Blackstrap Provincial Park

For other uses, see Blackstrap (disambiguation).

Blackstrap Provincial Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Location	Saskatchewan
Nearest city	Saskatoon
Coordinates	51°45′20″N 106°27′30″W / 51.75556°N 106.45833°W / 51.75556; -106.45833Coordinates: 51°45′20″N 106°27′30″W / 51.75556°N 106.45833°W / 51.75556; -106.45833
Area	6.06 ha
Established	1986
Governing body	Saskatchewan Provincial Parks

Blackstrap Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It consists of a conservation area with a man made lake, a campground, and a man made mountain, Blackstrap Ski Hill. The park is located east of Dundurn and accessed via Saskatchewan Highway 211. The ski hill was first developed in 1970 for the Canada Winter Games and operated until 2007. The provincial park was established in 1986.

History

In 1969, the land was acquired for the construction of Mount Blackstrap for the 1971 Canada Winter Games. The land used to create the mountain later became the reserve for Lake Blackstrap.^[1] Water used to flood and maintain the lake is gravity fed via an earthen aqueduct from Lake Diefenbaker. Local legend claims that the name for the region is derived from an incident involving the breaking of a barrel of blackstrap molasses during transport through the valley, thereafter becoming known as Blackstrap.^[2]

Fred Wilson, reeve of the Dundurn RM, Whitecap Dakota First Nation and surrounding municipalities in the area have shown support to convert the provincial park to a regional park. Development of the roadways, cabins, housing, and camping would impart more financial aid to the park, which would be addressed by the communities. The operation of the ski hill for the year of 2007 was estimated at $465,000 by the provincial government. No private sector came forward to run the hill, and it was closed down. But due to a sudden boom in the immigration to the province and a booming economy, offers are expected to come in. Provincial funding to Blackstrap Provincial Park has historically supported the ski hill operations only and the remainder of the park has deteriorated. Christine Tell, minister of Tourism, parks, culture and sport, and Van Isman, Tourism and parks deputy minister will update the provincial government's Blackstrap provincial park management plan to aim to make Blackstrap the best facility it can be.^[3]

In 2013, the provincial government announced that two private companies would spend $2.6 million on a new marina and cabins in the park.^[4]

Activities include mountain biking, fishing, hiking, boating, wind sailing, cross country and downhill skiing and camping.

Location

Legal Land Description township 32- range 3-West of the 3rd Meridian

Local communities

Local communities on the shore of Lake Blackstrap include two villages and one small group of estates: the resort village of Thode, the resort village of Shields, and Skyview Estates. Thode is located on the north-west shore of Lake Blackstrap directly across from the main beach at Blackstrap Provincial Park, and is home to approximately 156 people^[5] who live there year round. Most of the people in Thode live either directly on the lakeshore, or have an unobstructed view over the lakeshore road which separates them from the lake. Shields is on the north-east Shore of Lake Blackstrap and is home to approximately 172 people^[6] who also live there year round. It also has a golf course which includes a view of Lake Blackstrap, and is maintained locally by the Shields community. Unlike Thode, only a portion of Shields is lakefront property. In addition to the full-time residents, Shields and Thode have summer cottagers which are not reflected in the population statistics. Skyview Estates is a small group of large estate homes located between north-west bend of Blackstrap Lake and accessed from Highway 11. The estates have a view of the mountain; Blackstrap Ski Hill, and the lake, and are across from the Blackstrap Provincial Park camp grounds. Skyview Estates has its own marina allowing the residents unlimited access to the water. However, the estates themselves do not actually connect to the shore.

Fish species

Fish species include walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, burbot and white sucker.whitefish,

References

↑ "Welcome to Dundurn, Saskatchewan, Canada". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
↑ "Edited Hansard - Number 022". Hansard. Parliament of Canada. 2001-02-27. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
↑ Gillis, Wendy (July 26, 2008). "Regional Park status possible for Blackstrap Area municipalities would like to develop neglected facility: reeve". The StarPhoenix. pp. A5.
↑ "Blackstrap Park to get marina and cabin makeover". CBC News. 2013-11-15. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
↑ "Community Highlights for Thode". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
↑ "Community Highlights for Shields". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2008-10-21.

External links

Protected Areas in Saskatchewan

National parks	Grasslands National Park Prince Albert National Park

Provincial parks	Athabasca Sand Dunes Blackstrap Buffalo Pound Candle Lake Cannington Manor Clarence-Steepbank Lakes Clearwater River Crooked Lake Cumberland House Cypress Hills Danielson Douglas Duck Mountain Echo Valley Fort Carlton Fort Pitt Good Spirit Lake Greenwater Lake Katepwa Point Lac La Ronge Last Mountain House Makwa Lake Meadow Lake Moose Mountain Narrow Hills Pike Lake Rowan's Ravine Saskatchewan Landing Saskatchewan River Forks Stanley Mission Steele Narrows St. Victor Petroglyphs The Battlefords Touchwood Hills Post Wildcat Hill Wood Mountain Post

National Historic Sites of Canada in Saskatchewan	Addison Sod House Batoche Battle of Cut Knife Battle of Duck Lake Battle of Fish Creek Battleford Court House Bell Farm Biggar Railway Station Canadian Bank of Commerce Claybank Brick Plant College Building Cumberland House Cypress Hills Massacre Doukhobors at Veregin Esterhazy Flour Mill Forestry Farm Park and Zoo Former Prince Albert City Hall Fort de la Corne Fort Battleford Fort Carlton Fort Espérance Fort Livingstone Fort Pelly Fort Pitt Fort Qu'Appelle Fort Walsh Frenchman Butte Government House Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings Gray Burial Site Holy Trinity Church Humboldt Post Office Île-à-la-Crosse Keyhole Castle Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary Moose Jaw Court House Motherwell Homestead Next of Kin Memorial Avenue Old Government House / Saint-Charles Scholasticate Prince Albert Arts Centre Saskatchewan Legislative Building and Grounds Saskatoon Railway Station (Canadian Pacific) Seager Wheeler's Maple Grove Farm Steele Narrows Wanuskewin

Urban and regional parks	Big Dig Carlton Trail Regional Park Cenotaph Fishing Lake Regional Park Palliser Regional Park Statue of Queen Elizabeth II riding Burmese Statue of Sir John A. Macdonald Touchwood Hills Provincial Park Victoria Park Wascana Centre Woody River Recreation Site

Museums	The Evolution of Education Museum Historical Society Museum Mendel Art Gallery RCMP Heritage Centre Rotary Museum of Police and Corrections Royal Saskatchewan Museum Saskatchewan Railway Museum Saskatchewan Western Development Museum

Geography of Saskatchewan	Athabasca Basin Carlton Trail Carswell crater Cypress Hills Deep Bay crater Elbow crater Gow crater Mackenzie dike swarm Madge Lake Maple Creek crater Methye Portage Palliser's Triangle Porcupine Hills Pheasant Creek Red Coat Trail Saskatchewan Valley Spruce Falls, Saskatchewan Viewfield crater Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, July 02, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.