Band Worried About Water Quality At Fishing Lake

Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 14:08

 

 

The Fishing Lake First Nation is having a hard time convincing Saskatchewan Environment to remove the carcasses of horses from a nearby water body.

 

Recently, 11 horses fell through the ice and drowned on Fishing Lake, about a half-kilometer from shore.

 

The band’s chief says Saskatchewan Environment officials are telling him they won’t remove the carcasses until the spring thaw, because they believe the impact of the horses on the lake before then will be minimal.

 

But Chief Allan Paquachan says elders are insisting he try to remove the horses before the thaw.

 

Paquachan says if Saskatchewan Environment won’t do anything before the spring, residents are prepared to take the matter into their own hands once the ice is thick enough.

 

The chief says the horses’ owner believes the horses were spooked by a bear or wolf and went running into the middle of the lake, noting they were raised in the area and had never ventured onto the ice before.