Manitoba, Canada : Nudists fear they'll lose a last bastion of beach

[Danee]

Nudists fear they'll lose a last bastion of beach


Local nudists are concerned one of the last places in the province they can swim and sunbathe naked may soon be off-limits to them.

Beaconia Beach on the southeast end of Lake Winnipeg is ground zero of a fight over a possible cottage development and the construction of a controversial boat canal this spring. The developments are seeding confusion over whether the beach will stay swimming-trunk optional.

"It's very strange," said Bob Migliore of the Crocus Grove Sun Club. "No one is aware of what is going on."

The Manitoba nudist group lost its summer campground in the spring when the owners of the park decided to make it clothing-mandatory to open it up to more paying customers.

Now nudists fear a double-whammy with the future of Beaconia Beach up in the air. The beach has been clothing-optional since 1998 when "naturists" negotiated a deal with the Rural Municipality of St. Clements. The area has been used by nudists for decades.

"There's a threat to the beach," said Judy Williams, spokeswoman for the Federation of Canadian Naturists. "Beaconia is in trouble... it belongs to the people."

Williams said the culprit in this confusion over the future of the sandy beach is the RM of St. Clements and its "less-than-candid" approach in releasing information to the public.

"If you're going to mess with something that affects the well-being and the spirituality of people then you... damn well owe it to be transparent."

RM of St. Clements Mayor Steve Strang was unavailable.

Wayne Larstone, spokesman for the Eastern Beaches Conservation Coalition (EBCC), said there are two issues beach-goers and local cottagers fear threaten the beach.

One involves the transfer of land by the RM to a local man, in exchange for land at Grand Marais, and the other is the construction of a private boat channel through the nearby marsh. Local residents fear the land swap and boat canal could restrict public access to the beach.

Larstone said the land deal may nullify a long-standing caveat that the land not be developed.

"As we understand it the beach was to remain untouched," he said.

The matter has gone up to Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie's office with one of his officials recently responding to the EBCC the province had not discharged its caveat, and it will only consider doing it once an agreement has been reached with the RM that the public has adequate parking and unrestricted access to the beach.

"We have not made any decision," added Serge Scrafield, assistant deputy minister in Conservation.

Scrafield said the province has asked the RM for details on what's planned for the land, but no information has been supplied yet.

Larstone said that clarification still doesn't answer why the municipality hasn't responded to the EBCC's concerns.

He added the second matter is equally puzzling. That involves the building of a boat canal in March and April so that an out-of-province landowner could park his boats at his cottage, which is not on the waterfront.

"A lot of the marsh has been stripped," Larstone said. "To allow excavation along the shoreline is a bit on the scary side."

Larstone said the EBCC has tried to get information on the approval process, which involved Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the RM.

"No one is sitting down with us and telling us what the long-term plan is," he said, adding the boat canal may threaten the quality of drinking water supplied by artesian wells.

Robert Rettie, owner of Redquest Developments in Alberta, said he had the channel built to better protect his two watercraft.

He said he is still waiting for final approval to use the channel, which is currently plugged.

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca

From: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/nudists-fear-theyll-lose-a-last-bastion-of-beach-98489084.html