Sustainable Development will also be putting up new boundary signs for this Special Conservation Area at this time.

Sandy Bar is at the east end of PR329. Take HWY 8 to Riverton, turn east into the town of Riverton on PR 329 (this is the most southerly entrance into Riverton). Stay on this road until you end up at Sandy Bar. It will take you through the town, across the Icelandic River, onto gravel road, into the marsh area of this IBA and to the edge of the lake. Simply put, keep heading east on PR 329 and you'll be there. (If you go further than PR329 you'll be in Lake Winnipeg!)

Please bring gloves, food, drinks, long pants and extra layers. If it's windy, the temperature could easily be 5 degrees or more colder out on the sand bar. This event will also require a mile walk in the sand and a short walk through thick bush.

It would be great to have as many volunteers as possible so please feel free to forward this to others who may find weed pulling fun :) ! If you know of any students who are working on volunteer credit hours, this may also be of interest.

And to make it seem more fun, maybe you'll have a chance at seeing horned larks, American pipits, Lapland longspurs, black-bellied plover or American golden plover as all of these species were seen on Oct. 1st of last year.