A zoologist with ties to Gimli asked municipal council to protect a garter snake den in the municipality and its snakes from being killed by off-road vehicles, but her proposal was turned down.
Roberta Olenick’s proposal to put barricades at a garter snake den to protect snakes in the spring and fall would not impact off-road vehicles as they can drive on the already available alternative trails (bypass routes) she has outlined above
Roberta Olenick was a delegate at council’s Nov. 19 committee of the whole meeting where she gave a presentation on the garter snake den and provided council with a report titled Saving Gimli’s garter snakes: a proposal for permanent barricades to protect a vulnerable snake den on RM Gimli land.
Olenick said hundreds of snakes are being killed or maimed by off-road vehicles such as ATVs, dirt bikes and utility vehicles.
The snake den is located on RM-owned land north of Gimli. The den is surrounded on all sides by trails that have been carved out by ORV drivers.
Olenick, a zoologist and wildlife photographer who grew up in Winnipeg and Gimli, asked council to let her install — all expenses paid by her — permanent wooden barricades at the den.
“As mayor and council, you have a unique opportunity here to confirm that Gimli truly is a town that values and protects its wildlife neighbours,” said Olenick. “All you have to do is say yes to saving the lives of countless garter snakes with some all-expenses-paid permanent barricades on RM land.”
Olenick presented council with photographs of dead and maimed, still-living snakes hit by off-road vehicles, as well as photographs of snakes in mating balls, an ORV on the trail, temporary snow fencing and the site layout.
Red-sided garter snakes have a distinctive red-flecked yellow racing stripe along their flank. They are non-venomous reptiles and harmless to humans. They’re vital to the ecosystem, preying on and helping control rodents and insects. They leave their dens (called hibernacula) after mating in the spring but return to the den in the fall when it starts to get cool. Garter snakes are listed under the Manitoba Wildlife Act. The snakes are impacted by habitat loss that includes wetlands, road/trail mortality from vehicles, pesticides and human persecution (deliberately killing them).
The den on Gimli municipal land is composed of a 20-foot-high earthen slope with a sandy trail running along the top and a narrow rocky portion running along the bottom.
When they form mating balls in the spring, the snakes can slide down the den’s slope onto the trails where motorized vehicles drive. They’re also vulnerable in the fall when they’re returning to the den.
“Given the topography here, off-road vehicle drivers can end up running over snakes before even realizing the snakes are there until it is too late,” said Olenick.
She said she spent several weeks at the den in 2022 and spoke with a number of ATV drivers who indicated “very strong support” for closing the area around the den to traffic, she said.
“All the ATVers I met who did not know about the snakes were amazed when I informed them and happily chose a different route,” she said. “Only one person, who did know about the den, reluctantly turned back when I intercepted him. It was either that or run me over.”
In 2022, Olenick said she was able to get seasonal snow fences installed around the den in the spring and the fall. She had approached then mayor Lynn Greenberg and council who “kindly arranged” to have RM’s public works department and the provincial department of conservation work together to protect the site.
While that effort was “much appreciated,” the fences haven’t been working effectively, said Olenick. They can fall over in the sandy soil, are “far too easy” for people to remove and are infrequently checked. Predicting the temperature during spring and fall is difficult and sometimes the snow fences are installed too late or removed too early to protect the snakes.
“This past July I found these fences just heaped beside the trails, a hazard for entangling everything from squirrels to songbirds,” she said.
Effective protection for the snakes requires robust, year-round barricades, plus signage, she said. She proposed a series of permanent wooden posts, about six feet high and two feet apart, be installed around the den, the full cost of which she will cover; there would be no expense to RM ratepayers.
The posts would impact a small portion (1. 5 per cent) of the entire site. The posts would not prevent ORV drivers from accessing the snake den site; they would just divert the vehicles to already existing trails farther from the den.
Olenick had started a petition in October on Change.org in favour of installing permanent barricades and had 386 signatures by Nov. 17. She received signatures from people across the Interlake, including communities such as Arnes, Gimli, Sandy Hook, Fraserwood, Dunnottar, Petersfield, Selkirk, Meleb, Komarno, Inwood, Teulon, Stonewall and the RM of St. Andrews, from those in other towns in Manitoba, and from people in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, the United States, England, France, Germany, South America and South Africa, to name a few.
People in the immediate area told Olenick they tried to prevent the snakes from being run over by stringing a rope across the lower trail and by placing logs across the trail with a sign.
“Lots of other people also want these snakes protected. An online petition I started recently has already garnered hundreds of signatures in support of permanent barricades,” said Olenick. “Many are from Gimli or nearby. Some from Winnipeg may have cottages in Gimli. Others come from all around the world. Maybe they have visited Narcisse [in the RM of Armstrong] and appreciate Manitoba’s iconic garter snakes. As one signer said: ‘Visitors notice when a town values and protects its wildlife neighbours.’”
Wendy Buelow from Dunnottar sent Gimli Mayor Kevin Chudd and council a letter, urging them to agree to Olenick’s barricade proposal. Garter snakes are an important part of the Interlake ecosystem and shouldn’t be harmed, she wrote, and added that the barricade will be “privately funded” and “professionally built.”
RM of Gimli spokesperson Christine Payne said council did not grant Olenick permission to install barricades, but her request is being considered.
“Council has not granted permission for permanent barricades at this time. The request is under consideration, and any decision will take into account environmental impact, public safety and expert recommendations,” said Payne. “Our public works team will review the space in coordination with other trail user groups and stakeholders to ensure all perspectives are considered. We welcome Roberta’s input and ideas, and safety — for both people and snakes — will be a key factor in any proposed solution.”
