MBiz

In t e r l a k e Water World Birds and friends flock to renewed wetland O ak Hammock Marsh is flying high this year. Birds and non-feathered friends have flocked to the marsh in ever-increasing numbers since wetland revival efforts began in the 1970s, and 2013 brought a trio of celebrations. "It's the 20th anniversary of Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre, but also it's the 40th anniversary of when they rebuilt the wildlife marsh area. And it's the 75th anniversary of Ducks Unlimited Canada," says marketing and promotions coordinator Jacques Bourgeois.  "So it's a triple whammy for us." Some 200 years ago, the marsh stretched all the way from Winnipeg to Teulon, but over time, it was almost drained out of existence. "There was something called the Drainage Act of Canada back in the early 1900s. When the settlers came here, they could basically have the land for really cheap if they could drain it, so that's what happened," Bourgeois says. "Oak Hammock Marsh went from roughly 470 square 22 MBiz November 2013 By Jennifer McFee kilometres down to 0.6 of a square kilometre — just a pond, really. That's all that was left. You can't imagine the impact it had on wildlife, especially waterfowl, because it's important during migration." Things began to improve with the formation of Ducks Unlimited Canada, which is now headquartered at the site between Stonewall and Selkirk on Highway 67. "Following the Dirty '30s, there was a severe drought in the Prairies. Ducks Unlimited was formed because of that," Bourgeois says. "There weren't too many ponds around anymore, so some people got together and decided to re-establish the wetlands to bring the ducks back. At the time, a lot of people were hunting for food, so the company grew steadily." On average, more than 200,000 birds come through the marsh every day in September and October as they head south for the winter. But when the wetland was drained, the waterfowl population crashed. In the '70s, the government turned to Ducks Unlimited for its

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