Fishing Lake WANTS Their Berms

"Still Waiting for Paradise at Fishing Lake" (The Leader-Post, July 15, 2008 )

by Janet French (Saskatchewan News network)

...Residents of each community dotting the lake edge [of Fishing Lake] had to debate amongst themselves whether to build the not-so-pretty two-metre high berms on the edge of their picturesque lake. Their creation cost the province $15 million according to the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority.

...at one time, there may have been long stretches of beach between the lake and the houses...where a sandy beach once lay, a 15 metre wide berm of clay, pebbles and dirt now buffers the residents from the water at Ottoman beach...

Most communities around the lake opted to build the structures [berms]...It doesn't matter [to residents who] love the berm, which to them means "safety". Some residents are worried because when the Saskatchewan government built the berms, it got permission from Fisheries and Oceans Canada for temporary berms, to be removed by October 2009, said Wayne Dybvig, vice-president of operations with the watershed authority. An estimated 40 per cent of the berms are in fish habitat, he said. The province is now in the midst of applying to the federal government to have the berms declared a permanent fixture [to protect the cabins].